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Layover guideMuscat · MCT

What to buy in Muscat

5% VAT on what you buy here; on the way into Oman, an RO 300 exemption and a cigarette allowance cut in August 2026.

RizaCPH / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
All of Muscat

VAT is 5%. Visitors, tourists and diplomats are still charged it on their taxable purchases, and can obtain a refund based on certain conditions specified in the Regulations, including the type of items eligible and a minimum value.

On arrival, personal goods and gifts are exempt from customs duty where the total value does not exceed RO 300, provided they are personal and brought in non-commercial quantities and you are not a frequent visitor to customs offices or a trader in the goods carried.

Article 19 of ROP Decision No 110/2026, published in Official Gazette No 1659 and in force from 4 August 2026, limits the cigarette allowance to 200 cigarettes.

Anyone carrying RO 6,000 or more, or the equivalent, in currency, bearer securities, banknotes, or precious metals or gemstones convertible into cash must declare it. A verbal, written or electronic declaration, or going through the green or red channel, counts as the traveller's declaration for the goods carried, so taking the green lane with an undeclared amount is itself the offence.

  1. Oman Tax Authority: VAT FAQs · checked 2026-09-03
  2. Directorate General of Customs: Traveller services · checked 2026-09-03
  3. Oman Observer: Oman Customs outlines duty exemption rules for personal goods, gifts · checked 2026-09-03
  4. Muscat Daily: ROP amends customs regulations · checked 2026-09-03

The rest of Muscat

The whole guide
Getting out of the airportTaxis and the Mwasalat bus stand are both on Level 0 now; nothing walks from this airport.Ride-hailingStreet taxis and apps are now the same system: five licensed platforms, fares set by ministerial decision.Local laws that catch crew outDrink, dress and public conduct are all governed by law here, and vapes are illegal to import or use at all.Staying connectedA local SIM is registered against your passport at the counter; an eSIM skips the counter.WeatherJune normals put the daily maximum at 40C with a mean nightly low above 30C, so summer layovers are an indoor proposition.Eating near the crew hotelsAlcohol only where it is licensed, and VAT of 5% on top of the menu price.