Pulkovo customs officers foiled fifty attempts to illegally import alcohol during the year

Illegal import of 300 liters of alcoholic beverages of different strength was stopped by the staff of the Pulkovo Airport customs post in 2023.
Air passengers brought beer, wine, liqueurs, whiskey, vodka from travels exclusively for personal consumption, but in violation of the current legislation. Most often travelers as a souvenir purchased alcohol in duty-free stores in Turkish airports – a third of cases. Also air passengers bought alcoholic beverages when flying from the UAE, Uzbekistan, Serbia, South Africa, Argentina, Azerbaijan and Thailand. Customs officers recorded single violations on flights from Australia, Bulgaria, Guatemala, Germany, Italy, Mauritius and Panama. The cost of illegally imported alcoholic beverages exceeded 600 thousand rubles.
Recently, a 25-year-old from St. Petersburg arrived from Hamburg transiting through Istanbul with nine cans of beer, two bottles of wine, a couple of bottles of liqueurs and a bottle of whiskey. The volume of the imported alcoholic products was 7.5 liters. The young man explained that he bought the alcohol for himself in the duty-free store of the airport of departure and did not know the rules of moving goods across the customs border.
– Passengers mistakenly believe that alcohol purchased in duty-free stores is not subject to accounting when passing through customs control. Nevertheless, one adult passenger has the right to import duty-free no more than 3 liters of alcoholic beverages. When importing from 3 to 5 liters of alcohol is subject to declaration with payment of customs duty, taking into account the strength of the transported goods. Over 5 liters of alcohol is recognized as goods not for personal use and can not be moved by individuals across the customs border of the EAEU, – explained the head of Pulkovo customs Anatoly Timoshchenkov;
Marina Guzikova, Press Secretary of Pulkovo Customs tel. (812) 777-35-78