British passengers travelling to the EU will be able to take advantage of duty-free shopping from January 2021, the government has announced.
Holidaymakers will be able to buy duty-free alcohol and tobacco products, where available, in British ports, airports, and international train stations, and aboard ships, trains and planes.
The amount passengers can bring back with them from non-EU Countries will also be quadrupled under new measures.
Holidaymakers coming to Britain will be able to bring back, for example, three crates of beer, two cases of still wine and one case of sparkling wine without paying UK duties.
The move signals the return of the booze cruise to the continent as duty-free shopping returns to ferries between France and Britain.
It means that a bottle of wine in Heathrow could be up to £2.23 cheaper when travelling to Spain after Brexit.
A bottle of Champagne or Prosecco will be £2.86 cheaper, while a can of beer will be 38p less expensive.
Boozers will be able to save £11.50 on a litre bottle of spirits.
Under the measures, the government said it's also ending VAT refunds for overseas visitors at the airport.
Passengers will still be able to buy items VAT-free in store and have them sent to their overseas addresses, however you will no longe rb e able to claim the tax back on items in your luggage.
Treasury Minister Kemi Badenoch said: "The government is taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the UK’s new relationship with the EU to enable passengers travelling from GB to the EU to purchase duty-free excise goods once they have passed security controls at airports, ports, and train stations on international routes, on the same basis as currently applies to passengers travelling to non-EU destinations.
"This means passengers travelling from GB won’t have to pay UK VAT and excise duty on these purchases of alcohol and tobacco products when they travel to an EU destination.
"They will also be able to purchase duty-free goods on-board planes on international routes, on international train journeys and ships sailing from GB to a destination outside the UK for consumption on-board and to take-away.
"This is something that many businesses have raised as part of the consultation and the government will implement this as soon as the transition period ends."
New duty-free allowances
The new personal allowance will be as follows:
Alcohol:
- 42 litres of beer
- 18 litres of still wine
- 4 litres of spirits OR 9 litres of sparkling wine, fortified wine or any alcoholic beverage less than 22% ABV
Tobacco:
- 200 cigarettes OR
- 100 cigarillos OR
- 50 cigars OR
- 250g tobacco OR
- 200 sticks of tobacco for heating
- or any proportional combination of the above
Any other goods
- £390 or £270 if travelling by private plane or boat
