Slovenia: Number of Customs Detentions Increase, Value of Detained Goods Decrease in 2014

On August 1, 2014, the Customs Administration of the Republic of Slovenia and Tax Administration of the Repblic of Slovenia merged to become a single, joint administration called the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia.

Following the merging of the two bureaus, the Financial Administration issued a joint annual report for 2014.

According to the report, the Slovenian customs officials recorded 4,053 detentions in 2014. This is the highest number of temporary customs detention cases until now. There were 506,460 suspected counterfeit items detained, with a total value of approximately EUR 12.5 million (USD 13.5 million).

The number of detained infringing items in 2014 more then doubled compared to 2013, but the estimated value of the goods decreased from almost EUR 19 million in 2013 to EUR 12.5 million in 2014. Nonetheless, the estimated value of detained counterfeits remains high in comparison to previous years.

The table below shows the Slovenian Customs’ statistics on the detentions of IPR infringing goods for the period 2010-2014:

Most of the suspended shipments contained clothing, footwear, medicines, perfumes and other cosmetics.

A considerable share of the detained goods originated in China, Singapore, Hong Kong and India. Suspected counterfeits arriving by sea through the Port of Koper are mostly intended for other EU countries (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia and Austria) and the former Yugoslav countries. To the contrary, suspended items arriving by mail are usually intended for the domestic market and are usually ordered online.

Prepared by: Andrej Bukovnik, Barbara Mencin

For more information, please contact slovenia@petosevic.com.

Source: Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia’s Annual Report for 2014