Gone are the days when travellers were able to to buy duty free goods on their return from holiday. However, for the dedicated booze-cruiser, this has opened up new doors. There is now no limit as such on what you can bring back from France and most other EU countries.

BUT, the law states that " "duty paid" goods brought into the U.K. must be for personal use only and H.M. Customs and Excise have set some guidelines. While it is not an offence to exceed these figures, a person would have to be able to convince the Authorities that the goods were intended for personal use only. If you cannot do this, you may have your goods seized ... or worse!

At the moment, (August 2005) the guidelines are as follows:

It should be noted that illegally importing tobacco or alcohol for re-sale is a criminal offence with potentially serious consequences. Check the Customs website.

In addition to these guidelines, drivers should be aware of the weight limits of their vehicles. See our vehicle loading calculator.