GOLD DIGGERS: German Customs Cops Fine Brit Trucker Over Unpaid Brexit Tax On Excavator

German customs officers have seized a convoy of lorries from the UK loaded with construction equipment without declaring their contents for post-Brexit import taxes.

Image shows the seized excavation equipment, undated photo. Customs officers from the Main Customs Office in the city of Nuremberg, Germany found 31 excavator shovels, an excavator and a hydraulic hammer in vehicles from Great Britain on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (Zoll/Newsflash)

Officials say they confiscated 31 excavator shovels, an excavator and a hydraulic hammer in the raid on the A3 autobahn near Nuremberg.

They said the 37-year-old unnamed owner of three vehicles heading for Bulgaria “was unable to provide proof of customs clearance for importing the goods into the EU with a total value of EUR 17,000 [GBP 14,880].”

Newsflash obtained a statement from the Nuremberg Main Customs Office on Wednesday, 16th November, saying: “Since BREXIT, Great Britain is no longer part of the EU and duties have to be paid when goods are imported.

“Apparently, not everyone understands that.

“On 8th November, a control unit from the main customs office in Nuremberg seized a convoy of vehicles from Great Britain at the Ludergraben car park on the A3 Wuerzburg – Regensburg, which had loaded heavy loads: 31 excavator shovels, an excavator and a hydraulic hammer.

“However, the owner of the three vehicles was unable to provide proof of customs clearance for importing the goods into the EU with a total value of EUR 17,000.

Image shows the seized excavation equipment, undated photo. Customs officers from the Main Customs Office in the city of Nuremberg, Germany found 31 excavator shovels, an excavator and a hydraulic hammer in vehicles from Great Britain on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (Zoll/Newsflash)

“Customs clearance was therefore ‘rescheduled’ by the customs officers and taxes were set at almost EUR 3,400 [GBP 2,973].”

The customs officers added: “Criminal proceedings were initiated on suspicion of tax evasion and a security of over EUR 4,500 [GBP 3,935] was set for this.”

Customs police added that the unnamed “37-year-old paid both sums on the spot and was then able to continue his journey to Bulgaria.”

The statement also said: “The smugglers don’t rest on Sundays either – but neither do the customs officers. This was discovered by the driver of a mobile home who came from the Baltic States and was checked by customs on 6th November at the Klosterwald car park on the A6 Nuremberg – Heilbronn.

Image shows the seized cigarettes in boxes, undated photo. Customs officers from the Main Customs Office in the city of Nuremberg, in Germany found about 550 boxes of untaxed cigarettes on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. (Zoll/Newsflash)

“After being asked several times, the 44-year-old stated that he did not have any goods with him that had to be declared. His extreme nervousness alone made the officials doubt the statement. And rightly so – they found a total of 550 cartons of untaxed cigarettes in various storage compartments of the mobile home.

“The Munich Customs Investigation Office – Nuremberg office then took over the further investigations. The accused is in custody. The seizure prevented tax damage of almost EUR 20,000.”