World Country Guide

Duty Free

Duty Free
The following items may be imported into Malta without incurring customs duty from non-EU countries:
200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250g tobacco; 1l of spirits and 1l of wine; 60ml of perfume and 250ml of eau de toilette; gifts to a value not exceeding Lm50.
The following items may be imported into Malta without incurring customs duty from EU countries:
800 cigarettes, 400 cigarillos (cigars not weighing more than 4g each), 200 cigars, 1kg of tobacco; 10l of spirits, 20l of fortified wine, 90l of wine (including a maximum 60l of sparkling wine), 10l of beer; gifts to a value not exceeding Lm50.

Note
It is advisable to declare any larger or unusual items of electrical equipment brought into the island (such as video cameras, portable televisions or video recorders), as this will prevent duty being levied on these items when leaving the country. Those under 17 cannot bring in alcohol or tobacco.

Prohibited items
Firearms and ammunition; counterfeit goods; unlicensed drugs; obscene literature and other media; animals and birds (dead or alive); transmitting aparatus; plants and meat products (without import licence).

Abolition of duty free goods within the EU
On June 30 1999, the sale of duty free alcohol and tobacco at airports and at sea was abolished in all of the original 15 EU member states. Of the 10 new member states that joined the EU on May 1 2004, these rules already apply to Cyprus and Malta. There are transitional rules in place for visitors returning to one of the original 15 EU countries from one of the other new EU countries. But for the original 15, plus Cyprus and Malta, there are now no limits imposed on importing tobacco and alcohol products from one EU country to another (with the exceptions of Denmark, Finland and Sweden, where limits are imposed). Travellers should note that they may be required to prove at customs that the goods purchased are for personal use only.