Smuggling Offences Law
Organic Law 12/1995 of 12 December, on the Repression of Smuggling. Current consolidated text of the offence of smuggling and its consequences (arts. 1 to 10).
11 articles · Two titles
The Organic Law 12/1995 of 12 December, on the Repression of Smuggling, is the special criminal statute that defines the offence of smuggling outside the ordinary Criminal Code. This page covers its Preliminary Title (definitions, art. 1) and its Title I —"The offence of smuggling" (arts. 2 to 10)—; it does not cover Title II of the law itself, which regulates administrative smuggling infringements (not criminal offences), nor its additional, transitional or final provisions.
An offence is committed by anyone who imports, exports or conceals goods from the customs authorities where their value is 150,000 euros or more as a general rule (art. 2.1) — a threshold reduced to 50,000 euros for state-monopoly or prohibited goods, Historical Heritage assets, protected species and defence or dual-use material (art. 2.2), to 15,000 euros for tobacco products (art. 2.3.b), and which does not apply at all where the object is drugs, weapons, explosives or other goods whose possession is a crime, or an organisation is involved (art. 2.3.a) —, carrying penalties of one to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of one to six times the value defrauded (art. 3). The law also governs the confiscation of the goods, instruments and means of transport used (art. 5), their possible early disposal during the proceedings (art. 7), and civil liability for the unpaid tax debt (art. 4).
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Index by title: key articles
Title I — The offence of smuggling
Arts. 2–10
- Art. 2Typical conduct: import, export and concealment of goods
- Art. 3Penalties: one to five years’ prison and a fine of one to six times the value
- Art. 4Civil liability: the unpaid tax debt
- Art. 4 bisAssistance of the Tax Administration in enforcement
- Art. 5Confiscation of goods, means of transport and instruments
- Art. 6Judicial seizure of assets during the proceedings
- Art. 7Early disposal of seized assets
- Art. 8Allocation of non-transferable assets
- Art. 9Goods subject to public monopolies
- Art. 10Rules for valuing the seized goods
Frequently asked questions about the offence of smuggling
What is the offence of smuggling under Spanish law?
Under art. 2, the offence of smuggling is committed by anyone who imports or exports goods without presenting them for customs clearance, conceals or withholds them from the customs authorities, or engages in other equivalent conduct. The general threshold is 150,000 euros (art. 2.1), but it drops to 50,000 euros for the conduct listed in art. 2.2 (Spanish Historical Heritage assets, state-monopoly or prohibited goods, protected wild fauna and flora specimens, defence material and dual-use products and technologies, or drug precursors) and to 15,000 euros for tobacco products (art. 2.3.b). In addition, it is an offence regardless of value where the object is toxic drugs, weapons, explosives or other goods whose possession is itself a crime, or where the smuggling is carried out through an organisation (art. 2.3.a). Below those thresholds, the conduct may amount to an administrative infringement (Title II of the law) rather than a criminal offence.
What penalties does the Smuggling Offences Law provide?
Art. 3 punishes the offence of smuggling with one to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of one to six times the value of the goods. In the most serious cases under art. 2.1 (letters a, b and e, with exceptions) the penalty is imposed in its lower half; in other cases, in its upper half. Reckless commission is also covered, with a reduced penalty.
What happens to seized goods and means of transport?
Art. 5 provides for the confiscation of the goods that are the object of the offence, the instruments used, and the means of transport used to commit it (unless they belong to a third party unconnected to the facts). During the proceedings, art. 6 allows the court to seize those assets, and art. 7 allows their early disposal in certain cases (abandonment by the owner, risk to public health or safety, or significant loss of value).
Who is liable for the unpaid tax debt?
Art. 4 provides that, in smuggling proceedings, civil liability covers the entire unpaid tax debt that the Tax Administration was unable to assess due to limitation periods or other legal causes, including late-payment interest. Art. 4 bis provides that, to enforce the fine and that civil liability, courts request the assistance of the Tax Administration, which collects it through the administrative enforcement procedure.
Related content
Source: Official State Gazette (BOE). Current consolidated text of the Preliminary Title and Title I of Organic Law 12/1995 of 12 December, on the Repression of Smuggling. Informational content: applying the law to a specific case requires a lawyer’s analysis. View on the BOEBOE-A-1995-26836
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