Customs app saves you from expensive surprises

The holiday is over. But on the way to the airport in the holiday destination, the questions come first, then the doubts. Can I actually bring everything that I have bought with me to Germany?

Berlin – Cheap alcohol, beautiful handicrafts, clothes and then the new wristwatch or a new smartphone. Anyone who went shopping on holiday abroad should find out before returning home whether they may have to declare some of their souvenirs or whether they may not be allowed to import certain items and goods into Germany.

So that you don’t end up paying more at customs and bargains turn into the exact opposite, it’s worth finding out before you buy abroad whether duties are due on the goods in question.

Or whether the importation of a product is allowed at all: if it is not, customs collects it during an inspection – the counterfeit branded jeans as well as protected cultural assets, plants or animals.

Apps provides detailed information about quantities and prohibitions

The “Customs and Travel” app (iOS and Android) from the Federal Ministry of Finance helps with all of this. You only have to enter from which country you are traveling and what you want to bring with you. Then you can find out everything about possible allowances, bans, tax exemptions or just how much you have to or would have to pay for import duties.

Don’t get confused: the classics alcohol and tobacco are always at the beginning of the entry in the app. After that, it’s also about all sorts of other goods and goods. dpa