What is duty free?

Duty free concept

Duty free is a concept of shopping, offering shoppers goods on which import duties is not charged. It is an excellent opportunity for international travelers to save money on a whole variety of products: from perfume and cosmetics, to tobacco and hard liquor.

The beginnings of “duty free” go back to 1960s and Shannon airport in Ireland, the whole idea is based on the fact that airport terminals represent territories not belonging to any specific country, therefore taxations laws may not be applicable.

Free of duty & taxes

Duty is a tax fee placed by governments, applicable to various types of imported goods. Not only you save money on duty, but in case of Europe, on the VAT – this can potentially mean even more savings compared to downtown markets.

Duty free allowances

There are certain limitations on duty free shopping however, they are set individually by governments of each country or economical region. Note, that in case of exceeding these limits you may be asked to pay duty and tax difference on them. Find out what are the allowances on this page.