I find it amazing that a while ago british customs were stopping vehicles that were being used to smuggle booze and cigarettes and in some instances were even confiscating the vehicles…cars and trucks etc…this was mainly because nobody had a clue as to how much we were allowed to bring in. So the french started to complain that it was affecting their trade in and around the ports, and low and behold, the e.u. stepped in and told the british authorities to lay off, and to give us guide lines, especially as the tax had been paid on the goods in the first place. So now the french has increased the taxation, and are starting to confiscate ciggies and booze bought in spain…oh yes…they are now looking in drivers cabs for the same reason the brits did…talk about hypocrites.
say no more.
This is in part due to the fact that the French government put the tax up last year on tobacco.
Now all the French peeps are buying ■■■■ in Belgium and Spain.
They don’t like it up em!!!
You can bring as much in as you want but you cant sell booze and ■■■■ without licenses. I used to run back with a box (120 pouches) but this was only occasionally and was gifts for my Dad, 4 brothers and their wives, brother in law, uncle, 2 aunts, my wife, my girlfriend and me. Once I had explained this the french always accepted it. The english used to try and trick me by suggesting I had been given the money, but nas I used to tell them it is probably normal in the south to make your family pay for gifts, BUT I live in County Durham where things are a bit different.
When i used to run to Italy in the early 90’s we used to have to ‘buy’ the French customs guy a coffee (a 5 franc note in with your paperwork) this was because we had the nerve to have full derv tanks going into their country (back in the days when we could afford derv over here 
) if we didn’t ‘buy’ them a coffee the fine was over a hundred francs, never worked out how they got away with that one
richiessex:
When i used to run to Italy in the early 90’s we used to have to ‘buy’ the French customs guy a coffee (a 5 franc note in with your paperwork) this was because we had the nerve to have full derv tanks going into their country (back in the days when we could afford derv over here
Despite the fact that diesel was often cheaper in France. I once filled up just before leaving Calais for, I was told, a delivery to Glasgow only to be turned straight round with a trailer swop at Luton. In spite of my protests the French charged me for all the (French) diesel in my tanks.
Salut, David.
They never checked how much diesel we had when arriving at the french border with italy though !!!■■
Yes i remember those days when you had to leave a franc note next to the fuel gauge,the crafty buggers would climb in the cab to look at the fuel,gauge incase we thought we could fiddle them out of coffee money…a few years ago it seems when the big bosses checked on the gendarmes who were on duty in the port, they lived in houses that they couldnt possibly afford on the wages they earned, and all got sacked…and ended up in court to accoiunt for the large bank balances they had too.
I remember i had to double man once…with my boss…and of course they never believed we had to pay coffee money so he said up em its my diesel…and ended up paying a large fine for the extra diesel…anything over 200 litres…but on a lighter note …its getting to the stage where english diesel is almost the same price…so maybe soon it will be cheaper to fill up in the uk…and then we wont have to give them a penny in taxes…probably have to declare it once again though…drive safely…