British 'Booze Cruises' defended by London MEP

4.14.22pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 8th Jun 2005

Members of the European Parliament today defended the right of British tourists to bring home cheap cigarettes and alcohol from their holidays in the EU.

Thousands of UK shoppers who have been accused of smuggling have had their goods and vehicles confiscated at UK ports. In some cases people have had their cars impounded and even crushed.

The European Parliament today adopted a report which proposes to scrapping of indicative limits on the amount of alcohol and cigarettes that can be brought into the UK and also reverses the burden of proof, so that customs officials will now have to prove goods are not for personal use.

Baroness Sarah Ludford, Liberal Democrat MEP for London, said:

"Guidelines intended to differentiate between smugglers and shoppers have too often been treated as absolute requirements and have led in practice to shoppers being fined and having their purchases and vehicles confiscated."

"It has become a well known fact the UK authorities are the most stringent in the interpretation of these guidelines."

"Everyone understands the need to fight smuggling, but shoppers should not be put off buying goods in the EU because government policy leads to shoppers being unfairly treated by heavy-handed customs officials."

Ends

Notes:

1 The right to purchase tobacco and alcohol abroad for "non-commercial" use was agreed by EU governments in 1992 as part of the opening up of the European single market.

2 Travellers' right to buy tobacco and alcohol abroad - When private individuals buy products subject to excise duty (such as tobacco products and alcoholic beverages) for private use in a Member State and then transport these products to another Member State, the excise duties on those goods must be paid in the Member State where they are bought. In other words, no excise duties should be paid in the Member State to which they are then taken. This includes alcohol and tobacco products for personal consumption or intended as gifts. This is stipulated in Article 8 of Directive 92/12/EEC, agreed unanimously by Member States in the EU's Council of Ministers in 1992.