Things to Know About Duty-Free Shopping

You buy it duty-free at the time of purchase, then only need to meet the requirements of the country you’re bringing it into. At an airport, duty-free shopping is typically located inside an international terminal after you go through security. 

Duty-free is a tax-free store. It sells expensive products at a lower price because there isn’t any import tax. You can buy items such as perfumes, cosmetics, luxury goods, electronics, souvenirs, alcohol, and tobacco.

Please note that any items you purchase at the airport, including tax-free products, are counted as part of your carry-on baggage allowance. In addition, you can bring duty-free bags and airport purchases in the cabin along with your cabin baggage. 

Duty-free items in reasonable quantities do not count towards your carry-on baggage allowance for your next flight. If you want to leave the airport and return later for your connecting flight, you can take your duty-free purchases with you as long as you don’t open the sealed bag. 

As such items are prohibited from being carried onto an aircraft, it is almost impossible to open sealed bags during a flight.

Duty-free items can only be purchased when departing from a country or when crossing into another territory. They are for export only and must be taken out of the country where they are purchased. 

The whole point of the bag is to ensure that the contents haven’t been tampered with. Once the seal is broken, you won’t be able to take them through any further security checks. The sealed bag is known in the aviation industry as a STEB – Sealed Tamper Evident Bag. 

The reason airport shops ask for the boarding pass is to ensure that you are flying internationally and hence eligible to purchase duty-free. Another reason is to ensure that you are flying directly to your destination.