On a recent trip to the U.K i was searched by customs in Manchester airport.

I had twice the allowed cigs (i.e. 400) but the nice young customs lady said that as "i hadn't any spirits/wine or other dutyable product she'd turn a blind eye"

I'd be intrested to hear if this situation is completly at the discretion of the customs official or if there's some guidelines.

Has anyone had similar experiences ??

What can we get away with ?

d.r.

Try a UK forum

Uk Customs And Exercise ... Hand Baggage Allowance, is the 200 cigs/1 litre spirits flexible ???

Customs And Exercise...lol...Brilliant!! Is that where, if caught with more than you should have the Customs lady shouts "Get down, and give me 10!!"

All jokes aside, it's not flexible, but I'd say you just got lucky. Someone was having a good day

Edited February 18, 201016 yr by thecatman

Uk Customs And Exercise ... Hand Baggage Allowance, is the 200 cigs/1 litre spirits flexible ???

Customs And Exercise...lol...Brilliant!! Is that where, if caught with more than you should have the Customs lady shouts "Get down, and give me 10!!"

All jokes aside, it's not flexible, but I'd say you just got lucky. Someone was having a good day

What is this attitude of what can we get away with?What happened to honesty is the best policy?

limit is 400 cigs - that's why they were not confiscated.

I think it's 200 on short haul and 400 on long haul.

I think that it used to be 400 from within the EU, 200 from outside the EU.

Now it is unlimited amounts from inside the EU, provided they are for your personal use, and 200 from outside the EU.

See Bringing goods to the UK from the EU and Bringing goods to the UK from outside the EU

A couple of years ago, I used the Red-channel at LGW, as I had a litre of D/Free for my brother-in-law, but had also been given two half-litre bottles of tax-paid (in Thailand) Thai whisky, for someone who was missing it !

The Customs-officer wasn't at all bothered, and just waved me through.

I didn't want to 'push my luck', as I have the greatest respect for their ability, to spot people who are feeling/looking guilty !

The limit for entering the UK from a non-EEC country was always 200 cigs and 1 ltr of spirits per person and never been changed as far as I know. Long haul/short haul makes no difference if you are entering from a non EEC country. But customs have generally got bigger fish to fry than making a big fuss over an extra 200 cigs but if you go through the green channel with an extra box of 200 and you get stopped then you'll either get a warning or asked to pay the duty and VAT on the extra. Depending on how they feel about you they have a right to levy a fine too. If you want to chance it, make sure you keep your receipt so they can charge you the right amount. If you decide to go through green channel with four of five extra boxes of cigs and you get stopped then you're definitely in for a big bill, a search of ALL your luggage, a verbal dusting up and an hour's delay or more in customs while they sort it all out. Probably not worth the hassle. My experience is that you are a particular target for a spot check if you are a lone male traveller, not so much if you are with a family. But obviously there are guarantees!

Sorry, I mean NO guarantees!

limit is 400 cigs - that's why they were not confiscated.

Limit IS 200 Cigs.......HE was LUCKY !!!

Sorry if abit off topic, but can thai redbull or M150 be legally taken into the UK. I heard

because of its strenght it's illegal in the UK??

Thanks

I've seen both for sale in our local Thai shop in the UK, so assume that they are OK.

Was watching one of those tv programs on UK Customs a few weeks back. Showed one clip where two female custom officers were looking at a screen as newly arrived suite cases were going through the x-ray machine. Obviously deciding who they should stop going through the green channel with too many cigarettes etc. One of the officers said "We are looking for people who have 600 or more cigarettes in their cases".

I've also been caught with 400.. They were purchased in a bundle together on the aircraft, it was the best value for money promotion.

The customs guy asked me before searching my baggage if I had anything over 1 Liter of spirits and 200 Cigarettes. I told him I had 400, he asked to look and said "You're not taking the P##s , we'll not worry about it". So maybe this is customs policy that isn't worth the paperwork to them.

Is this thread Thai related?

Is this thread Thai related?

Yes, many people fly from Thailand to the UK for short-visits, they always seem to look forward to getting back here again.

Yes, you must be right.

One of the mods has posted here twice already.

Perhaps the OP had 400 Thai cigarettes when presenting to UK C&E.

Turning this round into entry INTO Thailand, I had never bothered to check the actual limit. I naively thought that because LHR sell e.g. 2 x litre bottles of Jameson for £25 that I would be OK bringing them into Thailand.

Similarly, on arrival Kind Power will sell e.g. 2 Baileys for 1,000 Baht.

Turning this round into entry INTO Thailand, I had never bothered to check the actual limit. I naively thought that because LHR sell e.g. 2 x litre bottles of Jameson for £25 that I would be OK bringing them into Thailand.

Similarly, on arrival Kind Power will sell e.g. 2 Baileys for 1,000 Baht.

I've never seen any 2X offers on arrivals, only for outbound passengers.

The limit for entering the UK from a non-EEC country was always 200 cigs and 1 ltr of spirits per person and never been changed as far as I know. Long haul/short haul makes no difference if you are entering from a non EEC country. But customs have generally got bigger fish to fry than making a big fuss over an extra 200 cigs but if you go through the green channel with an extra box of 200 and you get stopped then you'll either get a warning or asked to pay the duty and VAT on the extra. Depending on how they feel about you they have a right to levy a fine too. If you want to chance it, make sure you keep your receipt so they can charge you the right amount. If you decide to go through green channel with four of five extra boxes of cigs and you get stopped then you're definitely in for a big bill, a search of ALL your luggage, a verbal dusting up and an hour's delay or more in customs while they sort it all out. Probably not worth the hassle. My experience is that you are a particular target for a spot check if you are a lone male traveller, not so much if you are with a family. But obviously there are guarantees!

Not strictly true, it used to be that if you were a non-resident of the EU coming from outside the EU then you were allowed 400 cigs but that changed back in about 1993 to the present 200 cigs only.