To comply with European law, France had to remove the limit of 200 cigarettes, or one carton, that a smoker was authorized to bring back from another EU country (AFP/Archives/Pascal POCHARD- CASABIANCA)
To comply with European law, France has removed the limit of 200 cigarettes, or one carton, that a smoker was authorized to bring back from another EU country, according to a decree published Friday in the Official Journal .
“We have completely changed the logic, we no longer rely at all on a logic of volume and cartridges. Customs officers now have the possibility of relying on a set of clues, of seizing and sanctioning (…) those for which there is a presumption of trade and therefore of illegal trade”, indicated the Minister Delegate in charge of Public Accounts Thomas Cazenave during a press point.
Until now, adult individuals traveling to an EU country were allowed to bring back 200 cigarettes (1 carton), 50 cigars, 250 grams of smoking tobacco, and 100 cigarillos.
But noting that European regulations set personal consumption at higher thresholds, an individual, a tobacco consumer, contacted the Council of State.
At the end of September, the Council of State then ordered the government to bring French law into line with EU law, either by refraining from setting thresholds or by setting thresholds consistent with European regulations.
The level at which Customs can consider that it is no longer personal consumption is set by European regulations at 800 cigarettes (4 cartridges), 400 cigarillos, 200 cigars and 1 kg of smoking tobacco.
In the decree, which comes into force on Friday, the government has chosen not to set a threshold.
“We managed to find this new regulatory framework which allows us to be more efficient”, today, “if customs found that a person was transporting a single cartridge but with the name of the recipient and the delivery address to whom it must be made, it would fall within the scope of the decree,” indicated the minister.
“We are moving from a logic of quantity to a logic of purpose: whatever the threshold, if it is for resale, it is not good,” summarized the ministerial services.
The decree thus strengthens the criteria allowing customs officers to assess whether the person transporting cigarettes purchased them “for their own needs”.
In particular, “the destination of the holder when it differs from his usual place of residence”, “the economic activity of the holder” or the location of the products in the vehicle will be taken into account.
This decree is likely to reassure us because customs power is much more extensive than in the past,” greets Philippe Coy, president of the Confederation of tobacconists.
“The fight is not over, the EU will now have to be kind to the evolution of European franchise rights”, in particular by revising the directive where the thresholds considered as personal consumption were set.
The revision should not take place before 2025, but the files “have already been worked on” indicates Mr. Coy.
France is seeking to reduce these thresholds to a single cartridge (200 cigarettes).
Bercy is also carrying out a project to harmonize tobacco taxation at European level, according to Thomas Cazenave.
© 2024 AFP
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