As you arrive in Bermuda by air or sea, there are certain items you can import into the country without paying any import duty or taxes. Duty free allowances include all personal effects that you do not intend to sell, sporting goods, gift items up to a $30 value, one liter of alcoholic spirits, one liter of wine, 200 cigarettes, 0.5 kilograms of tobacco and 50 cigars. Books, newspapers and magazines may be imported duty-free without limits. In order to qualify as duty-free, personal effects must leave Bermuda within six months of your arrival there.
All beer brought into Bermuda is liable for import duty at a rate of approximately 30 cents per bottle or 90 cents per liter. Any goods over the duty-free limits outlined in the previous section are dutiable. The import tax for most items is 22.25 percent of the item's total value. Exceptions to this rate include TVs, radios, sodas, cigars and other tobacco which are assessed at 33.5 percent. Wine over the liter duty-free allowance is taxed at $2.68 per liter, and spirits are dutiable at $24.15 per liter. Fruit juices are also taxed, at a 5 percent rate.
Several kinds of goods are either restricted or prohibited for import to Bermuda. Live animals may only be imported with a permit from the Bermuda Department of Environmental Protection. Certain species may not be imported--dead or alive--without a specific license from the Department of Environmental Protection. These include marine turtles, marine mammals such as dolphins, corals, and certain types of marine shells. Firearms, weapons and explosives are all prohibited for import to Bermuda. Illegal drugs are also prohibited. If you are on a methadone treatment, you may not import methadone but may receive methadone treatment at a Bermudian facility. Fresh fruit and vegetables may not be imported unless a release form is issued to the importer by the Department of Environmental Protection. Certain foodstuffs are prohibited for import to Bermuda: raw carrots, corn, maize, sweet potatoes, citrus fruit from Florida, or potatoes from areas where potato wart or golden cyst nematode has been identified--most of Europe and parts of North America.
