The law governing the transport of energy products, alcohol or tobacco by travelers to France from another Member State of the European Union has changed. A new decree containing new provisions, published on March 29 in the Official Journal, has already entered into force.
The new text has been published and has been applied since March 29, 2024. It is Decree No. 2024-276 of March 27, 2024 “ taken for the application of article L. 311-19 of the tax code on goods and services and establishing the elements characterizing the movement of products subject to excise by an individual for his own needs », notes the document.
The change compared to the previous regulation concerns “ the definition of the criteria making it possible to assess whether the products acquired by an individual and which he transports within the tax territory are for his own needs, in order to determine, consequently, his excise taxation ».
No quantity limitation, but…
The novelty consists of the fact that this text no longer refers to any quantity authorized to be transported when entering France from another country of the European Union, contrary to what was in force until then. This is particularly the case for tobacco for which the tolerated threshold was set at a maximum of 200 cigarettes.
“ We decided to no longer count the number of cartridges, to allow customs officers to systematically sanction those who want to trade by going to the other side of the border.mentioned Thomas Cazeneuve, Minister Delegate in charge of Public AccountsMarch 29 on Sud Radio.
Free discretion for customs officers to systematically sanction those who transport Tobacco
In other words, it is now a question of leaving the assessment to customs officers who are supposed to detect “ a set of presumptions of trade or resale of this product, whether it is 10 cartons of cigarettes as a single one », explained the minister in a press briefing on March 29, relayed by the Union. It should be remembered that this new regulation was dictated to Bercy following a decision by the Council of State rendered in October 2023.
The latter then granted the government a six-month period to align itself with European law in this area. This allows the traveler, as a reminder, to carry up to 800 cigarettes when traveling within the countries of the European Union. The French government has now decided by not setting any threshold instead of limiting itself to four cartridges.