Guidance

Selling duty-free or duty paid alcohol and tobacco products

Find out how you can sell duty-free or duty-paid alcohol and tobacco products through airlines, on ships, in export stores and in duty-free shops.

Overview

If you want to sell alcohol and tobacco products to passengers travelling to other countries, you may need approval from HMRC, and you will need to follow specific rules and procedures.

Journeys between Northern Ireland and the EU

If you operate an airline or ship that travels between Northern Ireland and, the EU and you want to sell excise goods, including alcohol and tobacco products to passengers onboard for them to take away, you must apply to become a Registered Mobile Operator (RMO).

You may need to register as an RMO if you only supply stores for onboard consumption, although there are daily limits that apply to alcohol and tobacco allowances for passengers and crew on board ship or aircraft.

Journeys to countries outside the UK

If you operate an airline, ship or train that travels to a destination outside the UK any goods, including excise goods, may be loaded duty-free as stores for sale, but you need authorisation from HMRC. The goods can be either to take away or for consumption onboard.

If you operate a train service that travels to a destination outside the UK through the Channel Tunnel, alcohol and tobacco products may be loaded duty free for either consumption on board or for takeaway. Authorisation from HMRC is required to load duty free excise goods on board such services.

Export shops

If you want to sell duty-free alcohol and tobacco products to passengers about to travel to a destination outside the UK ,you need to be approved by HMRC to operate an ‘export shop’.

An export shop is an excise warehouse that can hold alcohol and tobacco products in duty suspension for sale to entitled passengers travelling to a destination outside the UK. An entitled passenger is a passenger holding a transport document for a destination outside the UK and is travelling to that destination from the airport, port or train station where the export shop is situated.

An export shop can only be sited at an HMRC designated port or airport or train station, and is usually located in the departure lounge after the security controls.

Find out more about export shops.

Aircraft store floors

If you want to operate an excise warehouse to supply alcohol and tobacco products as stores (duty-paid or duty-free) to aircraft, you will need approval from HMRC to operate an ‘aircraft store floor’.

More information

Find more information about aircraft ship and train stores.

Published 9 November 2009
Last updated 25 January 2021 + show all updates
  1. This guidance has been updated as the Brexit transition period is over.

  2. First published.