EnglishDeutsch

You have to pay customs and excise duties when you arrive from a country outside the EU if you have bought goods for more than:

  • DKK 3,250 and you arrive in Denmark by plane og ship
  • DKK 2,250 and you arrive in Denmark by other means of transport.

If you have bought goods in a country outside the EU and touch down in an EU country on your way home, the rules on goods bought outside the EU apply.

These rules only apply to goods which you carry with you, so they do not apply to goods you send by mail for example.

If you want to avoid having to pay customs duties there are limits to how much you may bring into Denmark when you travel outside the EU. This includes tobacco and alcohol.

Moreover, you have to be at least 17 years old to import tobacco, alcohol and wine and beer from countries outside the EU.

Tobacco
Type of tobacco Quantity
Cigarettes 200 pcs
or  
Cigarillos (max 3g each) 100 pcs
or  
Cigars 50 pcs
or  
Smoking tobacco 250g
Alcohol
Type of alcohol Quantity
Spirits (above 22% alcohol and beverages to which alcohol has been added) 1 litre
or  
Fortified wine (22% alcohol or less, for example port and sherry 
as well as sparking wine such as champagne)		 2 litres
or  
Table wine (for example red, white, rosé and cider-based wine) 4 litres
or  
Beer (and beer-based cider) 16 litres

Motor fuel

10 litres of motor fuel in spare cans, not included in the contents of the normal tank of your vehicle

If the value of one of your goods exceeds DKK 3,250 (or DKK 2,250), you must pay customs and excise duties on the total value of the specific item. This also applies to goods consisting of several parts, which combined form a whole and operate together, for example a digital reflex camera and a lens.

You cannot avoid having to pay customs and excise duties by bringing in the goods little by little or by letting several persons carry different parts into Denmark.

At some points of entry, if you arrive by plane for example, there is a green and a red lane which you must go through at arrival.

You take the green lane if you do not bring goods subject to customs ane excise duties.

However, if you bring goods subject to customs and excise duties, you must contact the Danish Customs Agency (Toldstyrelsen) in the red lane. This also applies if you are in doubt whether you are allowed to bring your goods into Denmark without paying customs and excise duties. If there is no red lane, you must contact customs clearance.

If you break the rules on how much can bring into Denmark without paying customs and excise duties, you will be fined. Usually, the fine corresponds to two times the value of the applicable customs and excise duties. In addition to the fine, you must pay the customs and excise duties.

We are unable to inform you what you may bring into other countries. Please contact the local authorities in the relevant country.

See which countries are members of the EU

These areas are not considered EU countries:

  • The Faroe Islands 
  • Greenland
  • The Canary Islands (such as Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura),
  • The Åland Islands
  • The Channel Islands (Alderney, Guernsey, Sark and Jersey)
  • The French overseas departments and territories (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Reunion and Mayotte)
  • Cypress - the northern part

Please see our legal guide (in Danish) for further legal information.