BERLIN, December 17. /TASS/. German customs warned it may confiscate Christmas gifts that arrive in Germany from Russia due to the need to comply with the sanctions regime.

In its statement, the customs service referred to Regulation No. 833/2014, which was approved on July 31, 2014, by the EU Council. Therefore, the service said, it is forbidden to import numerous items from Russia - items such as pulp and paper, wood and wood products, stones and precious metals, cigarettes, plastics, and chemical products, including chemical products like cosmetics would be among the items that may commonly be found in gift packages. Toys and books are therefore may have to stay at border checkpoints.

At the same time, the agency added that there are no inclusions for gift parcels, which are subject to the sanctions regime and are occasionally sent by one individual to another in the EU customs zone. The agency issued a warning, saying that items subject to sanctions may be seized, i.e. confiscated.

This year, there have been a few rare instances of German customs officers seizing cars registered in the Russian Federation that Russian residents had temporarily brought into Germany for transit or personal use.

Since their first introduction in 2014, the EU's sanctions against Russia have been extended twice a year, in January and July, for a period of six months each time. Under this system, eleven sets of anti-Russian sanctions have been enacted since February 24, 2022. This is the most extensive set of restrictions in the community's history. The 12th set of sanctions against the Russian Federation, which includes a ban on the supply of Russian jewelry diamonds to member nations, has now been approved by the EU. The Russian side has consistently maintained that the sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia are illegal.