Duty Free Allowances: Northern Ireland

(asked on 11th May 2023) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Penn on 4 May (HL7280), which airlines fly from Belfast to the Republic of Ireland; and if there are none, why passengers flying from Belfast to EU countries are not eligible for duty free like passengers from the rest of the UK.


Answered by
Baroness Penn Portrait
Baroness Penn
Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
This question was answered on 25th May 2023

As of March 2023, no airlines offered scheduled services from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland.

On the issue of passengers flying from Belfast to the European Union not having access to duty-free, Northern Ireland enjoys frictionless trade with both the rest of the United Kingdom and the EU. The government is committed to ensuring that remains the case.

Enabling duty-free shopping between the EU – which includes Ireland - and Northern Ireland without also introducing border controls would lead to significant distortions of trade on the island of Ireland as well as a significant revenue loss for both UK and Ireland by creating a legal route for unlimited amounts of alcohol and tobacco to flow into the UK market duty-free.

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