Duty Free Goods, Gibraltar

Just wanted to remind folks about duty free goods if you are flying directly from the UK to Gibraltar.

What to buy: Its important that visitors from the UK are aware that Gibraltar is not classified as part of the EU and therefore, international allowances apply for trips directly to/from Gibraltar, e.g. 200 ciggies, 2 bottles wine, 1 bottle spirits, etc. This applies when returning from Gibraltar directly to the UK.

Now this was only my firs-time abroad on my own [second time abroad]
Heathrow customs give me a very hard time they were going to keep my cine camera.
Had me sign forms etc but in the end I kept the camera.
He just kept on asking if someone give me the camera to bring into the country, where I bought it? Did I buy it in Dixon's?

I also had a bit of luck my duty free 1LT bottle of Teachers whisky dropped through the bag and bounced off the floor in the terminal up into the air where I caught it. Well done Teachers for making a bottle with a good thick bottom.

What to pay: Remember customs will be awaiting your arrival home and tax may be payable.

Gibraltar is a British Colony. As such it qualifies for tax-free status, which means any shopping there is duty-free. Therefore ectronic type goods can be significantly cheaper than elsewhere in Europe.

As usual though, buyer beware. Check your local prices first, and make sure you are buying the same item with the same extras coming with it!

What to buy: Electrical Goods such as cameras, mp3 players, memory cards et al are all worth investigating!

Besides being cigarettes which are a lot cheaper here (about £9 per 200 carton as opposed to about £45 a 200 carton in the UK), as are spirits, there are also lots of electrical shops, camera/photographic shops, perfume shops and also shops selling crystal and porcelain. All are duty free and as there are quite a few of these shops they must be doing well or else there wouldnt be as many.
There is also a Marks and Spencer a Safewy store which is down near the harbour.
As we were there in late November all the fairy lights were on ready for Christmas.
Not all shops are open on a Sunday.

What to buy: I could not believe how cheap Balieys was here, so we stocked up! It was about £6.00 for a bottle which here in mainland UK costs about £14-£15.00, Billy Bargin!

Just Dont get me started on how cheap Cadburys Chocolate was in Gibraltar.......................Probably just as well its not that cheap here (~_~)

Lots of bargins to be had here if your so inclined

What to pay: A lot less than at home!

What to buy: For shopping purposes, the recently pedestrianised and beautiful Main Street is the place to visit.There you will find a variety of shops sellings all sorts of goods, VAT free!!!! You will find electrical/audio-visual equipment, tobacco products, wines and spirits, jewellery, watches , perfumes, porcelain figures , sunglasses, books ,confectioneries, souvenirs, clothes, all at very competitive prices.

What to pay: For a well-known brand of Vodka for example, you need only pay around four pounds.

For a packet of 200 cigarettes, be prepared to pay around eight pounds.

Perfume prices start at around eight pounds and rise from there.

Audio-visual equipment is well priced, but the shops are owned by two families so you wont be able to bargain a great deal from shop to shop as the prices are all generally the same. But you do get discount for paying with cash.

Gibraltar is in a rather peculiar posistion in that it is a member of the EU (as it is part of the UK), but is not a member of the customs union.

Thus the duty-free allowances apply which are listed below :

• 200 Cigarettes or 100 Cigarillos, or 50 Cigars, or 250gm Tobacco
• 2 litres Still Table Wine and 1 litre Spirits, strong liqueurs over 22% vol. or 2 litres Fortified or sparkling wine, other liqueurs.
• 60cc/ml 250cc/ml Perfume Eau de Toilette.
• £145 Gifts souvenirs and all other goods inc beer.

As you walk into Gibraltar's main street you will immediately notice the numerous shops selling tax free goods, it seems that Gibraltar town center just thrives on its retail outlets. Its not surprising when you see the prices, and with so many daytrippers coming across the border its tax free status is well used by the visitors.
Just be careful what you buy, as searches are not infrequent at the Spanish border, exceeding your allowances can result in having to pay tax or confiscation of the goods.
.

What to buy: Tabacco, Alcohol, Photo Equipment and Cameras, Jewelry.
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Tax free what more do i need to say,bargains galore!
Great guys shop called Marble Arc at the end of Main St.

What to buy: Booze,fags,smellies!

What to pay: £4.50 for a litre of vodka!£7 for 200 b&h.Heaven...or not if you over indulge in either of these i suppose...lol.

General tip here, the streets of Gibraltar have fine shops and interesting ones to boot. Enjoy! One warning for backpackers, especially of non-British nationality - the place runs off British pounds, so it is not really cheap at the Gib.