App to avoid unpleasant surprises at Belgian customs

Belgian customs are launching a digital application aimed at travellers. Many tourists coming from abroad don't know which products they can take into the country. The new app should inform them in a swift and efficient manner to avoid unpleasant surprises and disappointments.

How many cigarettes or bottles of spirits can you buy in tax free shops? How much cash can you carry with you? Which pets can enter Belgium? Can you take your pet on the plane? 

An answer to these questions can be found via the app called 'Belgian Customs', developed by Belgian customs and available for free. "When travellers bring things that are not allowed, it's often out of ignorance, because they just didn't know, rather than because they want to mislead customs deliberately", says Francis Adyns, spokesman for the federal customs department.

"The obvious things are tobacco and alcohol, but the amount of cash that you can carry with you is less obvious. Another important thing is which plants and animals that can be taken. We are not only talking about exotic species here." 

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