Crimes of Smuggling in the Regulation of the Romanian Customs Code

ABSTRACT: In Romanian doctrine, the crime of smuggling has been defined in various ways, but it has been concluded that this is the circumvention of customs duties by avoiding customs checkpoints. By committing a crime of smuggling, the perpetrator seeks to avoid the payment of excise duties, VAT, the payment of other taxes or duties, as well as the avoidance of rules prohibiting the sale of certain goods or merchandise. The aim of the paper is to bring to the attention of the general public both theorists and legal practitioners, the content of the criminalization norm regarding the crime of smuggling, the object of the crime, the subjects of the crime, its place, objective side, subjective side, but also forms of crime. This paper is also intended to address some procedural issues regarding the prosecution, investigation and sanctioning of those who commit such crimes. KEYWORDS: smuggling, assimilated smuggling, skilled smuggling, jurisprudence, mitigating circumstance