# Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 of 19 December 2019 laying down the general arrangements for excise duty (recast), Article 13: Excise duty payment exemptions for passengers travelling to third countries or third territories

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

1. Member States may exempt from payment of excise duty excise goods supplied by tax-free shops which are carried away in the personal luggage of travellers to a third territory or to a third country taking a flight or sea-crossing.
2. Goods supplied on board an aircraft or ship during the flight or sea-crossing to a third territory or a third country shall be treated in the same way as goods supplied by tax-free shops.
3. Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that the exemptions provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 are applied in such a way as to prevent any possible evasion, avoidance or abuse.
4. For the purposes of this Article, the following definitions apply:
(a) ‘tax-free shop’ means any establishment situated within an airport or port which fulfils the conditions laid down by the competent authorities of the Member States, pursuant in particular to paragraph 3;
(b) ‘traveller to a third territory or to a third country’ means any passenger holding a transport document, for air or sea travel, stating that the final destination is an airport or port situated in a third territory or a third country.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudr/2020/262/article/13 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-directive-2020-262/article-13
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.