Catalan court upholds €43,925 fine for bringing 592 undeclared cigars from Andorra

The High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has upheld a €43,925.18 fine for a serious smuggling offence involving 592 cigars brought from Andorra without being declared at customs.

The case dates back to March 2022, when Spain’s Guardia Civil discovered the tobacco during a roadside inspection on the N-260 near the entrance to La Seu d’Urgell.

According to RàdioSeu, officers seized the 592 cigars along with other boxes of tobacco and alcoholic beverages that did not bear the corresponding tax seals.

The goods were valued at €9,761.15, and the authorities classified the offence as a very serious smuggling violation.

The penalty was set at 450% of the value of the goods, bringing the total fine to €43,925.18. The individual appealed the decision, challenging the classification of the offence, the valuation of the tobacco and his responsibility for the violation.

TSJC rules that the offence was proven

The Catalan court dismissed the appeal and upheld the fine, while also ordering the appellant to pay legal costs. The ruling is not yet final and can still be appealed before a higher court.

One of the man's arguments was that the administrative decision contained a contradiction. One section described the violation as a "minor" offence, while the rest of the decision classified it as very serious.

The TSJC concluded that this was simply a clerical transcription error and that the case file as a whole clearly established that the offence had been classified as very serious.

The valuation of the tobacco was also challenged. The appellant argued that the cigars had not been sufficiently identified, but the court found that the information contained in the case file was adequate.

Judges also upheld the method used to calculate their value, which was based on the maximum retail prices established by Spain's tobacco market authorities.

592 cigars far above the customs allowance

The man also argued that he was unaware of his customs obligations and that his responsibility for the offence had not been sufficiently established.

The TSJC rejected this argument. The court highlighted that 592 cigars were far above the duty-free allowance of 75 cigars per traveller, a quantity large enough for the importation to be considered commercial in nature.

The court also ruled that, given the volume of tobacco involved, the individual could reasonably have been expected to inform himself about the requirements for bringing tobacco into Spain from Andorra.

Judges further noted that customs facilities provide specific signs informing travellers about goods that must be declared.

Other penalties for undeclared goods at the Andorran border

The ruling is part of a series of recent TSJC judgments involving goods brought across the Farga de Moles customs border without being declared.

In another case, the court reduced a fine imposed on a woman from €12,900 to €10,320 after she brought an undeclared luxury watch valued at €12,900 across the border. Officers initially found a Rolex box inside a backpack before subsequently discovering the watch in the woman's pocket.

The TSJC upheld the finding that an offence had been committed but reduced the penalty due to the lawful nature of the goods themselves.

In a third ruling, the court upheld a €7,445 fine involving 78 bottles of alcoholic beverages brought across the border without being declared.

The individual involved argued that he had used the green customs lane because the red lane was undergoing construction and that the bottles had not been concealed.

The court nevertheless concluded that goods do not need to be physically hidden for authorities to determine that they were not properly presented to customs.

The ruling involving the 592 cigars therefore reinforces the courts' approach to customs controls at the border with Andorra and travellers' responsibility when carrying quantities of tobacco well above the permitted limits.