Limits on Consumer Goods and Transport of Selected Products to/from the Territory of Germany
If a citizen of the Czech Republic transports consumer goods across the border with Germany as a private person, that is, not as part of their business, but for their own needs, such person will be obliged to pay excise tax only in the Member State in which the goods were purchased.

 

For some types of consumer goods, there are quantity limits for transportation of consumer goods across the borders between the EU Member States for one’s own needs.

 

Consumer goods	Quantity
Tobacco products
Cigarettes	800 pieces
Cigars weighing up to 3 g per piece	400 pieces
Cigars	200 pieces
Tobacco for smoking	1 kg
Alcoholic beverages
Spirits	10 l
Sparkling wines	60 l
Wine	90 l
Beer	110 l
Other products
Coffee	10 kg
Products containing coffee	10 kg

The rules for transporting goods for one’s own needs do not apply to those goods that have not been properly taxed in the territory of an EU Member State, that is, particularly to counterfeits.

 

In addition, German regulations prohibit the import, export and also any form of reproduction of prohibited propaganda materials relating to banned political parties or societies. These include, for example, Deutsche Alternative, die Freiheitliche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, die Nationalistische Front and others. Materials related to the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, including all slogans associated with it, such as Heil Hitler, Sieg Heil and many others are especially banned. Handling imitations of prohibited materials is also a crime.

 

It is also prohibited to export paper documents or other data media which incite hatred towards a certain group of inhabitants or insult them or otherwise defile them.

  

 

Weapons
It can be generally said that the list of weapons prohibited in Germany is substantially longer than that in the Czech Republic. For instance, many types of knives are among the weapons that are absolutely prohibited in Germany.

 

Special regulations apply for certain groups, for instance, to hunters using the weapons for the purpose of hunting, to shooting sport competitor using the weapons for sports events or to members of societies whose mission is to preserve national customs, with such members participating in events of this kind for this purpose. In principle, these persons do not need any licence; nevertheless, they must always duly prove their membership of one of such groups and their participation at the event/gathering concerned.

 

If a citizen of the Czech Republic intends to transport a weapon across the border with Germany, it is always necessary to check in advance whether the weapon is subject to any licence and, if it is, what licence it is and to obtain the necessary licence.

 

A special simplified regulation applies to a holder of the European Firearms Licence, which is issued by the relevant Czech police department. After obtaining this licence, the citizen must, in principle, apply for a licence with a German authority.

If a person is licensed to carry a firearm in the territory of Germany, then the person is also authorised to possess the ammunition designed for the firearm in a reasonable quantity.

Fireworks
Germany punishes not only unauthorised sale of pyrotechnics but also their unauthorised possession and storage. Unauthorised handling of pyrotechnical devices (including their use and storage) is classified as a crime and can ultimately be punished with a prison sentence.

 

If a person travelling to Germany has pyrotechnics with them, it is first and foremost necessary to make sure that all such pyrotechnic devices are certified and bear the CE or BAM mark.

 

The German legal regulations define several categories of pyrotechnic devices. The prerequisite for handling them is reaching a certain age limit or obtaining a licence.

 

Type of pyrotechnic device	Age limit	Obligation to hold a licence for handling such pyrotechnic device
Category 1	12 years	NO
Category 2	18 years	YES, in principle [1]
Category 3	18 years	YES
Category 4	21 years	YES
Category P1	18 years	NO, in principle [2]
Category P2	21 years	YES
Category T1	18 years	NO
Category T2	21 years	YES

On 31 December and 1 January, less stringent requirements apply to the use of pyrotechnic devices in Germany.

 

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[1] A licence is necessary for using (launching) the following pyrotechnic devices from the second category: a) a vibrating object or a vibrating battery with Blitzknallsatz; b) a rocket with more than 20 grams of an explosive substance; c) a flare; and d) pyrotechnic devices containing solely a smoke component. These specified devices are largely included in Category 2.

[2] A licence is only required for Airbageinheit and Gurtstraffereinheit devices from Category P1, if they are not incorporated into a vehicle.

Czech citizens travelling to the territory of Germany are allowed to carry medicines for normal personal use with them, i.e. in a quantity sufficient for dosing the medicine for a maximum period of three months according to a physician’s recommendation. The same applies to medicines designed for animals travelling to Germany together with the citizen, but only if the animal is not to be slaughtered. It also applies that certain medicines are prohibited. Prohibited medicines include counterfeit medicines or prohibited doping substances such as testosterone or nandrolone.

 

Intoxicating substances such as morphine may only be imported on medical prescription and with a special certificate issued by the attending physician (in a dose for a maximum of 30 days).

German laws do not distinguish thoroughly between types of drugs in relation to their danger level (this is left to the judgement of the relevant authorities), nevertheless, many drugs fall into the category of intoxicating substances. However, in practice, various drugs are treated differently; for example, it applies that possession of a very small quantity of marijuana may not be a reason to commence criminal prosecution. However, if a person handles intoxicating substances without authorisation, criminal prosecution can be commenced at all times. In this context, it is also necessary to point out the fact that each federal state approaches the issue of possession of marijuana and possible waiver of criminal prosecution very differently.