Taking 460 bars of Dubai’s pistachio chocolate to Germany is a bad idea
German customs officials confiscated 90 kilogrammes of luxury Dubai chocolate from a woman last month at Hamburg airport that was subject to hundreds of euros in import duties, they said on Wednesday.
People have queued for hours to buy the chocolate bars, made popular on TikTok, and filled with pistachios and crispy shredded filo pastry, that sell in Germany for around $25.76 each.
The 33-year-old woman, who was not named, had not declared the 460 200-gram bars that were distributed among three suitcases. She told officials she had paid $4.73 for each of them, a spokesperson for German customs said.
The confiscated bars, whose brand was not specified, must now be re-exported or destroyed.
Based on the quantity imported, officials said they believed the bars, valued in total at around 2,100 euros, were meant for commercial sale.
“In addition to the potential tax evasion for the evaded import duties of over 330 euros, customs in this case is primarily concerned with protecting the health of citizens in Germany,” the office added in a statement.
Customs officials could not find any information about the ingredients or allergens on the bars’ packaging, which means customers could potentially face a health risk, they said.
The woman, who was not arrested, will be investigated for possible tax evasion charges, said a customs official.
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