BFH Seeks EuGH Clarification on Whether “Scraps” Qualify as Smoking Tobacco

• The BFH has asked the EuGH to clarify if “Scraps” are considered smoking tobacco under EU Directive 2011/64/EU.
• The case involves tobacco leaf pieces that can be smoked after home processing.
• There is no legal definition for “suitable for smoking” without further industrial processing.
• The health protection goal of the directive suggests a broad interpretation of tobacco products.
• The German customs view, based on a 2017 EuGH ruling, is that tobacco can be considered smoking tobacco if it can be made smoke-ready without industrial processing.
• The EuGH’s 2020 ruling supports the idea that tobacco is suitable for smoking if it can produce inhalable smoke.
• The directive’s wording implies more than just the ability to smoke is needed for tobacco to be classified as smoking tobacco.
• The EuGH has focused on both the suitability for smoking and the non-industrial processing in its decisions.

Source: awb-international.com

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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