A large quantity of e-cigarette liquids and smoking accessories was discovered by customs officers from the “Customs Intelligence and Investigation“ department of the Sofia Customs Department during an inspection of a courier shipment.
At the end of August, customs inspectors selected nine parcels for inspection, sent from a commercial company in Spain to a legal entity in Bulgaria. When the parcels were opened, it was found that the boxes contained e-cigarette liquids in bottles of various capacities and e-cigarette refills – all without an excise stamp, as well as a certain amount of empty electronic cigarettes, representing smoking devices.
A total of 2,354 bottles and 40 refills with a total of 27,786 ml of electronic cigarette liquids, as well as 90 smoking devices, were found.
Electronic cigarette liquid, regardless of whether it contains nicotine, is considered a tobacco product and accordingly an excise duty of 0.28 euros per milliliter is due, and in the next two years (until 2028) it is planned to reach 0.34 euros per milliliter. Also, as an excise product, e-cigarette liquid is subject to a special regime for transport and sale.
The excise goods have been seized with an inventory and an act of establishing an administrative violation is pending under the Excise and Tax Warehouses Act.
Last month, in another case, customs officers from the Sofia Customs Department also discovered a depot with numerous illegal devices and 12,920 ml of smoking liquid without documents for paid excise duty and origin.