smuggling
The term smuggling (colloquially also fooling around ) describes the illegal movement of goods across a border , mostly goods that are significantly more expensive in the destination country due to the economic situation, lack of natural resources, customs , tax or other legal regulations than in the country of origin , are subject to trade restrictions or are not available in any other way.
Types of smuggling
Goods are also smuggled whose export or import is prohibited (e.g. antique objects ) or goods that are prohibited at all (e.g. illegal drugs and weapons ).
The smuggling of drugs , cigarettes and weapons, as well as people smuggling, has acquired particular importance at the external borders, within the EU and especially at the borders of Germany and Austria.
Cigarette smuggling is attractive due to the often mild penalties (compared to drug trafficking) and high tobacco taxes , which have a significant impact on profit margins . Contrary to what is often assumed, however, the differences between the tobacco tax rates of individual countries play a subordinate role in organized cigarette smuggling. In fact, in the area of organized tobacco smuggling, mostly completely unpaid and untaxed cigarettes are smuggled. B. diverted from the transit traffic.
The competent authority to prevent smuggling is customs. In Germany it is the Federal Customs Administration and in the EU it is the European Anti-Fraud Office (also called “OLAF” for French “Office Européen de Lutte Anti-Fraude”).
Smugglers smuggle the items in their body (incorporate) are body smugglers or Body packer called. Here the material is swallowed or hidden in body orifices (e.g. wrapped in condoms ).
In countries with foreign exchange restrictions , the smuggling of sorts and precious metals such as gold plays a role.
etymology
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The word is probably derived from the common Germanic verb smeugan ( Old Norse smjúga ) = "to crawl into a hole". Other sources attribute it to the noun smook (fog) that was used in West Flanders .
Criminal law
According to the German Tax Code (AO), smuggling can be defined as evasion of import and export taxes or the breaking of a ban using the official heading of Section 373 AO (“Commercial, violent and gang smuggling”).
According to Section 3 (3) AO, import and export duties are considered taxes within the meaning of the AO, therefore their evasion is punishable as tax evasion (Germany) according to Section 370 (1) AO with imprisonment of up to five years or a fine.
The ban is broken by anyone who imports, exports or carries out objects contrary to a ban. For this purpose, Section 372 (2) AO refers to the scope of punishment of Section 370 (1) AO if the act is not threatened with a penalty or a fine in other regulations. Therefore, for example, the penalties for smuggling drugs result from the provisions of the Narcotics Act (BtMG) and not from Sections 372, 370 AO.
For severe forms of smuggling (commercial, violent and / or gang-based), Section 373 AO provides for a prison sentence of six months to ten years.
Smuggling is likely to be the most common in tourist traffic. Here, for example, the objective fact of tax evasion is realized by anyone returning from a non-EU country using the green exit ("goods free of registration") even though they have souvenirs with them that exceed the quantity or value limits.
In this case, the traveler will not be punished as a tax evader if the act relates to goods that are neither intended for trade nor for commercial use and if the reduced amount of import duty or the amount of import duty that was attempted to be reduced does not exceed EUR 130.
Due to the so-called smuggling privilege that applies to travel in accordance with Section 32 of the Customs Administration Act (ZollVG), tax offenses and tax offenses as such are not prosecuted under these conditions, unless the goods are concealed by specially attached devices or hidden in places that are difficult to access or if the perpetrator is inside has repeatedly committed a tax offense (Section 32 (2) ZollVG) within six months.
Until March 15, 2017, the version was only valid for cross-border travel. According to the new version of Section 32 of the Customs Administration Act (ZollVG), all tax offenses relating to import and export duties (also outside of cross-border travel) and consumption taxes are privileged. The renewal also largely decriminalizes the increasing smuggling in mail order. The new “target regulation” means that in cases in which non-prosecution seems inappropriate, the act can nevertheless be punished under criminal law; this was not possible with the old version.
If the offense is not prosecuted due to the so-called smuggling privilege or the proceedings are discontinued due to insignificance (Section 398 AO), a surcharge up to the amount of the import duties, however, up to a maximum of 130 euros (Section 32 (3) ZollVG) can be levied.
Trivia
The Museu do Contrabando , which deals with smuggling, was opened in Santana de Cambas in southern Portugal in 2009 .
See also
literature
- Marcel Bauer / Achim Pohl: At the border river Rio Massacre. About the illegal trade between Haiti and the Dominican Republic In: Blickpunkt Latin America (magazine of the aid organization Adveniat in Essen ) 1/2009, pp. 7–13.
- Walther L. Bernecker: Smuggling. Illegal Trade Practices in 19th Century Mexico . (= Augsburg University Speeches; 13). University of Augsburg, Augsburg 1988 ( digitized version )
- Roland Girtler: Smuggler. Of boundaries and their conquerors . Veritas, Linz; Ehrenwirth, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-431-03262-1 and ISBN 3-85329-991-1
- Roland Girtler: Adventure border. About smugglers, rituals and “sacred” spaces . (= Pocket; 7). LIT, Münster 2006, ISBN 3-8258-9575-0
- Hermann von Schmid: The blacker. Travel reminder . In: The Gazebo . Issue 12, 1867, pp. 180-183 ( full text [ Wikisource ]).
- Sebastian Thieme: Smuggling as an Economic Phenomenon . Munich, 2006, ISBN 978-3-640-22268-1 and ISBN 978-3-640-22033-5 .
Web links
- Prohibitions and Restrictions - Prohibitions and restrictions on imports into and out of the EU that are independent of taxes and customs duties; Zoll.de
- Smuggling as evasion of import and export duties - overview Germany, Austria, Switzerland - forms of smuggling
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cigarette smuggling: Budget controllers praise the agreement between the EU and tobacco multinational Philip Morris. European Parliament
- ↑ New regulation of the "smuggling privilege". Retrieved August 19, 2017 .