Montenegro customs allowance 2026: how many cigarettes, how much alcohol and what value of goods you can bring in, plus cash, medicines, food and pets

If you arrive in Montenegro by air, you can bring in 200 cigarettes free of duty and VAT; if you arrive by land or sea, only 40 cigarettes. The alcohol allowance is the same for everyone: 1 litre of spirits or 2 litres of drinks up to 22%, plus 4 litres of still wine and 2 litres of beer. Other goods in your luggage are free of duty and VAT up to €300 when you travel by land, up to €430 when you travel by air or sea, and up to €150 for travellers under 15. Travellers under 17 get no allowance for tobacco or alcohol.

The rules are set by the 2025 Regulation on the conditions and procedure for relief from import duties, and the Rulebook on VAT exemption on import gives the same limits for VAT. This guide explains tobacco, alcohol and the value of goods, fuel, cash, medicines, food, plants and pets, parcels and moving house, and what applies when you travel from Montenegro to the European Union.

How many cigarettes and how much tobacco can you bring in?

• The amounts are alternatives: you can combine them as long as the percentages used do not exceed 100% in total, for example 100 cigarettes and 25 cigars by air.
• The higher amounts apply only to air travellers; a traveller arriving by ferry is entitled to goods worth up to €430, but to only 40 cigarettes.
• Travellers under 17 get no allowance for tobacco products.

How much alcohol can you bring in?

• You can combine spirits and drinks up to 22% in proportion, for example half a litre of rakija and a litre of sparkling wine.
• The amounts are the same for travellers by plane, car, bus, train and ship.
• Travellers under 17 get no allowance for alcohol.

Up to what value are goods free of duty and VAT?

• The goods must be brought in occasionally, for your personal use, your family's use or as a gift, and their type and quantity must not suggest trade.
• The value of a single item cannot be split: on a €500 laptop, duties are paid on the full value.
• Personal belongings you bring in temporarily or bring back after taking them out temporarily do not count towards the limit, nor do medicines you need for personal use.
• Declare goods above these limits to customs on arrival and pay customs duty under the customs tariff and VAT, usually at 21%.

How much fuel can you bring in?

• Fuel in the standard tank of a car or motorcycle is free of customs duty.
• A private vehicle may carry at most 10 litres of fuel in a portable container.
• That fuel may be used only in the vehicle it came in and may not be removed from it or stored, except during a repair of the vehicle.

What applies to cash, medicines, weapons and cultural goods?

• You bring in less than €10,000 in cash without declaring it; €10,000 or more, including in another currency or cheques, you declare to customs on entry and exit, and undeclared money is temporarily seized.
• You may carry a reasonable quantity of medicines for your personal use or for an animal you bring in, for at most six months.
• A medicine containing a narcotic drug may be carried for at most 30 days of treatment, with a doctor's report no older than 90 days; without that documentation it is a misdemeanour and the medicine is seized.
• You bring in weapons and ammunition only with an approval from the Ministry of Interior and a permit from the Ministry of Economy, declaring them to customs and the police.
• Taking cultural goods, antiques and works of art out of the country requires an approval from the Ministry of Culture.

What applies to food, plants and pets?

• The customs portal lists these amounts for food and drink, separately from the duty-free alcohol amounts in the table above, so if you carry more drinks, ask customs at the crossing.
• Baby food and dietary food for medical reasons may be brought in if labelled, in undamaged packaging and not requiring special storage.
• Without a phytosanitary inspection you may bring in, for personal consumption, up to 3 kg of fresh fruit and vegetables other than potatoes, one bouquet or wreath, 1 kg of bulbs and tubers of ornamental plants and three house plants, but not bonsai.
• Up to five pets, none younger than three months, travel with their owner with a pet passport and a veterinary certificate for non-commercial movement.
• Protected wild plant and animal species under the CITES convention may not cross the border without a CITES permit.

What applies to parcels and moving house?

• A parcel bought abroad is free of customs duty up to €150 per consignment, except for alcohol, tobacco, perfume and eau de toilette, but VAT is due from the first euro; a gift from a private person worth up to €45 is free of both duty and VAT.
• When you move, household goods, including a car, come in free of duty if you lived abroad continuously for at least 12 months, owned and used them for at least six months and bring them in within 12 months of registering your residence in Montenegro.
• For 12 months you may not sell, rent out or pledge goods brought in this way without notifying customs and paying the duty.

How much cash you may carry is explained in our guide to bringing cash, parcels from abroad in our guide to customs on parcels, travelling with a dog or cat in our guide to pet travel, and importing a car in our guide to importing a car. The dates behind the relocation relief are set out by RoNa Legal.

What applies when you travel from Montenegro to the EU?

When you leave Montenegro, the country you enter sets the amounts. The European Union allows travellers from non-EU countries 200 cigarettes, but some member states apply a lower limit of 40 cigarettes to travellers arriving by land or sea, Croatia among them. Free of VAT and excise you can also bring into the EU 4 litres of still wine and 16 litres of beer, and goods worth up to €300, or up to €430 by air or sea.

Frequently asked questions

How many cigarettes can I bring into Montenegro? 200 cigarettes by air and 40 cigarettes by land or sea. Instead of cigarettes you can bring cigarillos, cigars or tobacco in the set amount.

How much alcohol can I bring into Montenegro? One litre of drinks over 22% or two litres of drinks up to 22%, plus 4 litres of still wine and 2 litres of beer. The allowance does not apply to travellers under 17.

What value of goods can I bring in duty free? Up to €300 by land, up to €430 by air or sea, and up to €150 for travellers under 15.

Do 200 cigarettes apply if I arrive by ferry from Italy? No. A traveller arriving by ship is entitled to goods worth up to €430, but the tobacco limit is 40 cigarettes.

How much cash can I bring in without declaring it? Less than €10,000. You declare €10,000 or more to customs at the border crossing.

How many cigarettes can I take from Montenegro into Croatia? 40 cigarettes by land or sea, because Croatia applies the lower EU limit to those travellers, and 200 cigarettes by air.

Sources

Relief from customs duty for goods in personal luggage, tobacco, alcohol and fuel is set by the Regulation on the conditions and procedure for relief from import duties (Official Gazette 31/2025, Articles 6 to 10, 23, 24 and 83), adopted under the Customs Law (Official Gazette 86/2022 and 160/2025, Article 195). The Rulebook on VAT exemption on import (Official Gazette 124/2024, Articles 3 to 7) gives the same limits for VAT. The rules on cash, medicines, food, plants and pets are published by the Customs Administration, and the limits for entering the EU by the Your Europe portal. The information was checked on 25 September 2026. Fijaka is a classifieds platform; this article is not legal advice.