People usually send documents, clothes, books and personal medicines to Serbia with a traveler. One thing to know about Serbia: a foreigner brings in only their own personal luggage duty-free, while a gift for someone else counts as goods, and a valuable item must be declared at the border.
What you can usually send
You can send things that do not look like goods for sale. Individuals cannot bring commercial goods into Serbia.
- Documents: certificates, powers of attorney, original papers.
- Clothes, shoes, books and inexpensive gifts: in reasonable amounts. Remember that a gift is goods too, and an item worth more than 100 euros must be declared.
- Medicines for personal treatment: without documents, enough for up to 15 days of treatment, if they contain no psychoactive substances.
- Factory-packed food: in reasonable amounts, with the manufacturer's label, for yourself or your family, not for sale.
What you cannot send or should avoid
Serbian customs looks not only at bans but also at whether a parcel looks like trade.
- New electronics as a gift: personal luggage covers only devices the traveler uses themselves. A gadget bought to be left in Serbia as a gift is goods and must be declared.
- Medicines for 15 days to 6 months: you need approval from the Serbian Ministry of Health based on a doctor's opinion. More than 6 months of supply per year cannot be brought in.
- Medicines with psychoactive substances: the 15-day rule does not apply to them. If there is more than one package of up to 30 doses, you need a document showing the treatment is necessary. Check the document requirements with Serbian customs.
- Food of animal origin: up to 1 kg, and only if it does not come from a country from which such imports are banned. Serbia introduces such bans quickly, for example during animal disease outbreaks.
- Plants, fruit and vegetables: up to 5 kg of fresh fruit and vegetables of European origin, except potatoes, can come in without phytosanitary inspection.
- Snus: its import and sale are banned in Serbia.
- Weapons: only with a permit from a government authority. This is not something to send with a traveler.
- Power banks and spare batteries: on a plane, carry-on only, never in checked baggage. Under the IATA 2026 guidance, you can take no more than two power banks, each up to 100 Wh; larger ones are forbidden, and you can't charge them from the aircraft power supply. Spare batteries for devices: up to 100 Wh without approval, 100 to 160 Wh with the airline's approval and no more than two per device, over 160 Wh not allowed. Airlines may set stricter rules.
- Someone else's cash: under our rules, you cannot send any cash that belongs to another person.
Duty-free allowances
Serbia has no duty-free value allowance for foreigners beyond personal luggage. The 100-euro allowance for goods applies only to Serbian citizens.
- Personal luggage: duty-free: clothes, shoes, electronics, toiletries, medicines for regular treatment, meaning things needed on the trip.
- Goods worth more than 100 euros: must be reported to customs at the border. Up to 3,000 euros they are cleared on the spot: 10% duty plus VAT, usually 20%. Above 3,000 euros, only with a written declaration.
- One item cannot be split between several passengers: duty is charged on its full value.
- Alcohol: 1 liter of spirits or 1 liter of sparkling and liqueur wine, plus 1 liter of other wine.
- Tobacco: 50 cigarettes, or 25 cigarillos, or 10 cigars, or 50 g of tobacco.
- Perfume: 1 bottle of perfume up to 50 ml and 1 eau de toilette up to 25 ml.
- Cash: amounts from 10,000 euros must be declared on entry and exit. The threshold applies to each person, including children.
How to pack and what to check at handover
The traveler should see everything they carry. So the parcel is packed in front of them, not handed over as a closed box.
- Show every item at the meeting. The traveler does not take anything sealed.
- Add a receipt if the item is new: the traveler may need to declare it.
- For medicines: original packaging, a prescription or a doctor's opinion.
- Food: factory-packed only.
- Take photos of the contents and of the packed parcel, and share the recipient's contacts.
Who is responsible at the border
The person carrying the parcel is responsible. At Serbian customs the parcel counts as the traveler's goods. If an item is not declared or is banned, the traveler answers for it.
The green channel is only for passengers with nothing subject to duty. If the luggage includes gifts worth more than 100 euros, the traveler needs the red channel. A traveler can refuse an item if they are not sure it can be brought in.
Find a traveler to Serbia
Trips to Serbia are collected on route pages, for example Moscow → Belgrade and Saint Petersburg → Belgrade. All directions are on the routes page.
If there is no suitable trip, post a request: travelers on your route will see it and respond. The price calculator suggests how much to offer for delivery.
Sources
- Serbian Customs: passenger traffic
- Serbian Customs: personal luggage
- Serbian Customs: clearance in passenger traffic
- Serbian Customs: bans and restrictions
- Serbian Customs: bringing medicines in and out
- Serbian Customs: plants
- Serbian Customs: bringing currency in and out
- Serbian Customs: information for tourists
- Veterinary Directorate of Serbia: foot-and-mouth disease and preventive measures
- IATA: passengers travelling with lithium batteries
- Parcelane: prohibited and restricted items
Checked: November 2026. Rules change, so check the Serbian customs website before the trip.