World Duty Free: How much is too much?

World Duty Free is one of Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s most popular shops, with fragrances, skincare, cosmetics, alcohol and other souvenirs available at incredible prices. Christmas shopping is a popular choice at World Duty Free every year, with passengers purchasing Christmas gifts in bulk when travelling through LJLA. However, are you aware that there are different rules on how much you are allowed to buy in duty free based on if you are travelling outside of the EU?

It can be tempting to purchase as many Christmas gifts as possible from World Duty Free, but be careful. If you are travelling home to a non-EU country, the maximum duty free allowances are as follows:

• 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 100 cigarillos or 250g tobacco. You can bring in ONE of the four, or combine them – eg. 100 cigarettes and 25 cigars.
• 16 litres of beer, 4 litres of wine, 1 litre of spirits or 2 litres of fortified wine. You can bring in ONE of the four, or combine them – eg. 2 litres of wine and half a litre of spirits. Spirits include spirits or strong liqueurs over 22% alcohol, and fortified wine includes sherry, port, sparkling wine or any other alcoholic drink less than 22% alcohol.

It is not uncommon to do Christmas shopping whilst travelling, but you must be aware of the allowances. If you go over your allowance you may be asked to pay the tax or duty on the items you have purchased. In some cases, if passengers go significantly over the alcohol and tobacco allowances, they can be arrested. Duty free products are a wonderful part of travelling because of the attractive prices, but be careful you don’t buy too much.