This information may change. Always check the official source.Last verified: August 2026 by

Bringing things into Sri Lanka

Leave at home

  • E-cigarettes and vapes

Sri Lanka bans e-cigarettes, gives no tobacco allowance whatsoever, and prohibits the export of antiquities - which covers most of what the antique shops sell.

  • Electronic cigarettes are illegal. The import and sale ban has been in force since 2016 and devices are confiscated on arrival.
  • Antiquities may not be taken out. The prohibition covers anything over fifty years old in some categories, and the shops in Colombo will not tell you which.
  • The allowance is 1.5 litres of spirits and two bottles of wine per adult, plus 250 ml of eau de toilette and goods to USD 250 - and the arrivals duty-free shop is where most people use it.
  • There is no tobacco allowance at all. Cigarettes, cigars, beedis and snuff may not be brought in as personal baggage, accompanied or unaccompanied, which is not the 200-cigarette rule most of the region uses.
  • Cash above the declarable threshold must be reported, and there is a limit on taking Sri Lankan rupees out.
  • Drug penalties are severe, including long mandatory sentences.
  • Coral, shells and turtle products are prohibited to export, and beach sellers offer all three.

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Sources (2)

What this guide was checked against. Rules and prices change — follow the official link before you rely on a detail.