Importing tobacco

Permits are approved and issued by Customs. That means if you want to import certain kinds of tobacco products - including tobacco intended for gifting - you will have to apply for a permit. You need to have the permit before you import the goods. If the goods arrive and you do not have a permit, the goods will be seized and destroyed. Permits are issued free of charge. 

You cannot receive any tobacco products, including leaf and refuse and water pipe tobacco, through the international mail. This includes if you hold a permit. Tobacco must only be imported using a freight forwarder, the fast-freight courier system, or as bulk sea or air cargo. You are still able to use New Zealand Post’s international courier service International Freight Services (IFS), but not their Express Mail Service (EMS) which is part of international mail. Any tobacco products imported using EMS will be seized and destroyed even if a permit is held. You need to make this clear when placing your order.

Any tobacco products (including water-pipe tobacco), leaf or refuse imported without a permit will be seized and destroyed. Customs will send a written notice to importers confirming the seizure and destruction of the tobacco products, leaf and refuse. In the unlikely event of the product being seized and destroyed in error (for example, when the person had a valid permit to import), the importer will be entitled to compensation for the customs value of the products.

There is a requirement by the Ministry of Health to keep accurate records relating to all regulated products. This applies to all: 

• importers
• exporters
• manufacturers
• distributors
• retailers.

Regulated products include:

• smoked tobacco
• vaping
• herbal smoking
• smokeless tobacco products
• tobacco products used with tobacco heating systems, also known as heated tobacco products.

Since 1 July 2024, excise and excise-equivalent duty rates on products that heat tobacco for inhalation without combustion (also known as heated tobacco products) have been reduced by 50 percent.

The reduced excise and excise-equivalent duty rates were made permanent to take effect from 1 January 2025.

The Ministry of Health is continuing to monitor the impact of the reduced excise rates on Heated Tobacco Products.

From 25 May 2022, water-pipe tobacco is a prohibited import requiring a permit to import. This means it is treated in the same manner as tobacco products, tobacco leaf and tobacco refuse that became a prohibited import from 1 July 2020 unless a permit to import has been issued by the New Zealand Customs Service. Water-pipe tobacco includes flavoured, hookah, shisha, molasses and fruit tobacco.

The current method of charging duty and the duty rate for water-pipe tobacco has changed with effect from 25 May 2022. The previous method of charging duty based on declared kilogram of tobacco content (KTC) is replaced by charging based on total weight.

Information on the excise and excise-equivalent duty rate for water-pipe tobacco is available in the Working Tariff.

A permit is not required to import cigars, cigarillos, chewing tobacco, snuff and snus - these exempted items can be imported through international mail.

There is an absolute prohibition in the Smoke-Free Environments Act 1990 on the importation for sale of tobacco, which is suitable for chewing, or any other oral use other than smoking.

Chewing tobacco cannot be imported for sale.

If you have a query relating to the sale of chewing tobacco, contact the Ministry of Health.

Passengers arriving into New Zealand with tobacco do not need a permit, and individual duty-free tobacco limits are unchanged.

• More information about duty-free limits  
• View frequently asked questions about tobacco 
• For further information about importing tobacco products, email tobaccopermits@customs.govt.nz.

Customs has the option of issuing an infringement notice ($400) for minor offending or prosecuting more serious offending.

• For importing prohibited goods, the maximum penalty on conviction is a fine not exceeding $5,000 for an individual and a fine not exceeding $25,000 for a body corporate.
• This offence is also prescribed as an infringement offence in the Customs and Excise Act 2018.

For knowingly importing prohibited goods the maximum penalties on conviction are:

• imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months; or a fine not exceeding the greater of $20,000 or an amount equal to 3 times the value of the goods to which the offence relates in the case of an individual;
• a fine not exceeding the greater of $100,000 or an amount equal to 3 times the value of the goods to which the offence relates in the case of a body corporate.
• Infringement notices cannot be issued for this offence.

Other offences under the Customs and Excise Act 2018

Depending on the circumstances, individual cases of tobacco smuggling may engage other existing offences and penalties under the Customs and Excise Act 2018 relating to such matters as falsification of import documentation and defrauding Crown revenue.

These offences can apply to tobacco products currently and are not impacted in any way by these new changes.

From 25 May 2022, water-pipe tobacco is a prohibited import, included in the definition of manufactured tobacco, see section 95A of the Customs and Excise Act 2018, and requiring a permit to import. This means water-pipe tobacco is treated in the same way as other manufactured tobacco, tobacco leaf and refuse which became prohibited imports requiring a permit to import from 1 July 2020. Water-pipe tobacco includes flavoured, hookah, shisha, molasses and fruit tobacco.

Permits are approved and issued by the New Zealand Customs Service (Customs). Any importations of these products without a permit, or not in accordance with the conditions of the permit, will be seized and destroyed by Customs.

In addition to becoming a prohibited import unless a permit to import has been issued, the current method of charging duty and the duty rate for water-pipe tobacco has changed with effect from 25 May 2022. The current method of charging duty based on declared kilogram of tobacco content (KTC) is replaced by charging based on total weight. The excise and excise-equivalent duty rate for water-pipe tobacco is $251.74 per kilogram, plus 5% of the VFD.

Also you cannot receive these prohibited products through the international mail system. They must only be imported using a freight forwarder, the fast-freight courier system or as bulk sea or air cargo. You are still able to use New Zealand Post’s international courier services (International Freight Services).

The new rules enable Customs to seize and destroy all illegally imported tobacco products, leaf and refuse.

Tobacco products are cigarettes, pipe tobacco, hand rolling tobacco and water-pipe tobacco. Tobacco leaf is whole plants or leaves in the natural state, or as cured or fermented leaves. It also includes tobacco that has been stemmed or stripped, trimmed or untrimmed and broken or cut, including pieces cut to shape. Tobacco refuse is any scraps, waste, chippings, stems, or deposits of tobacco resulting from the processing of tobacco.

No. A permit is not required to import cigars, cigarillos, chewing tobacco, snuff and snus.

When you import or bring tobacco products into New Zealand, you must comply with New Zealand laws. You must pay all relevant taxes on your imported tobacco at the border. In recent years, there has been an increasing volume of tobacco products, tobacco leaf and refuse coming into New Zealand through the international mail system. Tobacco leaf can be manufactured into cigarettes for sale on the black market without excise tax being paid.

Customs also suspects that some importers of water-pipe tobacco products which are used in hookah or shisha smoking devices, have been under-declaring the tobacco content of their products and, therefore, evading much of the duty they should be paying.

This disadvantages legitimate tobacco importers, manufacturers and retailers that pay excise taxes on their products and New Zealanders who are paying full excise tax on the tobacco products they buy at retail outlets.

Customs protects and promotes New Zealand by protecting our borders. This includes undertaking due diligence of imported products, such as tobacco products, tobacco leaf and refuse, and tobacco importers, manufacturers and retailers who import these products into New Zealand. A permit system ensures bona fide importers are paying the required excise tax.

The application form is a simple one-page document. Email tobaccopermits@customs.govt.nz to request an application form.

All importers are required to apply for a permit.  Permits are issued free of charge.

No. You have never been able to manufacture tobacco products for your own use using imported tobacco leaf or refuse. The personal use exemption in the Customs and Excise Act 2018 relates only to tobacco where you have grown the leaf on your own property and manufactured it for your own use. It enables the individual to make five kilograms in any year. It cannot be sold or distributed.

Permit applications will be processed in ten (10) working days. It is not guaranteed that you will get a permit by simply filling out and sending the application form. No permit will be issued to a person under the age of 18 years, or to anyone Customs identifies as having previously smuggled tobacco products or who has undertaken illegal manufacturing previously in New Zealand.

Private or new importers will be issued a single-use permit that can be used once and will be valid for 12 months, from the date of issue.  For Customs-controlled areas licensed to manufacture tobacco, the permit remains valid for as long as they remain licensed. For established importers, permits are issued for three years.

Private or new importers will be issued a single-use permit that can be used once and will be valid for 12 months, from the date of issue. There is no ‘permit by consignment’ option.

No, a permit is not transferable – only the permit holder can use it.

No, permits will not be issued after product has arrived in the country. You must apply for a permit before you import any cigarettes, pipe tobacco, hand rolling tobacco, water-pipe tobacco, tobacco leaf or refuse.

Any cigarettes, pipe tobacco, hand rolling tobacco products, water-pipe tobacco, tobacco leaf or refuse imported without a permit, or that do not comply with permit conditions, are seized and destroyed. There are a range of penalties that depend upon the severity of the offending. View a full list of penalties.

Any cigarettes, pipe tobacco, hand rolling tobacco products, water-pipe tobacco, tobacco leaf or refuse imported without a permit will be seized and destroyed by Customs.  The importer will be notified as soon as is reasonably practicable that their product has been seized and destroyed.

In the unlikely event of the product being seized and destroyed in error, the importer will be entitled to compensation for the customs value of the product.

Only cigarettes, pipe tobacco, hand rolling tobacco products, water-pipe tobacco, tobacco leaf or refuse imported without a permit will be seized. The other non-tobacco goods will be released unless they were used to conceal the illegally imported items.

You cannot receive any cigarettes, pipe tobacco, hand rolling tobacco, water-pipe tobacco, tobacco leaf or refuse that are sent as gifts to New Zealand. Only approved permit holders are allowed to send these products. If there is sufficient evidence that the product was a gift and the importer did not know, they are unlikely to be prosecuted but the product will still be seized and destroyed.

If you have product in transit before the law changed, and you do not have a permit, then contact Customs on 0800 428 786.

Yes. Importers may store transhipment cargo for short periods in an area licensed by Customs.

No. Duty free operators must store duty-free tobacco securely until it is sold to customers entitled to duty free purchases. The forms and processes involved in these sales are unchanged.  Customers entitled to duty free purchases may include relevant travellers, operators of a ship or aircraft for use as a ship or aircraft store, or military or diplomatic officials with access to duty free entitlements. Forms and processes involved with these sales are unchanged.

Passengers arriving into New Zealand with tobacco do not need a permit and individual duty-free tobacco limits are unchanged.

You have to apply for a permit to import tobacco leaf or refuse into New Zealand. If you want to manufacture tobacco in New Zealand, you need a permit and must also be licensed by Customs under section 59 of the Customs and Excise Act 2018.  As a condition of a permit being granted, an applicant must have a Customs-controlled Area licence for the manufacture of tobacco.

New Zealand Customs Service.

Yes, you will need a permit.