Duty free from Andorra: two borders, two sets of limits

Andorra’s shops are a big part of the trip for a lot of people, and the question that follows is always the same. How much of it can I take home? For someone from Spain or France the answer is one table. For a British visitor it’s two, because you cross two customs lines on the way home, and the stricter one is the one waiting for you in Britain.

Why a British traveller has two sets of rules

Andorra isn’t in the EU. When you drive out, down to La Seu d’Urgell or over the Envalira pass to France, you enter the EU and its allowances for travellers from Andorra apply. Andorra’s own customs service, the Duana, and Spain’s tax agency publish the same core figures. Then, when you land at Gatwick or drive off the ferry at Dover, you’re arriving in Great Britain from outside the UK, and the UK allowances apply.

In practice you only need to remember one thing. Whichever limit is lower is the one that matters, because you have to clear both.

The limits leaving Andorra

Each adult can take 300 cigarettes. The alternatives are 150 cigarillos weighing up to 3 g, 75 cigars or 400 g of tobacco, and the Spanish tax agency says they can be combined as long as the total isn’t exceeded. For drinks, 1.5 litres above 22% strength, or 3 litres of weaker drinks, fortified or sparkling wine, plus 5 litres of still wine. Spain adds 16 litres of beer, which Andorran customs doesn’t list. Perfume is 75 g, with 37.5 cl of eau de toilette on top, and everything without its own quota, from ski gear to electronics, is capped at €900, or €450 for under-15s. There’s also a fuel allowance of a normal tank plus a can of up to 10 litres.

Nobody under 17 gets a tobacco or alcohol allowance. And the rules are strict about pooling. Allowances are per person, don’t move from one product to another, and the value of one item can’t be split between travellers.

The limits arriving in Britain

On tobacco, GOV.UK allows 200 cigarettes, with 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars, 250 g of loose tobacco or 200 heated sticks as the alternatives. For alcohol it’s more generous than the EU side. Beer goes up to 42 litres and still wine to 18, plus a choice between 4 litres of spirits and 9 litres of lower-strength drinks. Other goods are capped at £390, dropping to £270 for arrivals by private aircraft or boat. Northern Ireland has its own, lower figures.

The detail that catches people out is how overspending is taxed. Go over an allowance and the duty applies to everything in that category, including the part that was within the limit. You can declare online from five days before you arrive. There’s more on tobacco in how many cigarettes you can bring back from Andorra and on drink in Andorra alcohol allowance.

What happens if you go over?

On the Spanish side, the tax agency gives three options. Pay the duty on the excess, leave the goods in customs or take them back to Andorra. With tobacco it can go further. The UK government warns that France and Spain are strict and may impound excess tobacco along with the vehicle carrying it. Cash above €10,000 has to be declared.

How I’d plan the shopping

I’d write a list per person using the UK limits, since those are the tighter ones for tobacco and general goods, and keep every receipt together in case an officer asks what something cost. Anything worth more than £390 on its own won’t fit in the allowance however many of you travel. The borders are open 24 hours, and I’d avoid the afternoon peak, which Andorra’s traffic service put at 16:00 to 20:00 towards Spain in summer 2026. More on the road itself is in driving to Andorra, and on what’s worth buying in what to buy in Andorra. A phone or laptop counts towards your general allowance, and how to shop for one sensibly is in electronics shopping in Andorra.