Any risks going to Spain for cigs??

trish321

We`ve only been stopped by customs twice.The first time we were well over the guidelines, I asked the officer how we were able to prove to her that the cigs were for our own use, she said we`d proved it to her satisfaction, we were just glad to get out of there.
Since my sister got all hers taken, we`ve only brought guideline allowance back, we got pulled again but ok as we weren`t over limit.

phatbear

Ermmmm, allow me to clear up this situ seeing as a lot of people seem to be confused.

There is no such thing as a limit on cigs and hrt from an eu state, with the exception of some the asscenion states ie poland etc, therefore you can have whatever you want as long as its for your own personal consumption or bought as gifts. The goods can not be sold, and this includes getting back what you paid for them, and they can also not be used as a payment in kind, ie someone does your gardening so you bung them some cigs.

In recent history I have let people go with 10000+ cigs because I was happy with the answers to the questions I put to them and their future and previous travel history and other factors showed that they were in fact in-frequent travellers, maybe this will also make people realise that its tosh saying if you have 3201 cigs you will get stopped and asked questions, its may not seem like it sometimes to the travelling public but we have far bigger fishes to fry than someone bringing a few ciggies back. My top tip would be tell the truth if you are stopped as we have ways and means of finding out the truth and lieing leads to a very quick downward spiral.

all the best

the bear

fifeken

But phatbear, I believe there are "guidelines" to indicate that 3,200 cigs is normally an acceptable number to be designated for personal use. There are too many horror stories of overzealous officials interpreting these guidelines as hard and fast rules and confiscating the lot (or even someone's car/van etc) if they are over this level. Can you elaborate on where a guideline becomes a rule or is up to the individual official and what side he got out of bed?

Do the guidleines also allow for an individual who smokes 60 cigs per day where I only smoke 10? Can you tell when I've been away recently given the lack of stamp on a passport?

Are you ticked off if you haven't confiscated a certain amount a day?

spiro

If you are going into Barcelona try this website http://www.tobacco-cigarettes.com/ You can order in advance, no payment required and they will also advise of prices. Looking on the map it in very near Las Ramblas. As Phatbear said they only have guidelines which they publish on the net (HMRC down so this is from Leeds airport):

When travelling from the EU* to the UK you do not have to pay any tax or duty on goods you have bought in another EU country as long as tax was included in the price when you purchased the items, the items are for your own use, and have been transported to the UK by you. This includes gifts, but does not include any item that is intended to be used as payment or to be resold.

If you bring back large quantities of alcohol or tobacco, a Customs Officer is more likely to ask about the purposes for which you hold the goods. This will most likely be the case if you appear at the airport with more than:

• 3200 cigarettes
• 400 cigarillos
• 200 cigars
• 3 kg of smoking tobacco
• 110 litres of beer
• 10 litres of spirits
• 90 litres of wine
• 20 litres of fortified wine i.e.: port or sherry

trish321

Thanks for your reply phatbear, I do know ,as you`ll see from my post, that the figures are a guideline. The reason I mention limit is because I and many others, now think of it as a limit. Eg. I go away once a year, I brought 16 cartons of Royals back in June, they are almost finished now, I would have liked to have brought 40 back as I used to, they would have lasted until we go again. Unfortunately, since my sister had her 40 cartons confiscated I daren`t risk it as I cannot afford to lose nearly 1000 euros.
Mind you it would be harder to bring back that amount these days, with the weight restrictions and the exorbitant costs for excess weight.

phatbear

fifeken wrote: »

But phatbear, I believe there are "guidelines" to indicate that 3,200 cigs is normally an acceptable number to be designated for personal use. There are too many horror stories of overzealous officials interpreting these guidelines as hard and fast rules and confiscating the lot (or even someone's car/van etc) if they are over this level. Can you elaborate on where a guideline becomes a rule or is up to the individual official and what side he got out of bed?

Do the guidleines also allow for an individual who smokes 60 cigs per day where I only smoke 10? Can you tell when I've been away recently given the lack of stamp on a passport?

Are you ticked off if you haven't confiscated a certain amount a day?

The key word is "guideline" it is just that a guideline if you were only allowed to bring back 3200 cigs and 3kg's of hrt then it would be a limit, for instance you have speed limits not speed guidelines on the road. Each case is judged on its own indiviual merit, ie frequency of travel consumption rate etc, the theory behind 3200 its approx 6 months for a person smoking 20 a day, however given that cigs do not have a shelf life this is a tad pointless.

You mention horror stories and, i know im bias, but someone losing a few cigs is'nt a horror story I could tell you some things which I have to do, or have done, that you could easily call a horror story and none of them would include cigs, suffice to say if you hear the snapping of some rubber gloves rest assured your about to have a very bad day, the people who have their cars seized, which are few and far between nowdays for reasons im not going to go into on here, are inveterate smugglers who usually have hundreds of thousands of cigs in their cars, and have gone way out of their way to hide their bootie.

Im afraid i cant answer one of you questions for security purposes however you're way off with mentioning stamps in passports as if you travel within the eu you dont get a stamp in your passport do you, assuming your an eu citizen.

And am I ticked off for not seizing "x" a day, hell no, our ethos is you can only seize if its there and we dont seize for the sake it, after all people have a right to cross borders for their shopping, i dont smoke but if I did I would'nt hesitate to have a day out in spain etc every 6 months to get my cigs, we are only interested in people who are buying goods for financial gain or to get their money back. As previously stated cigs are not the be all and end all its a small annoyance which we have to deal with but we would of course rather be dealing with drug smugglers etc.

Hope this has helped a bit.

all the best

the bear

pjwfc

Does anyone know the price of Mayfair dark blue or Fortuna Red in Torrevieja in spain please.
Paul

trish321

Here is a link for tobacco prices in Spain. Fortuna not on, but they were 20E a couple of weeks ago.

http://www.eurotabaco.es/prices_tobacco.php

ManAtHome

Dunno about the Fortuna Red, but could be worth dropping into Benidorm for a look-see, the Tabac's there always seemed to have some sort of offer on the go (free wine or spirits depending how many sleeves you buy). Couple of years since I've been - anyone more recent?

trish321

It`s about 9 mths since we were there, we were getting half bottle of whisky with every 6 cartons of Royals, only brought a couple back though, due to weight. we got 6 but gave four away, as we don`t drink whisky and we were all inclusive anyway.
The link in my previous post can be used for anywhere in mainland Spain and the Balearics as prices are the same in all tobacconists by law. Just stating this as some people say different, but it is a fact.