Netherlands: more than half of smokers buy tobacco abroad

In the Netherlands, the minimum excise duty on cigarettes has doubled since 2020: it has stood at €390.42 per 1,000 cigarettes, or €7.81 per pack of 20, since April 2024. Yet according to the Dutch statistics office CBS, its revenue fell to €2.6 billion in 2025, 15% less than in 2024 and almost a fifth below the 2023 record (€3.1 billion).

CBS, which published these figures on 20 April 2026, points to two trends: there are fewer smokers, and those who remain increasingly buy their tobacco abroad. The government drew its conclusion in September 2026: its budget includes no excise increase for 2027.

Excise doubled, a pack at €11.80

According to CBS, the minimum tax on 1,000 cigarettes rose from €191.28 in 2019 to €238.31 in 2020, €293.58 in 2023 and then €390.42 in 2024. The minimum on rolling tobacco tripled, from €114.65 to €346.98 per kilo. In our database, a pack of Marlboro went from €8 in 2020 to €11.80 in 2026.

By our calculation, that pack carries at least €9.86 in tax: €7.81 of excise and €2.05 of VAT at 21%, or 84% of its price. Cigarettes bring in more than 80% of tobacco excise revenue.

More than half of smokers buy abroad

The Leefstijlmonitor, the lifestyle survey run by the Trimbos Institute with RIVM and CBS, asks smokers aged 18 and over whether they bought tobacco abroad in the previous twelve months. In 2024, 54% said yes, against 31% in 2020. The breakdown, as a share of smokers, from 2020 to 2024:

• Once: from 10.8% to 18.1%
• A few times: from 15.0% to 23.9%
• Often: from 3.6% to 6.4%
• Always: from 1.7% to 6.0%

Regular buyers, who often or always buy abroad, rose from 5% to 12% of smokers in four years. The survey does not say where. But the Netherlands has only two land neighbours, Belgium and Germany, and prices clearly point to the latter.

Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg: where tobacco is cheaper

• [Luxembourg](/pays/luxembourg): €7.70 for a pack of Marlboro
• [Germany](/pays/allemagne): €8.65
• Netherlands: €11.80
• [Belgium](/pays/belgique): €13.00

These 2026 prices come from our database. In Germany, the pack costs €3.15 less, which is €31.50 per carton and about €1,150 a year for a pack a day. German tax, 12.28 cents per cigarette plus 19.84% of the retail price in 2026, comes to about €4.17 there: barely more than half the Dutch minimum.

Belgium, long the destination for Dutch smokers, no longer is. It raised its excise every year from 2023 to 2025 and, since 1 January 2025, taxes cigarettes at 31.5% of the price plus €189.78 per 1,000, about €7.89 on a €13 pack: as much as in the Netherlands. Luxembourg, the cheapest, has no border with the Netherlands.

No increase in 2027: the Finance Ministry gives up

“At the current level of tobacco excise, increases are expected to lead to strong behavioural effects, which will ultimately cancel out the extra revenue entirely.” Dutch Ministry of Finance, 2027 tax key table, September 2026

This note accompanies the 2027 budget presented on 15 September 2026. An increase would raise €9 million at most, and a 10-cent cut per pack would cost €6 million on cigarettes. The minimum therefore stays at €7.81 per pack in 2027 (see prices on 1 January 2027 in other countries), while Germany plans to raise its average pack from €8.77 in 2027 to €11.36 in 2030, if the Bundestag passes the bill.

What Dutch customs allow

According to the Dutch government, a traveller returning from Germany or another EU country may bring back 800 cigarettes, or 4 cartons, for personal use without paying Dutch tax. Above that, customs may ask for proof of purchase, and resale remains prohibited. Ordering online is no way round it: distance selling of tobacco has been banned in the Netherlands since 1 July 2023, including from abroad. Our customs guide explains the rules.

Fewer smokers, but a leak at the border

Price does work: according to CBS, the share of daily smokers among people aged 12 and over fell from 18.2% in 2015 to 11.5% in 2025, and our analysis of the effect of price increases shows it is one of the best-documented levers. But it weakens when the neighbouring country sells the same pack for much less, and the EU minimum of €90 per 1,000 cigarettes does not close these gaps.

In the Netherlands, the Stoplijn answers free of charge on 0800-1995, and basic health insurance covers quit-smoking support with no deductible. In France, Tabac Info Service answers on 39 89. Our stop smoking guide lists the methods that work.

Sources

• CBS, tobacco excise revenue and purchases abroad, 20 April 2026. cbs.nl
• Dutch Ministry of Finance, 2027 tax key table, September 2026. rijksoverheid.nl
• Germany, Tobacco Tax Act, section 2. gesetze-im-internet.de
• Germany, bill 21/7859. bundestag.de
• Belgium, law of 3 April 1997 on tobacco, article 3. ejustice.just.fgov.be
• Dutch government, cigarettes brought back from Germany. nederlandwereldwijd.nl
• European Commission, Your Europe, tobacco bought in another EU country. europa.eu
• Staatsblad 2023, no. 416: ban on distance selling of tobacco. officielebekendmakingen.nl
• Dutch government, help to quit smoking. rijksoverheid.nl
• 2026 prices and confidence rating: our country page