Britons living in Bulgaria. Guide to Bulgaria, Sofia and Varna

Tourists unwittingly 'smuggling' cigarettes - Metro

Tourists unwittingly 'smuggling' cigarettes Metro, UK - Jun 1, 2008 But some Britons are falling foul of the rules. Tourist Dave Hunt had 1800 cigarettes confiscated by customs officials at Gatwick airport after coming back ...

Tourists unwittingly 'smuggling' cigarettes - Metro
A greater amount of cigarettes can be brought back from other EU countries, as long as it can be proved they are for personal use. But some Britons are falling foul of the rules.Tourist Dave Hunt had 1,800 cigarettes confiscated by customs officials at Gatwick airport after coming back from the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. If the taxation on such items was fair no one will take the trouble to haul cigarettes from one country to another. Is the Prime Minister right, or is 42 days too long? It means tourists can be charged with smuggling if they go over the limit and face fines of up to £800. MORE METRO Credit crunch wrecks home dreams 130m more face starvation Booze 'as easy to buy as fizzy pop' Fury at '�500m Chinooks cock-up' Wet June to put dampener on summer PRINT EMAIL A FRIEND TALK WRITE HERE RSS | WHAT IS RSS? The 35-year-old said: 'I didn't realise I cann't bring that many in. These are EU countries and we're meant to have free trade between them so why have they made up these strange rules?' HM Revenue and Customs maintains that travellers are receiving adequate warnings of the limits, with posters at airports and leaflets. These taxation laws are just out of date and need to be scrapped along with those enforcing them. Unlike the rest of the EU, only 200 cigarettes can be brought back from Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.