Unclear from the description online. I know monetary items over 10k need to be declared, but what about personal items like laptop, camera etc? Is the limit also 10k?

It’s unclear from the description I find online which states: “Nothing to declare – Carrying goods – personal items and/or purchases – not intended for commercial purposes, in the amounts permitted by law and whose circulation is not prohibited or restricted.”

Well, it dose not say what the “amounts permitted by law ” is.

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In the Declare section: “Transporting cash or monetary assets in an amount equal to or above 10,000 euros (or other currency equivalent).

\- Whose baggage contains tradable goods in quantities greater than those permitted by law and that are not exempt from value added tax (VAT) or excise duty.”

Once again, “tradable goods in quantities greater than those permitted by law ” But no mention of the law…

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Finally, under “What are the rules for transporting and purchasing technology and electronic devices?”

If you have bought electronic devices outside the European Union in quantities that exceed the legal limits, you must declare them at Customs when arriving in Portugal. Therefore, you must always keep the invoice or similar documents for your purchases.

On the other hand, if you are travelling abroad transporting your own high-value equipment – cameras, computers, tablets, etc. – we recommend that you declare them before boarding. This way, when you return, the customs services will already know that the equipment is yours and you won’t have to pay taxes corresponding to their entry into the country.”

And once again, no mention of what this magical “legal limit” actually is. WTF!

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Lastly, lets say I am over the “legal limit” what would they charge me on my personal electronics?

Source: [https://www.ana.pt/en/lis/passenger-guide/plan-your-trip/customs](https://www.ana.pt/en/lis/passenger-guide/plan-your-trip/customs)

Thanks.

6 comments

  1. I tried to search and it’s surprisingly difficult to find an answer to this question! I’d suggest getting in touch with ANA through email (you can find it in the Contacts section at the bottom of the page).

    >Lastly, lets say I am over the “legal limit” what would they charge me on my personal electronics?

    Most likely 23% of the retail price, which is the VAT percentage.

  2. Where are you coming from and what are you bringing?

    Customs are mostly worried about portuguese people importing goods from non EU countries. If that’s your case, if you get stopped they will try to charge you our VAT on the face value of your products regardless of being above or below 10k. This is very rare and you will only get pulled aside if you trigger a lot of red flags.

    If you are coming from abroad with goods that are your own just be sure to carry proof of purchase, a return ticket, insurance if you have it, and ideally a good story for why you need it (“I’m a photographer here is my equipment”).

    Now for the immoral advice: if you don’t declare you will most likely not get checked. If you declare you will for sure get checked. Lisbon has like 4 custom officers for the 3 or 4k people arriving per hour, and they are always busy going over the backlog of racially profiled people they like to pester.

    Enjoy portugal!

  3. The duty-free allowance for personal items is €430 per passenger. There are also specific limits for tobacco, alcohol and medicines, which you can [check here](https://info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/pt/apoio_contribuinte/Folhetos_informativos/Documents/Travellers_guide.pdf).

    The limit is quite small, but I have flown from outside the European Union with personal electronics worth well over €430 (laptop, tablet and phone). In my experience, as long as they are not obviously for selling or gifting (not brand new in the original box, not more than 1 item per passenger, etc.) you will have no problem.

  4. Just play on the safe side and declare everything of significant value anyway. You will not have to pay taxes anyway.

  6. Personal items are personal… though coming in with 3 macbooks may be a bit much.

    Customs agents are thick though.

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