Up to 7 years in prison for smuggling goods! - New Penal Code/ Whoever does not declare cash at the border risks 3 months
The new Penal Code, which has been put out for public consultation, provides for tougher measures regarding customs violations. Specifically, smuggling is one of the violations punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
According to Article 615 of the draft, "the entry or exit of goods, in or from the customs territory of the Republic of Albania, without presenting them to the customs authorities, carried out to evade customs control and/or supervision, constitutes smuggling and is punishable by 1-5 years of imprisonment and confiscation of the smuggled goods."
Meanwhile, when this criminal offense is committed with prohibited goods that are circulating due to legal restrictions, it is punishable by 2-7 years of imprisonment and confiscation of the contraband goods and their means of transport.
Also, Article 616 stipulates that "placing goods in temporary storage, in a customs regime or re-export after the end of temporary storage, through: total or partial concealment; false declaration of the type, value and origin of the goods, by presenting invoices, certificates or any other type of false, incorrect, incomplete or inapplicable document; presenting a false declaration or performing any action aimed at evading import or export duties, obtaining in whole or in part a refund or reduction of customs duties, taxes, levies, excise duties or any advantage related to the goods, constitutes smuggling and is punishable by imprisonment from 1-5 years and confiscation of the smuggled goods and their means of transport.
The draft law stipulates that "Breaking or removing the customs seal, replacing, altering or falsifying other security marks placed by customs authorities for the purposes of supervision, control or, for the suspension of commercial activity in economic premises or placed on the means of transport or goods, or falsifying in any way the identification number of the means of transport, done with the aim of evading customs control, is punishable by a fine or imprisonment of 2-4 years."
There are also stricter measures regarding the failure to declare money at the border.
Referring to Article 624, "Failure to declare, upon entry into or exit from the territory of the Republic of Albania, amounts of cash, any type of bearer negotiable instrument, precious metals or stones, as well as valuables and antiques, beyond the value permitted by law for non-declaration, when their source is legally unjustified, if it does not constitute a more serious criminal offense, constitutes a criminal misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to three months.
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