Counterfeits and customs in Spain: what happens if a parcel with clothing or accessories is detained

Shipping & Customs
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What exactly happens if Spanish customs detains a parcel with clothing or accessories it suspects are counterfeits? And what does the letter that arrives mean?

First things first:

  • This is general information based on the Spanish Tax Agency’s e-office (Customs), the BOE (Spain’s official gazette) and Regulation (EU) No 608/2013. It is not legal advice.
  • It is not a guide to getting around checks. Those questions go against the forum rules and get removed.
  • The European framework (luggage, postal shipments, differences between countries) is in the thread Counterfeits and EU customs. This one covers what’s specific to Spain.
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Question What you usually hear Is it true?
Personal use = no problem? “if it’s for you, nothing happens” see below
What is the letter? “a fine” not exactly
Is there a deadline? “no idea” yes, and a short one

Can anyone clear this up with sources?

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On the letter, according to the Tax Agency’s e-office:

  • Customs can detain the goods or suspend their release when it suspects they infringe an intellectual property right.
  • It notifies both the declarant or holder of the goods and the holder of the decision (the trade mark owner’s side).
  • The declarant or holder has 10 working days from the notification to consent to destruction in writing.
  • If they don’t reply within that period, customs may deem them to have consented to destruction (Art. 23(1)(c) of Regulation 608/2013).
  • Destruction is carried out under customs control and under the responsibility of the holder of the decision.

In other words, the letter isn’t a fine: it’s the notification of a detention and of a deadline.

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Step by step, for small consignments, which is what you mostly see with clothing:

  1. According to the Tax Agency, a small consignment is a postal or express courier shipment with three units or fewer, or a gross weight under 2 kg.
  2. The simplified destruction procedure applies if the goods are suspected of being counterfeit or pirated, are not perishable, are covered by an application for action, and the holder of the decision has asked to use this procedure.
  3. The recipient has 10 working days to consent or object.
  4. If they do nothing, customs may deem consent and the goods are destroyed.
  5. If they object, customs informs the holder of the decision.
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And if you object? Do you get the parcel back?

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Not necessarily. According to the Tax Agency, if the declarant or holder objects, the holder of the decision has 10 working days from the notification of the detention to start proceedings to determine whether an intellectual property right has been infringed. If it doesn’t inform customs within that period, customs releases the goods or ends the detention. If it does start them, the matter moves to those proceedings.

On storage, handling and destruction costs, the same page explains that the holder of the decision reimburses customs when asked, without prejudice to its right to claim compensation from the holder of the goods or other related persons. If a claim like that arrives, that’s a matter for a professional, not a forum.

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And the “buyer vs. seller” thing? Does someone buying for themselves also commit an offence?

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Carefully, because here it’s easy to say more than the sources do:

  • Article 274 of the Spanish Criminal Code (consolidated text in the BOE) punishes certain conduct involving products bearing a sign identical to or confusable with a registered trade mark, always “for industrial or commercial purposes”: manufacturing, importing, offering, distributing or selling, including at retail and through street vending.
  • That describes the criminal scope for the seller or distributor. It does not mean customs can’t detain or destroy a private individual’s parcel: the customs procedure above applies all the same.
  • For luggage, Regulation 608/2013 doesn’t apply to goods of a non-commercial nature carried by travellers in their personal luggage. That only limits that regulation, it doesn’t make anything legal, and other EU countries are stricter (thread 308).

For your specific case, the Tax Agency’s e-office or a lawyer.

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Summary, using only the sources cited. General information, not legal advice; always check the version in force on the Tax Agency’s e-office and in the BOE:

  1. The letter: a notification of detention, not a fine.
  2. Deadline: 10 working days to consent or object; with no reply, customs may deem consent to destruction.
  3. Small consignments: post or courier, three units or fewer or under 2 kg; simplified procedure if the holder of the decision asked for it.
  4. If you object: the holder of the decision must start proceedings within 10 working days; otherwise the detention is lifted.
  5. Costs: reimbursed by the holder of the decision, which can claim them back later.
  6. Criminal Code, Art. 274: refers to conduct “for industrial or commercial purposes”.
  7. Forum rules: no tips on getting around checks, splitting shipments or mis-declaring (about the forum). And be careful with messages asking for payments over a supposed “customs problem”: it’s a well-known scam, see Staying safe.