Customs allowances and rules at Banjul International Airport

Duty-free personal allowances

The GRA sets duty relief for each person entering The Gambia, including returning Gambian nationals ¹. Its customs FAQ page lists the same allowances ².

• 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars, or a mix such as 100 cigarettes and 250 grams of tobacco ¹.
• 1 litre of spirits or 1 litre of wine, or 24 cans of beer ¹.
• 500 ml of perfume ¹.
• 2 mobile phones and 1 personal laptop ¹.
• 1 radio, plus binoculars and a camera ².

Clothing, personal effects and other exemptions

Passengers' baggage is a general exemption. It covers wearing apparel and personal or household effects that the traveller used at a former place of residence ^2,4.

Used personal effects of deceased persons are exempt, subject to limits the Commissioner General may set ⁴.

Special exemptions cover public bodies and privileged persons. The GRA lists disabled, blind and physically handicapped persons among them ². Returning staff of Gambian foreign missions, and Gambian military, police and security personnel returning from UN peacekeeping missions, are exempt ⁴.

The GRA says its brochures are not a full statement of the law and directs travellers to the nearest GRA customs office ^1,4.

Prohibited and restricted goods

Section 38 of the Customs and Excise Act 2010 lists goods that may not be imported. The GRA brochure names these among them ¹:

• Counterfeit coins or currency notes, and indecent articles ¹.
• Firearms, ammunition and items that look like lethal weapons, without a proper licence ¹.
• Illicit drugs, and expired food, drinks and medicine ¹.
• Ivory, wild animal skins, snake skins, turtle shell articles and wild plants ¹.
• Plastic bags and asbestos in all forms ¹.
• Restricted goods need a permit. Camera drones need clearance from the Ministry of Information and Communication. Handcuffs need a licence from the Minister of Interior. Live fish need a licence from the Ministry of Fisheries ¹.
• The UK government says codeine and diazepam are banned under Gambian drug laws ⁶.

Cash and declarations

The GRA says importation of currency in more than an amount of ten thousand dollars (US$10,000) must be declared and must follow customs procedures ³. Its FAQ page applies the rule to US$10,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency ².

Breaking these procedures can lead to seizure or confiscation of undeclared goods ³.

The UK government says The Gambia has strict rules on goods brought in or taken out. Anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty must be declared ⁵.

Vehicles and returning residents

A Gambian studying abroad may bring in one motor vehicle duty free, other than a bus or minibus. The person must have lived outside The Gambia for at least two years, with visits of no more than 90 days in total, and owned and used the vehicle for at least twelve months. The vehicle must be no older than 8 years, the owner at least 18, and no similar exemption granted before ².

The GRA says motor vehicles over 8 years old are not allowed into The Gambia under KS 1515:2000 ². It lists these charges on second-hand vehicles ²:

Searches, questions and appeals

Customs officers may question travellers about their baggage. They may search a person on reasonable grounds, and a female must be searched by a female ².

An objection to a decision of the Commissioner General must be lodged within 30 days. Complaints go up through the customs hierarchy, then to the Tax Tribunal and the courts. A tribunal decision is final if no appeal is lodged at the High Court within sixty days ².

The GRA head office is at Revenue House, 78 to 79 Liberation Avenue, Banjul. Its FAQ page gives the phone number +220 4223641 and the address info@gra.gm ².