Prohibited items

Prohibited commodities are not permissible for transport. The following commodities are not accepted by DHL Express under any circumstances.

• Live animals (including but not limited to mammals, reptiles, fish, invertebrates, amphibians, birds, insects, larvae and pupae)
• Hunting (animal) trophies, animal parts such as ivory and sharks fin, animal remains or ashes, animal by-products
• Human remains or ashes
• Bullion (of any precious metal)
• Cash (legal tender - bank notes, currency notes, coins) and travellers cheques
• Loose precious and semi-precious stones (cut or un-cut, polished or un-polished)
• Complete original and imitation firearms and firearm parts, ammunition, explosives / explosive devices
• Illegal goods, such as counterfeit goods and narcotics
• Counterfeit goods in breach of intellectual property rights (IPR)

Property, the carriage of which is prohibited by any law, regulation or statute of any federal, state or local government of any country to or through which the shipment may be carried.

The following items will NOT be accepted for carriage unless otherwise agreed to by DHL Express. To obtain such agreement a business case will need to be conducted by DHL Express and the items approved for carriage will be recorded in writing with the Customer.

• Antiques, works of art and fine art with an individual value in excess of 500,000.00 EUR
• Banderols / Tax stickers with a shipment value in excess of EUR 500,000
• Cigarettes, cigars, tobacco products and electronic cigarettes or accessories with a shipment value in excess of EUR 500,000. Electronic cigarettes and accessories require DHL Express approval.
• Dangerous / hazardous goods including but not limited to perfumes, aftershaves, aerosols, flammable substances, dry ice, biological substances, UN classified dangerous goods and any goods specified as such under International Air Transport Association regulations ('IATA'), the Agreement on Dangerous Goods by Road ('ADR') or International Maritime Dangerous Goods ('IMDG') regulations
• Commemorative Coins or Medals and High Valuable Collectables with an individual value or total shipment value in excess of EUR 2,000
• Hunting (Animal) trophies and animal’s skins not intended for human consumption
• Financial and monetary commodities with a shipment value in excess of EUR 500,000. Examples include activated SIM cards for mobile telephones, gift cards, event tickets, lottery tickets, money or postal orders, pre-paid phone cards, tickets (blank stock), vouchers/tokens, unused stamps etc.
• Jewellery and watches and with individual values in excess of EUR 5,000 with a maximum individual approval value of EUR 10,000
• Toy guns, firearm parts, firearm attachments, ammunition parts, Tasers or controlled military items

DHL Express security policy states that it is not allowed to transport counterfeit goods via the DHL Express network. DHL Express does not want to be associated with counterfeit goods and upon suspicion of such goods being imported, Customs will be informed. If you are offered very low prices for branded goods that are sold on shopping websites or via other channels, you can normally assume that the goods are counterfeit. High quality branded goods that are often copied are:

• Shoes
• Clothing
• Bags
• Expensive Watches
• CDs and DVDs
• Perfumes
• Electronics

It is prohibited in many countries to introduce counterfeit goods and where proven the Customs authority will seize the goods and penalize the buyer.