01/02/2021 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission launched, on Friday 29 January, a public consultation on the rules governing cross-border purchases of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products by private individuals, in order to determine how they could work better in the future. According to the current rules, excise duty on alcohol and tobacco bought by a private individual for his/her own use and transported to another EU country is only paid in the country where the goods were bought. This is the case even if they bring these goods into another Member State. The misuse of these rules is a source of concern for several EU countries because of the loss of income and the negative impact on the effectiveness of national public health policies, explains the Commission. Interested parties have until 23 April, 2021 to submit their comments to http://bit.ly/3pCWhsZ (MF)