Slovenian Customs Detained EUR 5.5 Million Worth of Counterfeits in 2020

The number of customs detentions in Slovenia in 2020 was 520, slightly more than in 2019, when there were 469 detentions. Although the number of detained items increased from 324,401 in 2019 to 433,517 in 2020, the estimated value of the detained items decreased to EUR 5.5 million, as opposed to EUR 6.1 million in 2019.

The table below shows the Slovenian Customs’ statistics on the detentions of IPR infringing goods for the period 2018-2020:

The most prevalent counterfeit goods were clothes, footwear, accessories, car parts, toys and audio/video devices. The majority of counterfeits, as in previous years, arrived by sea through the Port of Koper in southwest Slovenia and by mail. The goods arriving by sea were mostly intended for recipients in other EU countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia and Austria). The goods arriving by mail were intended for recipients in Slovenia. The majority of the detained counterfeits originated in China, Hong Kong, Turkey, Singapore and India. Most of the detained counterfeits were destroyed under the Customs’ supervision.

In terms of international cooperation in the field of anti-counterfeiting, Slovenia was one of the 24 countries that participated in operation LUDUS, which ran between October 2020 and January 2021 targeting counterfeit toys – 10,196 toys were detained and destroyed in Slovenia as part of this operation, organized by Europol and supported by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Slovenia also participated in an international operation Pangea XIII, which targeted the online sale of counterfeit and illegal medicine. This operation was coordinated by INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO) and took place in March 2020.

Prepared by: Kaja Lavrič

For more information, please contact slovenia@petosevic.com.

Source: Slovenian Ministry of Finance website