In its amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, the ministry said that the existing legal regulation contained gaps, as people buying illegal alcohol and tobacco escape punishment, while sellers may face fines of up to 50,000 litas (EUR 14,500).
"Those who gladly buy a pack of smuggled cigarettes or a bottle of bootleg alcohol should also understand they violate the law,” Arūnas Kazlauskas, chancellor of the Justice Ministry, told BNS.
The current version of the code stipulates administrative liability for violation of the rules of possession, transport, use, or sale of excise goods or trade in such goods without excise duty marks or other special signs, as well as old marks. However, no liability is stipulated for violating the rules of purchasing excise goods.
