More than 5,000 bottles of alcohol were seized by customs officials in November, 3,000 of which were seized from persons arriving from abroad, parliamentary secretary Tonio Fenech said.

Speaking during a media conference at Customs House, Mr Fenech gave details on recent customs seizures on alcohol. He said a total of 48 inspections were carried out by customs personnel in November.

Mr Fenech explained that details given during the Budget 2006 speech stipulate that no person is allowed to manufacture, process, prepare for sale, expose or offer for sale, sell or otherwise dispose of any ethyl alcohol with an actual alcoholic strength of 25 per cent or more and in containers with a capacity of 50 centilitres or more, unless a band or stamp would have been affixed to the respective bottles.

Mr Fenech explained however, that any other alcohol in reasonable amounts imported for personal use, including private parties, may be exempted from such provisions.

In such cases, individuals should inform the Comptroller of Customs, who will be able to issue a band or stamp at no charge. These will then need to be affixed to alcohol containers identifying them as being imported for personal use.

With regard to products acquired by individuals for their own use and transported by them, the principle governing the internal market within the EU lays down that excise duty should be charged within the Member State where the alcohol would have been acquired.

However, this is not applicable whenever alcoholic products are intended for commercial purposes. In such cases, the holder of the products is meant to pay excise duty within the country where the products will be used.

In order to establish whether products are intended for commercial purposes or for personal use, member states must take account of the following: the commercial status of the holder of the products and his reasons for holding them; the place where the products are located or, if appropriate, the mode of transport used; any document relating to the products; the nature of the products; the quantity of the products.