The principle of free movement of goods and people within the EU means that tax and customs formalities when crossing intra-Community borders have been removed.

Thus, people can buy goods for their own personal use in a different EU Member State, with no limitation on quantity or value, and without having to go through any formalities whatsoever at intra-Community borders. These purchases are inclusive of tax, at the rate applicable in the country of purchase. Mail-order purchases and purchases of new vehicles are exceptions to this rule.

However, quantity thresholds have been set for certain kinds of merchandise, and once these thresholds are exceeded the goods are deemed to be for commercial purposes, in which case excise taxes becomes applicable. Thus, private individuals bringing alcoholic drinks and/or tobacco bought in another EU Member State into Luxembourg are strongly advised not to go over the limits set out below:  

When entering Luxembourg, travellers arriving directly from a third country must declare any goods they are carrying to customs, and pay the corresponding duties and taxes. However, they are entitled to allowances, and will not have to pay duty or tax on the following goods (purchases or gifts).

The allowances are set by the EU.

The allowances shown in the table above may not be combined among different people for the same item. For example, a group or family of 4 people cannot apply for the allowance for a device valued at EUR 1,720 (EUR 430 × 4).

Note, also, that goods comprising multiple elements and transported at the same time by the same mode of transport are considered to form a single unit, regardless of the number of invoices (for instance, the individual elements of a hi-fi system are treated as one item).

By way of exception to the principle of free movement, imports and exports of certain goods are subject to restrictions on movement, or are strictly prohibited, due to their sensitive nature. These restrictions and prohibitions are intended, notably, to protect public health, preserve order, ensure public safety and decency, and to safeguard national and/or world heritage. If in doubt, the best thing to do is to ask at Customs before entering the country with prohibited products.

The main categories of goods that may not be imported into Luxembourg include:

• counterfeit and pirated goods;
• paedophilic material: i.e. any kind of item with pornographic images or representations of minors;
• human medication (apart from medicine required by the traveller);
• weapons and ammunition;
• narcotics;
• cultural artefacts (works of art, collection items or antiques, in particular);
• oil products, with the exception of the fuel in the normal fuel tanks of travellers' vehicles, plus a spare can of fuel of maximum 10 litres capacity;
• products containing certain harmful substances (e.g. lead salts, nickel);
• endangered species of flora and fauna and any products made from those species;
• plants, plant products and other products (bark, seeds, earth and culture media) which are banned from import into all EU Member States;
• animals or animal-based products that are prohibited under national or Community-wide health regulations;
• skins or furs of dogs and cats, or any product containing these materials, etc.

Procedures

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