So what items will we not be able to bring from UK into France (and vice versa) and what border hassle are people expecting or experiencing ?
Talk about them on this post !
No meat or dairy and only 2kg of other foodstuffs.
Whatever the limit is of new goods (390€?)
Limited alcohol & tobacco.
Is it reciprocal? I know that meat and dairy can’t go from UK to France (and I wouldn’t want to, to be honest) but what about taking cheese and sausissons etc to UK?
I have a holiday home in France. I had hoped to take all the spare furniture garden tools etc from UK to France by now, however Covid put paid to that. At present I am unsure how the French customs will react to the following:
Old ( >5 years) furniture and other personal possessions.
Newish (1-5 year old) possessions
Tools etc that will accompany me on a trip but will return with me ( maybe up to 1200 euro worth at replacement value).
Obviously a bit of time before Covid allows travel to let the arrangements settle down.
Kind regards
Simon
You might need to check whether or not you need to fill in a customs declaration:
- if the furniture looks antique (not that I could tell, nor even define such, probably need to look at customs schedules) ;
- if the tools exceed 390 GBP in total value
For the newish possessions, it might be worthwhile having receipts on you to prove that they were bought in the UK. For example, jewellery if it looks new-ish, cameras, tablets, laptops, always a good one for customs officers.
I imagine that stuff from China, especially electronic goods, will be particularly sought out by the French customs if they can be bothered, as this is already currently one way in which Chinese exporters attempt to avoid customs duties, by having a “depot” in the UK (usually someone’s bedroom or flat corridor) on some goods at least. The phenomenon has spread to other EU countries as well (e.g. Poland, but they are still in the EU so more difficult to pin down).
The question is whether or not you will be checked by the French authorities, and whether they are going to be sticklers about it. Currently, I have no idea.
ISTR the cut off for “new” goods is 6 months old - so a receipt showing it was purchased > 6 months ago would be useful if you think it looks too new.
Antiques, as observed, could be a grey area.
Isn’t 50.years old an antique? At 49 currently I just come below that threshold but I certainly qualify via the grey area!
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You brits don’t need to worry about this the are not going check anything coming in if it’s not more than a private car ore van the cost of checking every private car whold not cover the cost
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