The value of duty-free goods that Irish people will be able to bring back from trips taken outside the EU will triple under an EU plan published yesterday.
Under the current EU duty-free scheme, travellers can only import goods worth €175 before they are liable to VAT.
This would increase to €500 from January 1st, 2007, if states agree to back the plan by European tax commissioner Lazlo Kovacs.
The new scheme would also abolish the current quantitative limits on perfume, coffee and tea.
Beer would be subject to import restrictions of 16 litres - currently there are no limits on the amount of beer that can be brought into the EU.
The new limit for beer is being introduced because of the problems faced by some member states by the importation of large quantities of beer over land borders.
The existing one litre restriction on spirits would not change, and states would be given the opportunity to tighten the quantitative restrictions on tobacco products brought into the EU to support their health policies.
EU citizens can currently bring up to 200 cigarettes into the EU without paying tax.
Mr Kovacs said the plan would benefit consumers and also benefit governments by reducing the administrative costs in collecting relatively small amounts of duty.
"Many of the rules on travellers' allowances were set down in a directive adopted in 1969 and are no longer relevant in today's world" he said.
"It has been taken into account that the administrative cost and resources required in controlling and collecting duty on goods worth €175 or less is disproportionate to the tax involved."
The proposed new €500 limit for imported duty-free goods would only apply to air travellers. Travellers coming back to the EU by road, rail or sea would face a new upper limit of €220 on imported duty-free goods.
The proposed scheme will be debated by ministers for finance at a Council of Ministers meeting over the next few months.
It is expected to come into force at the start of 2007.