What constitutes "for Personal Consumption' when coming back from France with a van

ircoha

Will be coming back before Xmas from France with a van which I intend to stock up a bit with wine.

Anyone any experience of the 'for personal consumption' bit as applied in the UK
Thanks

Thomas_S_Hunterson

As much as you want as far as I know. Just say you're stocking up for the next decade. There's no legal limit, unless you're brinking it in to sell.

Brockagh

I thought it was up to 12 litres of spirits. I imported some a few years ago and that's what I was told.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

No, that's not a limit AFAIK, they might just ask you a few questions if you've got a large quantity.

BeerNut

From what I've read, it is as Sean_K says: no specific limit, but if they think you might be selling it on, you could have bother. It's normal practice to bring some evidence that it's for personal comsumption, like a wedding invitation.

rubadub

I think there is a limit, but it may be ridiculously high. Should be on the government sites.

I remember hearing the limits on homebrewing years ago, either here or in the Uk, and they were stupidly high. Must have been to stop some loophole a brewery could use.

I know some countries have places that expose the home brew loopholes. It would be like going to the porterhouses brew setup, you toss in a bag of yeast and technically you brewed it yourself. then you go back 6 weeks later and it is bottled & ready to go, minus the duty.

dereko1969

ircoha wrote: »

Will be coming back before Xmas from France with a van which I intend to stock up a bit with wine.

Anyone any experience of the 'for personal consumption' bit as applied in the UK
Thanks

presumably from this you're going through the UK? I would presume if you show them your onward ferry ticket to ireland they won't give you any grief, particularly if the next ferry is the same day as the place of consumption of the wine would be ireland.
This is from UK hmrc site

Alcohol or tobacco
If you are bringing in alcohol or tobacco goods and we have reason to suspect they may be for a commercial purpose, a Customs officer may ask you questions and make checks, for example about:

the type and quantity of goods you have bought
why you bought them
how you paid for them
whether all your goods are openly displayed or concealed
how often you travel
how much you normally smoke or drink or
any other relevant circumstances.
You are particularly likely to be asked questions if you have more than:

3200 cigarettes, 200 cigars, 400 cigarillos, 3kg tobacco, 110 litres of beer, 90 litres of wine, 10 litres of spirits, 20 litres of fortified wine (such as port or sherry).
The officer will take into account all the factors of the situation and your explanation.

If we are satisfied that the goods are for a commercial purpose we may seize them and any vehicle used to transport them, and may not return them to you.

If you are caught selling alcohol or tobacco goods they may be seized, and for a serious offence you could get up to seven years in prison.

The country where you buy tobacco goods may have its own laws on how much you can buy or have in your possession, and what documents you need. If in doubt, check with that country’s authorities before you buy.

If you let a coach, ferry or aircraft store your goods while travelling back to the UK you must make sure when you arrive in the UK that you collect the exact goods you bought.

From some EU countries there are limits on the amount of tobacco products you can bring back without paying UK duty.

From ESTONIA - 200 cigarettes or 250g of smoking tobacco*

From BULGARIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, HUNGARY, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, POLAND, ROMANIA OR SLOVAKIA - 200 cigarettes*

*No limit on other tobacco products as long as they are for your own use.

If you have tobacco products over these limits you should speak to a Customs officer in the red channel or on the red point phone.