Taking cigars from Bali to Australia: how many you can bring

Travellers aged 18 or over can bring 25 grams of cigars into Australia duty free: the allowance is 25 cigarettes or 25 grams of other tobacco products, plus one open packet of cigarettes. If you carry more, you must declare it when you land, and duty and GST are then charged on all of your tobacco, the first 25 grams included.

That is the rule as the Australian Border Force (ABF) sets it out on its page What duty free can you bring in?, last updated on 22 October 2026. It applies to visitors and Australian residents alike. Children under 18 cannot bring tobacco into Australia at all. Rules like this change, so check the ABF page before you fly.

How many cigars is 25 grams?

Cigars count by weight, and a full-size cigar holds far more tobacco than a cigarette. US government figures put a large cigar at between 5 and 20 grams of tobacco, a cigarillo at about 3 grams and a cigarette at under 1 gram. So 25 grams is somewhere between one and five full-size cigars, depending on their size, or about eight cigarillos.

A box of 20 is over the allowance whatever size the cigars are. If you are close to the line, weigh what you are carrying on kitchen scales before you pack, and keep the receipt with the cigars. The ABF asks for proof of purchase when it works out what you owe.

What counts towards the allowance?

All of your tobacco counts, and it shares one allowance. The ABF lists cigarettes, tobacco, cigars, chewing tobacco and snuff under it, and the limit is written as 25 cigarettes or 25 grams. If you carry cigarettes and cigars together, declare them and let the officer work out where you stand.

The one extra the ABF allows is an open packet of cigarettes. It lists nothing similar for cigars, so an open box, or the three cigars left in your travel case, counts towards the 25 grams like the rest.

Where you bought them makes no difference. The limit covers cigars bought overseas, cigars bought duty free in Australia before you left, and cigars from an arrivals duty free shop when you land.

What happens if I bring more than 25 grams?

You can still bring them in. Most tobacco is a prohibited import in Australia and needs a permit, but the ABF says travellers do not need one for tobacco they carry with them. You do have to declare it and pay the duty.

1. Answer yes to the alcohol and tobacco question on your Incoming Passenger Card, which asks whether you have more than 25 cigarettes or 25g of tobacco products. If your flight is part of the pilot for the digital Australia Travel Declaration, you answer the same question there instead.
2. Show the cigars and your receipt to an ABF officer.
3. Pay the duty and GST the officer works out, at the counter or online if you are given an invoice.

The duty is charged on all of your tobacco, the first 25 grams included. If you do not declare tobacco over the allowance, the ABF says you might be prosecuted or have your visa cancelled, and Home Affairs adds that the tobacco can be taken from you and financial penalties can apply. How serious it gets depends on how much undeclared tobacco is found. The ABF’s own advice is short: if in doubt, declare.

How much duty is charged on cigars?

Imported cigars pay customs duty at the same rate as Australian tobacco excise. From 1 September 2026 that is A$2,587.90 per kilogram of tobacco content for any cigar holding more than 0.8 grams of tobacco, which covers everything but the very smallest little cigars. Those few are charged A$1.55274 per stick instead. Both rates are on the ATO’s excise duty rates page (last updated 13 August 2026) and in Chapter 24 of the ABF’s current tariff (last updated 28 September 2026). They rise every March and September in line with average weekly earnings, so expect a new figure in March 2027.

For one box of 20 cigars, the duty at that rate works out like this. The whole box is charged, because the box is over the allowance.

GST comes on top. It is 10 per cent of the value of the goods plus the duty, with transport and insurance added where they apply, so it depends on what you paid. The ABF officer does the sums on the day from your receipt and the weight, so treat the table as a guide to the method.

Are Cuban cigars legal in Australia?

Yes. Cigars from Cuba are legal to bring into Australia, and travellers need no permit for them. Australia has no sanctions on Cuba, which does not appear on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s list of sanctions regimes. Cuban cigars count towards the same 25 grams as any other cigar and pay the same duty by weight.

The ban many people have heard of is American. The United States runs its own sanctions program on Cuba, and that program has no say over what you carry into Australia.

Do cigars from Bali airport duty free count?

Yes. “Duty free” at Bali’s airport describes the shop, and Australia’s allowance is about what you carry when you land. The ABF’s duty free concessions page says its limits cover goods bought overseas, goods bought duty or tax free in Australia, and goods from an arrivals duty free shop. Cigars from Bali airport duty free count towards the 25 grams in the same way as cigars from anywhere else in Bali.

Keep the receipt with the cigars wherever they came from. If you are over the allowance, the officer needs it to work out the GST.

Why do some websites say you can bring 50 cigars?

The limit used to be higher, and old answers stay online. Treasury’s 2016 regulation impact statement records that the allowance fell from 250 cigarettes or 250 grams of cigars or tobacco products to 50 cigarettes or 50 grams on 1 September 2012. The 2016-17 Budget halved it again, and the Department of Health confirmed at the time that from 1 July 2017 the limit was 25 grams plus one open packet. “50 cigars” looks like a misreading of the old 50-gram rule, which never allowed 50 cigars either.

The other date that causes confusion is 1 July 2019. From then on most tobacco became a prohibited import that needs a permit, but Home Affairs said at the time that duty free allowances would not change. Travellers still need no permit for what they carry, and the 25-gram limit has stood since 2017.

Why are cigars so expensive in Australia?

Duty is a large part of it. The ATO says no legal tobacco is made in Australia, so cigars sold there are imported and pay customs duty at the border at the rates above. The per-kilogram rate rose from A$2,445.26 to A$2,587.90 on 1 September 2026. That rise combined the usual indexation with the last step of a change, phased in each September since 2023, that brings the per-kilogram rate into line with the per-stick rate for cigarettes. At the current rate, the duty alone on one 15-gram cigar is about A$38.82, before GST.

Carrying cigars from Bali does not avoid this. Above 25 grams, the same duty is charged at the airport on the whole amount.

How should I pack cigars for the flight?

Keep cigars in their box, or in a sealed bag if the box is too bulky, and carry them in your cabin bag. That way they stay with you and out of the heat, and they are easy to show an officer if you declare them. Airlines and aviation security set their own rules on what can go in the cabin, lighters and cutters included, so check with your airline.

The air on a plane is dry, and so is air-conditioned air at either end of the trip. A closed box or a sealed bag holds its moisture far better than a loose cigar in a shirt pocket, which can dry out and crack. Cigars keep best at 65 to 72% humidity and 18 to 21°C, so once you arrive, put them somewhere cool and stable, or in a humidor if you will keep them for more than a few days. Our guide to storing cigars explains why.

Where can I check the rules before I fly?

The ABF’s pages are the ones that count at the airport: What duty free can you bring in? for the allowance and Tobacco for declaring and duty. If you expect to go over 25 grams, check the ATO’s current rates in the week you travel, because they change every March and September. This guide follows those pages as they stood on 29 October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice, and what you pay is whatever the ABF officer assesses on the day.

This guide comes from Papasito, a cigar brand born in Bali whose cigars are hand rolled in Jember, East Java, from Havana-seed tobacco and sold in Indonesia only, to adults aged 21 and over.