Romania's Customs Authority and tax administration have issued Order 1613/03.08.2026, published in the Official Gazette, establishing strict time-based limits on personal cross-border imports of tobacco and alcohol, with fines of up to RON 100,000 for breaches.
Romania’s Ministry of Finance announced on 10 August 2026 that it has tightened rules on personal imports of excisable goods from other EU countries, with a joint order (Order 1613/03.08.2026) issued by its Customs Authority and tax administration, which has now been published in the Official Gazette
The new framework establishes what actually counts as “occasional” personal transport. Previously, the rules existed only in methodology notes without clear time limits, meaning someone could theoretically bring in maximum quantities every single day. That changed when the order took effect on 3 August 2026.
What counts as occasional
Transport qualifies as occasional when it is genuinely for personal use (not commercial), forms no pattern suggesting a business, and stays within strict quantity caps over defined periods. For tobacco products, limits cannot be exceeded more frequently than once every 40 days. Alcohol has a one-year window.
The numbers are tight. On tobacco: 800 cigarettes, 400 cigarettes with max weight 3g each, 200 cigarillos, 1kg smoking tobacco, 250g inhalable tobacco products, 250g chewing tobacco, or 250g snuff. On alcohol: 10 litres of spirits, 20 litres of intermediate products (like fortified wine), 90 litres of wine (max 60 of sparkling), and 110 litres of beer.
Enforcement and penalties
Crossing those thresholds within the time windows carries fines between RON 20,000 and 100,000 plus confiscation. The authorities will track imports using a new Electronic Register of Occasional Introductions of Excise Products by Natural Persons. When customs staff inspect goods, they fill out record sheets signed by both the officer and the importer—refusal to sign gets noted but does not invalidate the record.
The stated aim is to level the playing field for domestic producers and keep tax-compliant traders from being undercut by those systematically working around excise duties. The rules also attempt to make enforcement consistent across the country rather than leaving it to local interpretation.
