Shopping

As an EU citizen you can do as much shopping as you want in all EU countries. Check the guide levels for tobacco and alcohol, VAT rates, rules on endangered species, meat and dairy products and what the EU is doing to protect consumers.

Within the EU

There are no limits on what you can buy and take with you when you travel between EU countries, as long as it is for personal use and not for resale. Taxes (VAT and excise duties) are included in the price you pay and no further payment of tax can be due in any other EU country.

Tobacco and alcohol

To determine whether tobacco and alcohol are for personal use, each country can set guide levels. If you carry a larger quantity of these goods, you may be questioned to check that you have no commercial intent. The guide levels may not be lower than:

• 800 cigarettes
• 400 cigarillos
• 200 cigars
• 1 kg of tobacco
• 10 litres of spirits
• 20 litres of fortified wine (such as port or sherry)
• 90 litres of wine (of which, a maximum of 60 litres of sparkling wine)
• 110 litres of beer

VAT

When you shop in another EU country, VAT and excise are included in the price you pay and, since these vary from country to country, you may want to take advantage of some interesting price differences.

'Duty-free' shopping, which you might see advertised in airport shops for example, does not exist when you travel between EU countries because the entire EU is one single market and you can instead profit from the freedom to buy whatever you want and take advantage of the diversity of choice, taste, taxes and prices.

The table below shows the standard and reduced rates of VAT applied in the EU as at 1 July 2011. A more comprehensive list of VAT rates   and the goods and services to which they are applied is also available.

	Country	Reduced rate of VAT	Standard rate of VAT
	Austria	10	20
	Belgium	6/12	21
	Bulgaria	9	20
	Cyprus	5/8	15
	Czech Republic	10	20
	Germany	7	19
	Denmark	-	25
	Spain	8	18
	Estonia	9	20
	France	5.5	19.6
	Finland	9/13	23
	United Kingdom	5	20
	Greece	6.5/13	23
	Hungary	5/18	25
	Italy	10	20
	Ireland	9/13.5	21
	Luxembourg	6/12	15
	Lithuania	5/9	21
	Latvia	12	22
	Malta	5/7	18
	The Netherlands	6	19
	Portugal	6/13	23
	Poland	5/8	23
	Romania	5/9	24
	Sweden	6/12	25
	Slovakia	10	20
	Slovenia	8.5	20

Cars

If you buy a new car, defined as one with less than 6 000 km on the clock or within six months of registration, you must pay VAT when registering it in your country of residence at the rate of VAT applied there. Some countries apply a tax on registration in addition to VAT. A Certificate of Conformity which must now be given by the manufacturer to the purchaser makes registration formalities much easier when buying a new car in any EU country.

The Commission produces an annual report on car prices in the EU where you can compare the prices in different countries of about 90 best-selling models of 26 different brands of car.

Endangered species

The movement of endangered species of animals or plants, or products derived from them such as leather goods or medicines, is strictly controlled. You may need a certificate to travel with some species in the EU so check with the CITES authority (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in your country.

More information on the implementation of CITES.

Coming from outside

If you enter the EU from outside, you can bring with you goods free of VAT and excise duties for personal use within the limits set out below. The same applies if you come from the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, Gibraltar or other territories where EU rules on VAT and excise do not apply.

Alcoholic drinks

• 1 litre of spirits over 22 % vol. or 2 litres of fortified or sparkling wine
• 4 litres of still wine
• 16 litres of beer

Tobacco products

There is a higher or lower limit depending on the country you are visiting if you are coming from outside the EU. If an EU country decides to apply the lower limits, it may choose to apply them only to land and sea travellers (Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia) or to all travellers (Estonia and Romania).

Higher limit	Lower limit
200 cigarettes or	40 cigarettes or
100 cigarillos or	20 cigarillos or
50 cigars or	10 cigars or
250 g tobacco	50 g tobacco

Other goods including perfume

Up to a value of €300 per traveller or €430 for travellers by air and sea is allowed. Some EU countries apply a lower limit of €150 for travellers under 15.

VAT export refund scheme

Visitors from outside the EU are entitled to a VAT refund on goods they have bought during their stay in the EU if the goods are shown to customs on departure within three months of their purchase together with the VAT refund documents. These are normally prepared by the seller although, as the scheme is voluntary, not all merchants participate. Some countries set a minimum value of purchases to qualify for a refund.

Meat, dairy and other animal products

There are no general restrictions on carrying any of these products if you are travelling within the EU since all EU countries have to respect strict common veterinary standards. The same applies if you are travelling from Andorra, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino or Switzerland. However, some restrictions may apply under specific circumstances, such as localised animal disease outbreaks.

If you are arriving in the EU from other countries not mentioned above, you cannot bring with you any meat, milk or their products without official veterinary documentation. This is to prevent introducing any serious animal diseases into the EU. You are, however, allowed to bring in powdered infant milk, infant food and foods required for medical reasons under certain conditions. You may also bring in limited quantities, for personal consumption, of other animal products including fishery products, snails and honey. Travellers arriving from Croatia, the Faeroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland may bring small quantities of meat and dairy products for personal consumption.

More information about bringing meat and dairy products and other animal products into the EU

Shopping hours

Shopping hours vary from country to country and from region to region. In big cities or tourist areas, shops often remain open later and may be open on Sundays. In more remote regions, shops may be shut for a lunch hour or for one weekday and some countries have a longer siesta closing time in the middle of the day. In a number of countries shops are closed on Saturday afternoons and Sundays.

Help for consumers

As a consumer, you are protected by basic laws no matter where you are in the EU:

• Food safety: You can be assured of the highest food safety standards because of strict laws on the production, processing and the selling of food.
• Information on food: EU laws on food labelling enable you to make informed choices about what you are buying. You can check the list of ingredients for those most commonly associated with allergies or intolerance. The new EU organic logo on all pre-packaged organic food indicates that the goods comply with EU regulations on organic production and labelling and that at least 95% of the product’s ingredients of agricultural origin have been organically produced. You can also look for quality foods which have logos indicating a Protected Designation of Origin, a Protected Geographical Indication or a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed.
• Clear pricing: The unit price of products – the price per kilo or per litre – must be given by supermarkets to make it easier to compare prices.
• Cosmetics and sunscreens: Cosmetic products have to list ingredients and indicate how long they can be used after opening. Look out for the open jar symbol. Sunscreen products now have clearer labelling, including a standardised indication of UVA protection, standardised terms for describing levels of protection and no misleading terms such as 'total protection'.
• Marking on products such as toys, electrical products and mobile phones indicates that they meet all relevant EU safety, health and environmental protection requirements. Not all products sold in the EU need to bear marking.
• Protection against misleading practices: Misleading advertising is prohibited and EU law offers protection on package holidays and timeshare property schemes as well as against unfair commercial practices or aggressive sales practices.
• Online shopping: You can check your rights in relation to shopping online or surfing the web on the eYouGuide website. Find out what to look out for when shopping online for airline tickets or tickets to cultural or sporting events. You can also enlist the help of ' Howard ', the online shopping assistant, a web tool to help online shoppers avoid fraudulent web traders and get advice about shopping online.

European Consumer Centres give practical information on consumer rights as well as advice and assistance with cross-border complaints or disputes. There are centres in all 27 EU countries and in Iceland and Norway.