Catalonia Court Upholds €44K Fine for Andorra Cigar Smuggler

Catalonia's Superior Court of Justice (TSJC) has upheld a €43,925.18 fine against a man caught smuggling 592 cigars from Andorra without declaring them at customs.

Civil Guard officers found the undeclared cigars, along with other tobacco products and cases of alcoholic drinks lacking tax seals, on 26 March 2022 at a checkpoint on the N-260 road near a roundabout to La Seu d'Urgell. The seized items were valued at €9,761.15, leading authorities to classify the case as a very serious smuggling offence with a penalty of 450% of their value.

The man challenged the sanction, disputing its classification, the goods' valuation and his proven culpability. He highlighted an inconsistency in the original decision, which described the breach as "minor" in one part but "very serious" elsewhere for calculating the fine.

The TSJC rejected the appeal, blaming the mismatch on a transcription error and affirming the violation's serious nature across the resolution. It upheld the valuation using maximum public sale prices from Spain's Tobacco Market Commission, finding the case file's product details adequate. On intent, the court held that the 592 cigars greatly surpassed the 75-unit traveller allowance, pointing to commercial purposes. It added that such volumes demanded awareness of customs rules, reinforced by signage at border posts on items needing declaration.

The decision, appealable to the Supreme Court, also requires the man to cover court costs. Catalonia's Regional Economic-Administrative Tribunal had previously dismissed his claim against the fine.

In a separate recent ruling, the TSJC cut a €12,900 fine to €10,320 for a woman who brought an undeclared luxury watch—valued at the original amount—through Farga de Moles customs post on 30 December 2021. Officers first noticed a Rolex box with a €55 receipt in her backpack, then spotted her placing the item in her pocket during checks. The court kept the smuggling finding but reduced the penalty given the product's legal trade status.

Three months earlier, the TSJC confirmed a €7,445 fine for a man with 78 undeclared bottles of alcohol at the same post on 8 September 2022. He said he took the green "nothing to declare" lane as the red one was closed for works and insisted the bottles were visible. The court pointed to his denial when asked about declarable goods, noting that non-presentation to customs does not need physical hiding.