Tobacco Cigarettes 🇵🇭 Philippines
400 cigarettes or 50 cigars duty-free
Can I bring Tobacco Cigarettes into Philippines?
400 cigarettes or 50 cigars duty-free
400 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g tobacco
Excise tax on excess
- Customs declaration form for quantities above duty-free allowance
Required at the destination customs authority
Full details
Travelers aged 18+ may bring 400 cigarettes (2 cartons) or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco duty-free into the Philippines. Quantities above the personal allowance attract excise tax (PHP 60 per pack of 20 cigarettes, rising annually) plus 12% VAT. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) requires excise stamps on all retail tobacco; tourists carrying duty-free purchases must keep the original receipt and packaging for inspection.
Occasional — Enforcement reported intermittently.
Duty-free: 2L alcohol, 400 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g tobacco per adult. Balikbayan boxes (large boxes sent by overseas Filipinos) valued at PHP 150,000 (~USD $2,700) or less are exempt from duties and taxes (once per year per sender). Arriving passengers may bring in PHP 10,000 (~USD $175) in general goods duty-free.
Declare quantities above the standard 200-cigarette / 50-cigar / 250g personal allowance to Bureau of Customs; bring the purchase receipt to compute excise + VAT. Keep duty-free purchases sealed in the original retailer bag for audit.
400 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g tobacco
- Customs declaration form for quantities above duty-free allowance
Excise tax on excess
CMTA RA 10863
This page covers destination customs rules in Philippines. Whether you can carry tobacco cigarettes through security, in carry-on, or in checked baggage depends on airline and screening rules — see air travel rules.
Related rules
Tobacco Cigarettes rules in other countries
Tobacco Cigarettes
🇦🇺 Australia
25 cigarettes duty-free per adult. Excess requires import permit and duty payment.
Tobacco Cigarettes
🇸🇬 Singapore
No duty-free tobacco allowance. All tobacco must be declared and duty paid.
Tobacco Cigarettes
🇻🇳 Vietnam
400 cigarettes duty-free
Tobacco Cigarettes
🇰🇷 South Korea
200 cigarettes duty-free for travelers over 19
Tobacco Cigarettes
🇪🇸 Spain
200 cigarettes from non-EU; 800 from EU
Tobacco Cigarettes
🇿🇦 South Africa
200 cigarettes duty-free