New quantitative restrictions on cigarettes brought in by travellers from certain European Union Member States

From 1 January 2014, the number of tax-paid cigarettes brought into Ireland for personal use by individuals travelling from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania or Romania, without payment of further excise duty in Ireland, is restricted to 300. Anyone with cigarettes in excess of that quantity must declare them to a Revenue officer and pay the appropriate excise duty. The measure does not apply to other tobacco products brought in from these Member States as long as those products are for personal use and not for commercial purposes.

Member States are permitted to impose such quantitative restrictions where cigarettes have been bought "duty-paid" in a Member State that, at 1 January 2014, had not yet reached the EU minimum levels of tobacco products tax on cigarettes. The Member States in question will not have achieved the minimum tax requirement as at 1 January. Accordingly, Ireland is applying a limit of 300 on the quantity of duty-paid cigarettes that a person travelling from these countries (Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania and Croatia) can bring into this country without paying Excise duty.

This restriction will be removed as each of the Member States in question achieves the minimum level of tax required and they have until 31 December 2017 to do so.

[Ends: 24/12/13]