Online shopping and special duties

You are required to pay special duties (excise duties) on some goods, such as spirits and coffee, if you buy them online from other EU countries.

If you buy goods such as spirits, wine and coffee online from other EU countries, you must pay a special duty (excise duty). In the vast majority of cases, you automatically pay excise duty via the webshop or the carrier.

If you buy goods that are subject to excise duty online from other EU countries and choose to arrange the shipping yourself, or if the business from which you buy the goods do not pay duties in Denmark, you are yourself responsible for payment of the excise duty to the Danish Customs Agency.

Examples of goods that are subject to excise duty when you purchase them online are listed below:

Alcoholic beverages, for example spirits, wine and beer
Batteries (closed NiCd batteries)
Plastic or paper carrier bags with handles
Chocolate, cocoa, liquorice, liquorice allsorts and sweets
Cigarette paper, chewing tobacco and snuff
Light bulbs, fluorescent lamps and neon tubes
Disposable tableware (plates, cutlery, cups)
Coffee, including instant coffee
Coal and petroleum coke
Mineral oil products, for example petrol, diesel oil and heating oil
Tobacco products, for example cigarettes, cigars and smoking tobacco
Growth promoters and antibiotics.

Examples of special duties - here you can see a number of examples of typical duties:
Goods	Duties
Beer, lager, 4.6% alcohol	Approx. DKK 1 per 33 cl bottle/can
Wine, ordinary table wine	Approx. DKK 8 per 75 cl bottle
Spirits, 37% alcohol	Approx. DKK 55 per 100 cl bottle
Chocolate, sweets	Approx. DKK 25 per kg

In our Danish-language legal guide, you will find a detailed list of all goods on which you must pay excise duty. Here you can also see the amount of duty payable.

You are only required to declare excise duties if you buy goods that are subject to excise duty online from other EU countries and you choose to arrange the shipping yourself, or if the business from which you buy the goods does not pay duties in Denmark.

The individual business can inform you about whether it is obliged to pay excise duty.

If you purchase the goods online from countries outside the EU, the carrier calculates and collects customs duties, VAT and excise duties on your or the seller’s behalf.

Here you can see how to declare and pay excise duty as a private individual:

Log on at skat.dk/tastselv.
Select 'Kontakt' (Contact) at the top of the page.
Select 'Skriv til os' (Write to us).
Select 'Køb i udlandet (internethandel)' (Purchases abroad (online shopping)) and then select 'Inden for EU' (Within the EU) or 'Uden for EU' (Outside the EU)
Click 'Skriv besked' (Write to us)
Enter the type and number of goods you have bought, or attach the invoice you received for the purchase under 'Vedhæft bilag' (Attach documentation).
Enter your phone number and select, if relevant, when it will best suit you that we call you.
You may enter your email address in the field 'Tilføj ekstra e-mail-adresse' (Add additional email address). You will then be notified when we have processed your case.
Click 'Send' (Send).
When we have processed your case, we will inform you of when and how you need to pay by logging on at skat.dk/tastselv, selecting 'Kontakt' (Contact) and then 'Se svar fra os' (See our reply). If you have provided your email address, we will also notify you by email.

Online shopping and special duties

Goods on which you must pay special duties

Who must declare and pay special duties?

How to pay special duties