The government published this Friday a regulation revising the rules for the import of tobacco into France for persons from European Union countries, as announced by Les Échos.
This decree no longer mentions the quantities allowed to be imported. From 2020, people traveling to European Union countries can bring a maximum of 200 cigarettes or one carton to France.
“Systematic sanctions”
“We have decided to no longer count the number of rounds in order to allow customs officials to systematically impose sanctions on those who want to trade by crossing to the other side of the border,” explained Thomas Cazeneuve, minister delegate in charge of public accounts, a guest of the Sud. Radio this Friday morning.
Following a Council of State decision in October, the government had 6 months to comply with European law, which sets the number of cigarettes that can be imported into the EU at 800. The government could decide to set the same threshold as in Europe, or not set it at all. This is the second option that the government has chosen.
How can customs officials distinguish personal consumption from human trafficking? “Imagine, you have a well-packaged cartridge with the name of the recipient to whom you are going to deliver, tomorrow the customs officer will be able to authorize it,” explains the minister, talking with our colleagues. A person returning with cartridges of a different brand could also attract attention.
To summarize, customs officers will look for “a bundle of presumption of trade or resale of this product, be it 10 cartons of cigarettes as one,” explained Thomas Cazeneuve during a press conference this Friday, echoes of which is the Union. . “Let’s allow customs officials to impose sanctions as soon as there is suspicion of human trafficking,” he insisted on Sud Radio.
The minister also called for “harmonization of tobacco taxes.” “This topic should be part of the campaign themes that we will consider in the European elections,” he added, while the issue is subject to “very different taxes in different countries.”
Source: Le Parisien
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