France removes the threshold for one carton of cigarettes that a person was authorized to bring back from another EU country

In late September, the Council of State ordered the government to bring French law into line with European Union law.

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 European Union (EU) country, according to a decree published on Friday March 29 in the official journal. (PDF document).

“We have completely changed the logic, we no longer rely on volume and cartridge logic at all. Customs officers are now likely to rely on various indications to seize and sanction those suspected of trading and therefore illicit trade.The minister representative in charge of public accounts, Thomas Cazeneuve, made the announcement during a press briefing.

Until now, adults traveling to an EU country were allowed to bring back 200 cigarettes (equivalent to one carton), 50 cigars, 250 grams of smoking tobacco and 100 cigarillos. However, European regulations limit individual consumption to 800 cigarettes (equivalent to four cartridges), 400 cigarillos, 200 cigars and one kilogram of smoking tobacco.

The government has chosen not to set a threshold

A student, himself a tobacco user, contacted the Council of State, after noticing that European regulations set personal consumption at a high level. In late September, the Council of State then ordered the government to bring French legislation into line with EU law, either by refraining from setting thresholds or by setting thresholds consistent with European regulations.

In the decree, the government chose not to set a threshold. “We managed to find this new regulatory framework that allows us to be more efficient”A summary of ministerial services is given, which it is a pleasure to pass on “From Quantitative Logic to Final Logic”.

The decree thus strengthens the criteria allowing customs officials to assess whether a person transporting cigarettes has purchased them. “for one’s own needs”. Special consideration will be given “Destination of the holder when it is different from his place of ordinary residence”, “Economic Activity of the Holder” or the location of the products in the vehicle.