Information on the obligation to declare cash

What are the rules?

If you plan to enter or leave the EU with € 10 000 or more in cash (or its equivalent in other currencies) you must declare it to the customs authority in writing.

Monetary instruments to be declared:

§ Currency – paper money and coins in circulation as a medium of exchange e.g.: Hungarian forint, Euro, British pound, US dollar, Bulgarian lev, Polish zloty, Romanian leu, Israeli shekel… etc.;

§ Bearer-negotiable instruments, including monetary instruments in bearer form such as travellers cheques;

§ Negotiable instruments (including cheques, promissory notes and money orders) that are either in bearer form, endorsed without restriction, made out to a fictitious payee, or otherwise in such form that title thereto passes upon delivery;

§ Incomplete instruments (including cheques, promissory notes and money orders) signed, but with the payee's name omitted.

Instruments not considered as cash under the current legislation:

§   Precious metals;

§   Gold;

§   Precious stones;

§   Currency that is no longer valid as means of payment

§   Old coins (collection coins) and bullion coins;

§   Banknotes and coins that are not freely convertible,;

§   Multi-purpose electronic cash cards.

Who must make a declaration?

Any natural person entering or leaving the EU and carrying cash of a value of €10 000 or more is required to declare that sum to the competent authorities of the Member State through which he/she is entering or leaving the EU.

• Any natural person is any traveller or crewmember that enters or leaves the EU by air, road, rail or sea.
• If this person is carrying cash for a legal entity (e.g. the company for which he/she works), that person must give the name of the company in the declaration.
• For persons travelling in a group the € 10 000 limit applies to each person individually.
• The obligation to declare cash also applies to minors through their parents or legal guardians, and to mentally incompetent persons or protected adult persons through their legal representation.

Why this obligation?

The obligation to declare cash on entering or leaving the EU is part of the community strategy to combat money laundering and to counter the financing of terrorism.

Declaration of cash

The obligation to declare cash is to be fulfilled in writing on the common EU cash declaration form applied in the EU Members States. The declaration can be filled out in Hungarian and English.

Common EU cash declaration form Hungarian version: (CDF_HU.pdf)

Common EU cash declaration form English version: (CDF_EN.pdf)

Attention: In some EU Member States rules of the obligation to declare and on the rules of control are extended on the movements of cash within the EU. Therefore passengers are advised to inquire information on the obligation to declare cash in the countries of their interest through the diplomatic representations in Hungary.

What happens if you do not comply with the obligation?

In the event of false, inaccurate or incomplete information, the signatory will be considered not to have fulfilled the obligation to declare cash and is liable to penalties up to 10%, 40%, 60% of the non-declared or falsely declared amount under the Act XLVIII of 2007 on the implementation of regulation 1889/2005/EC. The penalty should be paid on the spot. If the penalty is not paid on the spot the customs authority is entitled and obliged to detain the sum of the penalty.

Further information can be obtained from the official website of the European Commission’s Taxation and Customs Union Directorate-General:

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/customs/customs_controls/cash_controls/index_en.htm