# The Travellers' Allowances Order 1994 S.I. 1994/955 · made 28 March 1994 · revised to 1 February 2026 This Order consolidates, with changes as mentioned below, the provisions of, and amendments made to, the Customs Duties (Personal Reliefs) (No. 1) Order 1968. I grants allowances in respect of excise duties and value added tax on goods contained in the baggage of persons entering the UK and imported for personal use. The allowances apply to restricted quantities of tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, perfume and toilet water; and other goods up to a value of £136. Made under: Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979 ## Introductory text CUSTOMS AND EXCISE APPROVED BY THE HOUSE OF COMMONSMade 28th March 1994 Laid before the House of Commons 29th March 1994 Coming into force 1st April 1994 The Commissioners of Customs and Excise, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 13(1) and (3) of the Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Order: ## 1 This Order may be cited as the Travellers Allowances Order 1994 and shall come into force on 1st April 1994. ## 1A Interpretation (1) In this Order “excise goods” means any goods chargeable with excise duty by virtue of any provision of— (a) Part 2 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2023; or (b) the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979. (2) For the purposes of this Order, goods shall be treated as contained in a person’s personal luggage where they are carried with or accompanied by that person or, if intended to accompany that person, were at the time of that person’s departure for the UK consigned by that person as personal luggage to the transport operator with whom that person travelled. ## 2 Travellers’ reliefs – Great Britain (1) Subject to the following provisions of this Order a person ... shall on entering the United Kingdom at a place in Great Britain be relieved from payment of value added tax and excise duty on goods of the descriptions and in the quantities shown in Schedule 1 to this Order ... contained in his personal luggage. (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ## 3 The reliefs afforded under this Order are subject to the condition that the goods in question, as indicated by their nature or quantity or otherwise, are not imported for a commercial purpose nor are used for such purpose; and if that condition is not complied with in relation to any goods, those goods shall, unless the non-compliance was sanctioned by the Commissioners, be liable to forfeiture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ## 4 No relief shall be afforded under this Order to any person under the age of 17 in respect of tobacco products , alcoholic beverages and alcohol. ## 5 The following Orders are revoked— The Customs Duty (Personal Reliefs) (No. 1) Order 1968; The Customs Duty (Personal Reliefs) (No. 1) Order 1968 (Amendment) Order 1972; The Customs Duty (Personal Reliefs) (No. 1) Order 1968 (Amendment) Order 1978; The Customs Duty (Personal Reliefs) (No. 1) Order 1968 (Amendment) Order 1979; The Customs Duty (Personal Reliefs) (No. 1) Order 1968 (Amendment) Order 1982; The Customs Duty (Personal Reliefs) (No. 1) Order 1968 (Amendment) Order 1984; The Customs Duty (Personal Reliefs) (No. 1) Order 1968 (Amendment) Order 1985; The Customs Duty (Personal Reliefs) (No. 1) Order 1968 (Amendment) Order 1986; The Customs Duty (Personal Reliefs) (Amendment) Order 1989; The Customs Duty (Personal Reliefs) (Amendment) Order 1991; The Customs Duty (Personal Reliefs) (Amendment) Order 1992. ## 6 Simplified calculation of excise duty (1) This article has effect for the purposes of calculating the excise duty payable by a person entering the United Kingdom at a place in Great Britain on excise goods contained in the person’s personal luggage. (2) The person may elect for paragraph (3) to apply provided that the upper threshold given in column B of the Table in Schedule 2 and applicable to any of the goods is not exceeded. (3) Where this paragraph applies, the sum calculated by applying the rate specified in column A of that Table in respect of a description of goods is treated as the amount of excise duty payable on any goods of that description. ## Signature Martin Brown Commissioner of Customs and Excise New King s Beam House 22 Upper Ground LONDON SE1 9PJ 28th March 1994 ## Schedule 1 Description Quantity Goods other than fuel and those described below Total value £390 or less, if the person travelled by air, sea or rail. Total value £270 or less, if the person travelled by way of private pleasure-flying or private pleasure-sea-navigation. Notes: (a)... (b)Private pleasure-flying or private pleasure-sea-navigation ... refers to the use of an aircraft or a sea-going vessel by its owner or the person who enjoys its use either through hire or through any other means, for purposes other than commercial and in particular other than for the carriage of passengers or goods or for the supply of services for consideration or for the purposes of public authorities. (c)The value of an individual item must not be split up. (d)The value of the person’s personal luggage if imported temporarily or re-imported following its temporary export, and of medicinal products required to meet the person’s personal needs, is excluded from consideration. (e)... Alcoholic beverages and alcohol, other than beer and still wine 4 litres of alcohol and alcoholic beverages of an alcoholic strength exceeding 22% by volume, or undenatured ethyl alcohol of 80% by volume and over; or 9 litres of alcohol and alcoholic beverages of an alcoholic strength not exceeding 22% by volume. Notes: (f)Each respective amount represents 100% of the total relief afforded for alcohol and alcoholic beverages. (g)For any one person, the relief applies to any combination of the types of alcohol and alcoholic beverage described, provided that the aggregate of the percentages used up from the relief the person is afforded for such alcohol and alcoholic beverage does not exceed 100%. (h)... Beer 42 litres or less Notes: (i)... Still wine 18 litres or less Notes: (j)... Tobacco products 200 cigarettes, or 100 cigarillos, or 50 cigars, or 250 grams of smoking tobacco , or 200 sticks of tobacco for heating. Notes: (k)Each respective amount represents 100% of the total relief afforded for tobacco products. (l)For any one person, the relief applies to any combination of tobacco products provided that the aggregate of the percentages used up from the relief the person is afforded for such products does not exceed 100%. (m)A cigarillo is a cigar of maximum weight 3 grams. (n)... ## 1 Paragraphs 2 and 3 apply for the purposes of this Schedule and Schedule 2 (simplified calculation of excise duty (Great Britain)). ## 2 Wine is still if it is not sparkling. ## 3 (1) Wine that is for the time being in a closed container is sparkling if— (a) due to the presence of carbon dioxide or any other gas, the pressure in the container, measured at a temperature of 20°C, is not less than 3 bars in excess of atmospheric pressure; (b) regardless of the pressure in the container, the container has a mushroom-shaped stopper (whether solid or hollow) held in place by a tie or fastening. (2) Wine that is not for the time being in a closed container is sparkling if it has characteristics similar to those of wine that has been removed from a closed container and that, before removal, fell within sub-paragraph (1)(a). ## Schedule 2 SIMPLIFIED CALCULATION OF EXCISE DUTY (GREAT BRITAIN) Article 6 Description A: Rate of Excise Duty B:Upper threshold Alcoholic beverages and alcohol— Beer £0.95 per litre 110 litres Still wine £3.52 per litre 90 litres Sparkling wine £3.52 per litre 60 litres Cider £0.48 per litre 20 litres Sparkling cider of an alcoholic strength not exceeding 5.5% by volume £0.48 per litre 20 litres Sparkling cider of an alcoholic strength exceeding 5.5% but less than 8.5% by volume £1.86 per litre 20 litres other fermented products £3.52 per litre 20 litres Spirits £12.75 per litre 10 litres Tobacco products— Cigarettes £471.93 per 1000 cigarettes 800 cigarettes Hand rolling tobacco £503.80 per kilogram 1 kilogram Other smoking tobacco and chewing tobacco £193.87 per kilogram 1 kilogram Cigars £440.93 per kilogram 200 cigars Cigarillos (a cigarillo is a cigar weighing no more than 3 grams each) £440.93 per kilogram 400 cigarillos Tobacco for heating £109.01 per 1000 sticks 800 sticks ## Explanatory note (This note is not part of the Order) This Order consolidates, with changes as mentioned below, the provisions of, and amendments made to, the Customs Duties (Personal Reliefs) (No. 1) Order 1968. I grants allowances in respect of excise duties and value added tax on goods contained in the baggage of persons entering the UK and imported for personal use. The allowances apply to restricted quantities of tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, perfume and toilet water; and other goods up to a value of £136. The Order introduces a single set of allowances for all travellers, including the crew of ships and aircraft, who land outside the EC. Therefore such crew will be entitled, from 1st April 1994, to the full travellers' allowances instead of the reduced allowances which previously applied. To qualify for the allowances persons arriving in the United Kingdom must have landed in places outside the EC. Therefore one of the effects of the Order is to withdraw entitlement to allowances formerly available to crew or other travellers who do not land anywhere outside the EC during the course of a journey. Council Directive 94/4/EC (OJ No. L 60, 3.3.94, p.14) which amended Council Directive 69/169/EEC (OJ No. L133, 4.6.69, p.6.) increased the “other goods” allowance to 175 ECU from 1st April 1994 (representing an increase from £36 to £136). For this allowance to apply to more than one item the total value of the items must now fall within the limit. Parallel relief from Customs duty is given by Council Regulation (EC) No. 355/94(OJ No. L 46, 18.2.94, p.5) which amended Council Regulation (EEC) No. 918/83(OJ No. L105, 23.4.83, p.1.). --- Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1994/955 (the official version) Page: https://openlegislation.uk/travellers-allowances-order-1994 Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.