Prohibited and Restricted Items for Shipment
USA
- Soil
- Materials inciting separatism or treason
- Syrian-origin oil or petroleum products
- Shipments requiring any form of temporary importation through US customs territory, except those pre-approved by ICS
- Goods imported in violation of copyright, trademark, and/or patent laws
- Goods produced by forced, penal, or debt labor
- Wood products from China containing logs, branches, or twigs with a diameter exceeding 1 centimeter and with bark intact
- Birds, poultry, and unprocessed poultry meat from regions where the H5N1 avian influenza virus has been registered
- Wildlife products requiring approval from the US Fish and Wildlife Service before export
- African elephant tusks are prohibited except for certain processed ivory items, lawfully acquired and removed from the wild before February 26, 1976, if the item contains less than 200 grams of ivory and meets specific conditions: items part of a household move, inheritance, or traveling exhibition, law enforcement samples, genuine scientific specimens, musical instruments, furniture, and firearms
- Goods requiring inspection/release at a USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine specialized facility (for propagative plant material, plant products, CITES-regulated items, insects, etc.), or at a Food Safety and Inspection Service facility (for meat, poultry, and egg products)
- Switchblade knives
- Hemp products, such as cosmetics, clothing, food items, etc., containing tetrahydrocannabinols (THC)
- Shipments requiring export registration performed by ICS (items sent for repair and return are subject to full duties and taxes if proper procedures are not followed)
- All drug paraphernalia-related pipes, such as smoking pipes, used as narcotics accessories
- Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs (Easter chocolate eggs with a toy inside)
European Union
- Explosives
- Radioactive materials
- Cigarettes
- Cigars
- Tobacco for water pipes
- Chewing tobacco
- Some food items from certain countries may not be customs-cleared. Please contact ICS for further information.
- Ozone-depleting substances (ODS, such as HCFCs or halons), or products containing them, except for aircraft fire extinguishers (import requires a license and clearance before receiving the shipment!).
- Medicines, including over-the-counter and some dietary supplements, considered medicines according to German regulations. Shipments from pharmaceutical manufacturers or importers with import permits/licenses are permissible.
- Live animals ("animals" according to standard zoological/scientific definition, including insects. Drosophila Melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans are exempt).
- All meat and dairy products (including products made from milk or meat, such as whey protein and jerky) for private individuals (including gifts).
- Goods/products of Iranian origin ("Made in Iran") regardless of the shipment's origin or destination.
- Medicines, including over-the-counter and some dietary supplements (considered medicines) according to European Union regulations.
Customs Union
- Dangerous bioproducts
- Ice
- Knives
- Jewelry
- Imitation jewelry
- Seeds
- Radioactive materials
- Safe bioproducts
- Tobacco leaf
- Wine
- Aircraft parts
- Aerial photographs and satellite imagesа
- Gases
- Liquids (safe/dangerous)
- Stones in natural/unprocessed form
- Dangerous perfumes
- Air rifles and air pistols
- Pornography
- Stun guns
- Toy/model/simulated weapons
- Chemical substances
- Powders (all substances in powdered form)
- Psychotherapeutic substances
- Prescription and over-the-counter medicines
- Gas pistols
- Artworks, valuable
- Opium or hashish smoking devices
- Precious metals and stones, items containing them
- Dietary/food/nutritional supplements
- Goods/products of Iranian origin ("Made in Iran"), regardless of the shipment's origin or destination