Frequently Asked Questions

AuCigars is an online cigar shop based in Hong Kong, selling more than 1,600 premium cigars and accessories to customers in Australia and New Zealand. AuCigars is operated by AUCIGARS LIMITED. Hong Kong is one of the world's main cigar hubs, which gives us a wider range than most local humidors.

AuCigars stocks the major Cuban houses, including Cohiba, Montecristo, Partagas, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann, Bolivar, Trinidad, Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch, Ramon Allones and Guantanamera. World brands include Arturo Fuente, Opus X, Padron, Davidoff, Oliva, My Father, Rocky Patel, Perdomo, Plasencia, Flor de Copan, Aladino, Gurkha, Casa Turrent and Casa Nicaragua.

AuCigars offers a much bigger range than most Australian or New Zealand humidors, at competitive prices. Every imported cigar pays duty at some point, including those sold by local shops. With AuCigars, you pay that duty yourself when your parcel arrives.

Yes. AuCigars checkout calculates the duty and GST on your exact order, for Australia or New Zealand, before you pay. It uses the current customs rates and a tobacco weight for every cigar AuCigars sells, so you know what to expect at the border.

Yes. You must be 18 or over to enter the site and to buy from AuCigars.

Australian duty on cigars is A$2,587.90 per kg of tobacco from 1 September 2026, or about A$2.59 per gram. GST of 10% is then charged on the cigar price, plus shipping and insurance, plus the duty. A cigar with 10 g of tobacco attracts about A$25.88 in duty before GST. The rate changes every March and September.

Here is a real Notice of Assessment from the Australian Border Force for an AuCigars order, with the customer's details removed. The order was one box of 25 Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva Cuban Corona Maduro, assessed in September 2026.

Download the PDF (600 KB).

Rates and exchange rate at the time of assessment, September 2026.

ABF's figure was about 5% higher than the AuCigars estimate, because ABF assessed a higher weight. The AuCigars estimate uses a formula for each cigar's tobacco weight, and we keep updating that formula against real ABF assessments like this one so our estimates stay as close as possible to what ABF charges. ABF estimates the weight without removing the packaging, so its figure can differ from ours. If you think an assessment is wrong, ABF will re-assess if you give written permission to remove the packaging, though this takes longer.

Yes. Cigars don't need an import permit in Australia, and ABF allows up to 1.5 kg of cigars by international mail. Please keep each Australian order to 1.5 kg or less.

ABF posts you a Notice of Assessment. You can pay online through the ABF website by card (a surcharge applies) or by BPAY. Pay before 11:45pm AEST and your parcel is released the next business day, then delivered by Australia Post in about 7 working days. Unpaid parcels may be returned to us after 30 days.

No. Duty and GST apply to every cigar order posted to Australia, whatever its value.

New Zealand duty on cigars is NZ$1,637.09 per kg of tobacco from 1 January 2026, or about NZ$1.64 per gram. GST of 15% is then charged on the cigar price, plus shipping, plus the duty. On orders over NZ$1,000, New Zealand Customs also charges a levy of about NZ$59.58. The rate changes every 1 January.

A box of 25 Montecristo No.2 (about 357 g of tobacco, NZ$1,784.95) would attract about NZ$583.62 in duty, NZ$355.29 in GST and the NZ$59.58 levy, so roughly NZ$998.49 in total. New Zealand Customs sets the final amount and may assess a different weight.

Yes. New Zealand charges NZ$1,637.09 per kg of tobacco, against A$2,587.90 in Australia. For example, ABF charged A$807.32 on a box of 25 Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva Cuban Corona Maduro. The same box would attract roughly NZ$587 in duty and GST in New Zealand, about 40% less once exchange rates are taken into account.

Yes. New Zealand Customs doesn't require an import permit for cigars sent by international mail.

NZ Post sends you a letter showing the duty and GST due. Once you pay New Zealand Customs, your parcel is released for delivery.

AuCigars ships to Australia and New Zealand only.

AuCigars dispatches orders from Hong Kong within 2 working days. Most orders arrive within 10 to 15 business days, including customs clearance.

Shipping is free on Australian orders of A$150 or more, and A$24.95 below that. New Zealand orders ship free from NZ$150, and NZ$29.95 below that. The threshold is based on your subtotal before discounts.

Yes. Every AuCigars parcel is tracked from Hong Kong to your door, and the tracking number is in your account.

Once the parcel is back with us, you choose a full refund including shipping, or a reship. A reshipped parcel goes through customs again, so new duty and GST may apply.

Australian customers can pay by cryptocurrency through CoinPayments and save 10%, or choose credit or debit card at checkout and AuCigars will email a secure Visa payment link. New Zealand customers pay by cryptocurrency at checkout, also with 10% off, and can email support@aucigars.com to request a Visa payment link. Card payments are currently charged in US dollars, converted from your AUD or NZD total, so your bank may add a foreign transaction fee. AUD and NZD card payments are coming soon.

Australian customers see and pay prices in Australian dollars (AUD). New Zealand customers see and pay prices in New Zealand dollars (NZD).

AuCigars inspects every cigar before dispatch. Full boxes are packed to protect them from humidity changes, and single cigars travel in Humi-Pouches.

We open every box to inspect the cigars before dispatch, so a broken seal is expected.

Email photos of the cigars and the packaging to support@aucigars.com within 7 days of delivery, with your order number. AuCigars will refund or reship, and you don't need to send the cigars back.

Email support@aucigars.com within 7 days of delivery with your order number and a photo. You don't need to send anything back: keep what you received and get any price difference refunded, or AuCigars will send the cigars you ordered at no extra cost.

Yes, for a full refund, if it hasn't been dispatched. Orders often ship within a day or two, so email support@aucigars.com with your order number as soon as possible.

AuCigars pays refunds within 5 business days of approving them, to your original payment method. Card payments are refunded in the currency you were charged, currently US dollars. Crypto is refunded in the same coin and amount you sent, so its AUD or NZD value may have changed.

No. AuCigars doesn't accept change-of-mind returns. Your rights under Australian and New Zealand consumer law still apply if an order is faulty or not as described.

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Use a dedicated cigar cutter to remove the cap at the head of the cigar. Scissors or knives can crush the cigar and make it unravel. A straight guillotine cut is the easiest for beginners.

Use a butane lighter or wooden matches. Toast the foot of the cigar until it's evenly charred, then puff gently while rotating it. Here's a video we recommend.

Store cigars in a humidor at around 65 to 70% relative humidity, away from heat and sunlight. A hygrometer inside the humidor lets you check the humidity.

Sometimes. Raise the humidity gradually over a few weeks in a humidor. A cigar that has fully dried out may not recover its original flavour.

Yes, within a few hours. Left longer, the cigar's flavour turns stale and bitter.

Plume is a fine white bloom of oils that can appear on well-aged cigars. It's harmless and wipes off with a soft brush or your fingertips. Mould, by contrast, is fuzzy, blue-green and smells musty.

Ring gauge measures a cigar's diameter in 64ths of an inch. A 64 ring gauge cigar is 1 inch wide, and a 50 ring gauge is just over three-quarters of an inch.

Cuban cigars are prized for the flavour that comes from Cuba's soil and climate. Cigars from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras are just as highly rated by many smokers, and often fuller-bodied.

No. Stored properly in a humidor, cigars keep for years, and many improve with age. Badly stored cigars lose flavour and dry out.

Use a travel humidor or an airtight case with a humidification pack. Keep cigars in your carry-on rather than checked luggage. See our cigar cases and humidors.