Which goods must be declared?

When going through customs control, you must declare the following goods; in other words, you must submit a customs declaration for:

• goods not intended for your personal use,
• goods obtained outside the EU which exceed the duty-free amounts for tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, perfumes, toilet waters, coffee, tea, medicinal products and the duty-free allowance for other goods,
• goods that are subject to bans and restrictions on imports (please check the Customs Guide brochure below).

If a customs office is equipped with Red and Green Channels, you must use the Red Channel when carrying such goods in order to submit your customs declaration. Take the initiative and declare these goods, whenever a customs office does not have any separate customs control exits. Please use the Green Channel whenever you do not carry any goods requiring any declaration.

In case of doubt, you should declare all goods. If any tax or customs exemptions apply, these will certainly be granted. When you enter Austria from a non-EU country and carry goods purchased in an EU country, you should keep the receipts ready, so as not to be asked to again pay customs duties or taxes.

Attention: In case you wish to take the goods with you to another EU country, you must declare them when entering the EU.

Customs information for travellers including duty free amounts and allowances please follow the link to the webpages of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance.

Inquiries about current import regulations in place can be made by contacting the Customs Central Information Office.

Central Information Office
Customs Office Villach
Ackerweg 19
A-9500 Villach
Phone: +43 4242 33233, Fax: +43 4242 33233 426
Email: Zollinfo(at)bmf.gv.at

A refund of the Value Added Tax is possible when travelling to non-EU-countries.

Please note the following requirements:

• The invoiced amount (possibly including value-added tax) must exceed € 75.
• Your passport or other cross-border travel document must indicate a domicile outside the EU.
• You must export the item with your personal luggage from the EU before the end of the third calendar month following the month in which the purchase was made.
• You must prove the export of the item to the seller. This is done by returning to the seller - the form issued by the seller, or - the invoice endorsed by the customs office at the point of exit (this is the last customs office before leaving the EU). An endorsement can be issued at a later date only in special, exceptional cases.

Refund of Value Added Tax / Departure: Non-Residents flying directly from Vienna to a non EU - country are entitled to reclaim the Value Added Tax paid in Austria. If they are travelling via another EU-country (e.g. Vienna-Frankfurt-USA), the Value Added Tax can only be reclaimed in the last EU-country of their journey (e.g. in Frankfurt).

To do so, fill in the tax-cheque completely when purchasing the goods.

Check in as usual at your airline counter; then proceed to counter 75 in Terminal 1 or counter 23 in Terminal 2 (customs clearance) with your checked-in baggage (i.e. with the airline tag already attached) and your tax-cheque and present the purchased articles.

Purchased goods which you are carrying in your hand luggage will be checked after passport control at the corresponding customs counter.

You will be given a customs stamp to confirm that the goods have been exported. At the banks at Vienna International Airport your tax-free-discount will be cashed immediately - in any currency you wish.