Can I send alcohol or tobacco to the Philippines?
No.
Couriers generally refuse alcohol and tobacco in personal boxes. Travelers' allowances don't apply to shipments.
For every Onvoyo box: Onvoyo and most express couriers don't carry alcohol, tobacco or vaping products in personal boxes, whatever the destination allows.
More rules for the Philippines
Quantity limits
- Tobacco and alcohol (travelers only)
- Two reams of cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g of pipe tobacco, plus 2 bottles of liquor, worth less than PHP 10,000 in total, free of duty, VAT, and excise. Does not apply to shipments.
Before you ship to the Philippines
- Tax-free limit
- Shipments with an FOB or FCA value (the goods alone, without shipping) of PHP 10,000 (about USD 160) or less pay no duty or VAT. Declare a specific value for every item: customs won't give express release to boxes marked "no commercial value" or "for customs purposes only". Medicines, food, cosmetics, and other regulated goods still have to meet agency rules unless they are for personal use and within set limits. Consignments from the same sender to the same receiver on one courier manifest are added together, and at PHP 50,000 or more they need a formal entry.
- Receiver ID
- No tax number is needed to receive a personal box. The courier needs the receiver's full name, address, and mobile number, and may ask for a copy of a valid ID. Returning residents who claim duty-free entry need a Tax Identification Number (TIN) to apply for the Department of Finance's Tax Exemption Indorsement.
- Transit
- 3-6 business days from Asia; 4-8 from North America, Europe, or the Middle East
Questions
Can I send alcohol or tobacco to the Philippines?
No. Couriers generally refuse alcohol and tobacco in personal boxes. Travelers' allowances don't apply to shipments.
Ask about a specific item
Official sources
- 1.
Department of Health, Food and Drug Administration, and Bureau of Customs
Joint Circular No. 1: Importation of FDA-DOH Regulated Products for Personal Use (opens in a new tab) - 2.
Bureau of Animal Industry (posted by the Embassy of the Philippines in Washington, D.C.)
Memorandum Circular No. 48, Series of 2021: Veterinary Quarantine Guidelines for the Import of Meat Intended for Personal or Non-Commercial Use (opens in a new tab) - 3.
Bureau of Customs
Guidelines on Arriving Travelers (opens in a new tab) - 4.
Supreme Court of the Philippines E-Library
Republic Act No. 4653 - An Act to Safeguard the Health of the People and Maintain the Dignity of the Nation by Declaring It a National Policy to Prohibit the Commercial Importation of Textile Articles Commonly Known as Used Clothing and Rags (opens in a new tab) - 5.
- 6.
Supreme Court of the Philippines E-Library
Republic Act No. 10863 - An Act Modernizing the Customs and Tariff Administration (opens in a new tab) - 7.
Bureau of Customs (via Supreme Court of the Philippines E-Library)
Customs Administrative Order No. 01-2018 - Amended Rules on Consolidated Shipment of "Balikbayan Boxes" (opens in a new tab)
General guidance, not legal advice. Customs in the Philippines makes the final decision on every box.