Ships Stores
Ships stores are any goods (including tobacco and alcohol) for use or consumption on board a craft by passengers or crew, or for the service of a craft. Duty free stores are stores which may, under certain conditions, be shipped from New Zealand free of Customs duty.
To obtain approval from the New Zealand Customs Service to ship the stores, the owner, agent, or person in charge must complete a
requisition form for duty free stores and submit it to the New Zealand Customs Service no later than 12 hours prior to departure. The form must be fully completed, including the quantity of stores on board, and must be signed and dated. (Ship providores normally undertake this process as agent for the master of a cruise vessel.)
Stores cannot be delivered to the vessel unless approval from the New Zealand Customs Service has been granted.
The requisition form must be receipted (signed, dated and stamped) by the person in charge of the craft, or on their behalf, when the stores are received on board. The providore must retain a copy for audit purposes.
Stores may be shipped duty free under the condition that they shall be entered for export and therefore they cannot be removed from the craft prior to its departure.
The following quantities may be approved, per person, as ships stores:
- beer – 3 x cans or bottles not exceeding 375mls per day and
- wine – 1 x 750ml bottle per day and
- spirits or liqueurs – 2 x 1125ml bottle per 10 days and
- cigarettes – 20 cigarettes per day and
- tobacco – 250 grams per 10 days and
- cigars – 5 (regardless of weight) per 10 days.