Dutch cigarettes

One day a Frenchman went abroad for his holiday. He had an opportunity of visiting some countries and stayed a few weeks in Holland.

He went sightseeing a lot and like the Dutch towns very much. The country impressed him. Although the weather was not very good, as it often rained, he enjoyed his stay in Holland very much. He stayed at one of the best hotels there and was satisfied with everything.

One day he met a man who knew Dutch meals very well, so the man invited the Frenchman to a restaurant where they served national dishes. The Frenchman liked the dishes very much and they had an enjoyable time at the restaurant. But what he liked best of all were Dutch cigarettes. He smoked them every day and enjoyed them greatly. After he had spent some weeks in Holland he decided to go back to France. He bought a lot of Dutch cigarettes for his own use and put them into his suit-case. When he arrived at the French border, he was to go through the Customs. He found out that cigarettes were liable to duty. As he didn’t want to pay duty on them he took some cigarettes out of his suit-case, put them into his hat, then put the hat on. He thought that nobody would notice the cigarettes and asked the porter to take his luggage to the Customs House.

They soon came into the Customs House where the clerk was to inspect the luggage. The Frenchman was about to go through the Customs when he learned that the Director of the Customs House was his old friend whom he had not seen for a very long time. The Frenchman went to see him, and they were very glad to see each other. They had a nice talk and drank a few toasts to their friendship.

Some time later they went up to the Customs officer, and the Director said, “Let this gentleman pass. Don’t examine his luggage.” The Frenchman was so happy that he took off his hat to thank his friend. He had quite forgotten that there were cigarettes in it. And the cigarettes fell on the floor.

TASKS

Task 1. Answer the following questions.

1. What country did a Frenchman stay a few weeks in?

2. What hotel did he stay at?

3. What did the Frenchman do in the country?

4. What kind of the weather was there during his holiday?

5. Where was the man invited to?

6. What did he like best of all?

7. What did he buy before leaving the country?

8. What did he find out when he arrived at the French border?

9. Why did he take some cigarettes out of his suitcase and put them into his hat?

10. What did he learn when he was about to go through the Customs?

11. Were the two men glad to see each other?

12. How did it happen that the cigarettes fell on the floor?

Task 2. Over to you 1.

What dutiable articles do you knew?

Why are they dutiable?

Task 3. Over to you 2.

What are the Customs regulations in respect of these goods?