Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department expects that the UK will be classed as a third country after the UK leaves the EU; and whether people travelling from the EU to the UK will be able to purchase duty free goods.

Future customs arrangements are dependent on the outcome of the negotiations with the EU. The Government has been clear that as we leave the EU we will also leave the EU customs union, and that the UK’s future customs arrangements should be as frictionless as possible.

The issues around duty free are complex, with a range of possible approaches. At this stage the Government cannot make assumptions about the tax rules at the EU border, or pre-empt the outcome of negotiations.