EU citizens get duty-free boost

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The value of duty-free personal goods that Europeans can now bring into the EU has more than doubled, under new European Commission rules.

The limit on duty-free goods has been raised to 430 euros (£359; $544) from 175 euros for air and sea travellers.

Alcohol and tobacco limits have also been changed.

A new beer import limit of 16 litres now applies; the wine limit is up from two to four litres, while the one-litre limit for spirits remains.

Member states will now have the option of reducing the duty-free allowance for tobacco products, in support of health policies. The 200-cigarette limit can be cut to just 40 and the 250g limit for tobacco to 50g.

The commission - the EU's executive arm - has abolished existing quantitative limits for perfume, coffee and tea. But such items will now count towards the cash limit for duty-free imports.

A lower limit - 300 euros - applies to overland travellers, because prices in many countries bordering on the EU are already much lower than in the EU.

In Monday's announcement, EU Taxation and Customs Union Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs said "many of the previous rules, which have been in place since 1969, were no longer relevant to today's world".

The higher thresholds not only benefit travellers but also reduce the administrative costs of recovering small amounts of duty and taxes, the commission said.