Buying Cheap Cigarettes Over the Internet - A Guide

Cigarettes in the UK are expensive compared to many other EU countries, including Spain, Greece and France. With the advent of the Single European Market, many European based web sites have been set up to sell cigarettes over the internet to UK buyers with tax paid in the country of origin, which are subsequently shipped to the UK, giving a much cheaper price to UK shoppers.

These sites claim that because the tax has been paid at source, that they can be freely transported to other EU countries without paying any additional import duties, as long as they are for personal use only, ie not for resale within the UK. Many sites restrict the amount of cigarettes that can be purchased in one transaction to a carton of 200, so "proving" that they are not for resale.

However, UK Customs and Excise state that it is not legal to do this. They state that all cigarettes bought over the internet or anywhere else for that matter are subject to UK duty, and that cigarettes imported which have not had UK duty paid upon them are subject to confiscation. They say that there are no exceptions to the payment of UK tax, unless you travel to the country and purchase the cigarettes for your own personal use yourself.

The reason that Her Majesty's Customs and Excise state this, is that they say the sale of cigarettes from one country to another forms a business transaction and they will confiscate any cigarettes on which duty has not been paid. However, they do accept that UK citizens can buy cigarettes in other EU member states if they are physically there, without paying additional duty, providing they are for personal consumption only (so you can't bring them back for resale - no stuffing your white van full of them!)

Many of the websites realise that there is a risk of confiscation by UK Customs and Excise when the cigarettes reach our shores. Therefore, many website operators offer a free replacement in the event that your cigarettes are intercepted and confiscated, but you will need to check the policy of the website concerned.

If you are thinking of ordering cigarettes over the internet, hopefully the above article will help you to make an informed decision.

Update: A new tax ruling might mean cheaper cigarettes (and Alcohol) when importing into the UK from other EU countries.

Details:
The European Court is soon to decide whether or not cigarettes and alcohol can be delivered to internet shoppers in the UK without the additional payment of taxes. Watch this space for the outcome of the case.

Final Update:
On Thursday 23rd November, the European court of justice ruled that customers within the EU must pay the excise duties on alcohol and tobacco that would be due in their home country, not the country of origin. The exception to this is purchases made by private individuals for their own use. These "imports" are still exempt from duty in the country of import.

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