Say whether you are arriving in the EU or Japan and what you are carrying, and the checker shows the range of the duty-free allowance for each kind of goods, such as 40 to 200 cigarettes or €300 to €430 of other goods entering the EU, with a link to the official customs page.1 Check the latest: European Commission, Carrying alcohol and tobacco
Check the latest before you rely on it. Rates, limits and rules change, and some figures on this page may be out of date. Each amount links to the official page it comes from: check the current figure there before you travel, pay or declare anything. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice, and to the extent the law allows we accept no liability for any loss or problem arising from its use.
Check what you are bringing
Choose where you are arriving and what you are carrying. The checker shows the range of the allowance for each, as in the table below, and links the official customs page for the exact figure. It does not work out your allowance, and it keeps nothing and sends nothing.
How do the EU and Japan allowances compare?
| Item | Entering the EU | Entering Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol | From 1 litre of spirits to 16 litres of beer, depending on the drink; still wine and beer each have their own limit, and spirits, fortified and sparkling wine share one | Counted by the bottle, with one limit for all alcoholic drinks13 |
| Tobacco | 40 to 200 cigarettes, 10 to 50 cigars or 50 g to 250 g of other tobacco, depending on the EU country and how you arrive; products can be combined within the total | From 50 cigars to 200 cigarettes, depending on the product; heat-not-burn and other tobacco have their own limits, and more than one kind shares one combined allowance13 |
| Perfume | Counts towards other goods | Its own allowance, measured in ounces13 |
| Other goods | €300 to €430 per traveller, depending on how you arrive; some EU countries set a lower limit for travellers under 15 | A limit on the total overseas market value; low-value items are not counted, and an article or set worth more than the limit has no allowance13 |
| Cash to declare | 10,000 euros or more, entering or leaving the EU | More than one million yen, entering or leaving Japan23 |
Amounts in this table change. Check the latest: European Commission, Carrying alcohol and tobacco Japan Customs, Procedures of Passenger Clearance European Commission, Rules for taking cash in and out of the EU and travelling with cash in the EU
In the EU, the tobacco products can be combined, but not beyond the total limit. Countries applying the lower tobacco limit may apply it to land and sea travellers (Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia) or to all travellers (Estonia and Romania); the Commission says this list is indicative and may change.1
In Japan, if you bring more than one kind of tobacco product, they share one combined allowance. The allowances are stated for an adult.3
We give ranges, not the exact allowance for each case. For the exact figures, see Your Europe's alcohol and tobacco page and Japan Customs' passenger clearance page. This is not legal advice.
What else applies when you enter the EU?
- If you are under 17, you have no duty-free allowance for tobacco or alcohol.1
- Goods must not be for resale. The same allowances apply when you arrive from the Canary Islands or other territories where EU VAT and excise rules do not apply.1
- If you travel between two EU countries through Switzerland, Swiss customs rules apply, and alcohol or tobacco above Swiss thresholds must be declared on entering Switzerland and again on re-entering the EU.1
- Goods bought in airport and port tax-free shops when leaving the EU may count towards the allowances of the country you are travelling to.1
What else applies when you enter Japan?
- All passengers entering Japan must declare their belongings; Japan Customs recommends declaring electronically through Visit Japan Web.3
- Use the green channel only if you have nothing dutiable and nothing prohibited or restricted; everyone else uses the red channel.3
- An article, or a set, worth more than the limit for other goods gets no duty-free allowance at all.3
- When dutiable goods are worth more than 300,000 yen, the customs procedures for commercial cargo apply.3 Check the latest: Japan Customs, Procedures of Passenger Clearance
- If you bring any gold bullion or gold products, answer yes to the gold question on the declaration, whatever the amount.3
When must you declare cash?
EU. If you enter or leave the EU with 10,000 euros or more in cash, or the equivalent in other currencies, you must declare it to customs in the EU country you are entering or leaving, on the EU cash declaration form. Cash includes banknotes and coins, bearer instruments such as traveller's cheques, coins with a gold content of at least 90%, and bullion with a gold content of at least 99.5%.2 Check the latest: European Commission, Rules for taking cash in and out of the EU and travelling with cash in the EU
Failing to declare, or declaring wrongly, brings penalties, and customs can act below the threshold where there are signs the cash is linked to crime. There are no EU-wide rules for carrying cash between EU countries, so check with the customs authorities of each country on your route.2
Japan. If you carry more than one million yen, or the equivalent, in cash or other means of payment when entering or leaving Japan, you must declare it to customs. This covers cash in any currency, cheques, traveller's cheques, promissory notes, securities, and gold bullion of at least 90% purity weighing more than 1kg. A lower threshold applies if you are bound for North Korea.3
This page reports official customs rules. It is not financial or legal advice; check with the customs authority of the country you are entering.
What this page cannot tell you
- Not legal advice. Customs officers decide at the border; declare anything you are unsure about.
- Ranges, not your exact allowance. The checker shows the range for each kind of goods; Your Europe and Japan Customs give the exact figure for each case.
- Lower limits in some EU countries. The note under the table names the countries that may apply the lower tobacco limit.
Related: Customs allowances in full · Tax-free shopping in Japan.
Key takeaways
- Allowances differ between the EU and Japan, and within the EU they can depend on the country and how you arrive.
- Over an allowance means declare it, not that it is forbidden.
- What we would skip: splitting goods between travellers to stay under a limit without checking the rules; allowances are per traveller and for your own use.
Sources
EU allowances and cash rules come from the European Commission's Your Europe pages; Japan's allowances and cash rules come from Japan Customs' English page for passengers. All were read on 24 September 2026. See how we research.
- European Commission, Your Europe, Carrying alcohol and tobacco (page last checked by the Commission 30 July 2026). Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised and rearranged it.
- European Commission, Your Europe, Rules for taking cash in and out of the EU and travelling with cash in the EU (page last checked by the Commission 30 July 2026). Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
- Japan Customs, Procedures of Passenger Clearance. Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. 出典：税関ホームページ（https://www.customs.go.jp/english/summary/passenger.htm）
Changes made. We summarised the Your Europe pages (CC BY 4.0) and the Japan Customs page in our own words and set the ranges side by side in a table of our own design, linking the official pages for the exact allowances; we did not reproduce customs forms or logos. 「Procedures of Passenger Clearance」（税関）（https://www.customs.go.jp/english/summary/passenger.htm）を加工して作成。Edits by Gallivanting Gadabout. Not financial or legal advice.