EU may limit cigarette imports to 200 — Der Spiegel

The European Union may reduce the indicative allowance for transporting cigarettes for personal use from other EU countries from four cartons to one — 200 cigarettes. As Der Spiegel reports, the relevant provision is contained in a document of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the EU, and EU finance ministers may approve it on Monday afternoon.

Allowance of 200 cigarettes

Currently, up to four cartons of cigarettes for personal consumption can be brought into Germany from another EU country. Some member states supported a limit of 400 cigarettes, while others supported 200. According to the document, the allowance of 200 cigarettes is to be set.

At the same time, EU states will be able to relax this rule and set a higher limit. The new requirements are part of an EU directive on the taxation of tobacco products. Member states must incorporate its provisions into national legislation next year, and the rules are to take effect at the beginning of 2028.

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Changes for electronic cigarettes

The directive also provides for new minimum tax rates for cigarettes and electronic cigarette products. This will have no consequences for tax rates in Germany, as they already exceed the proposed minimum levels.

At the same time, the permitted volume of e-cigarette liquids that can be brought in from other EU countries is planned to be reduced from 100 to 40 milliliters. Dustin Dahlmann, head of the German association Bündnis für Tabakfreien Genuss, called 40 milliliters a fair amount for a trip and said that the lower indicative limit could curb large purchases abroad due to tax differences.

According to the publication, tighter restrictions could reduce the volume of cigarettes brought into Germany from Luxembourg, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic, where they are cheaper. Representatives of the tobacco industry, however, fear that this could stimulate the black market.