Revenue laws and customs duties are precisely proclaimed to protect the economic strength of states. Hence, smuggling goes hand in hand with taxation systems and can be observed to take place wherever revenue duties are imposed. Among the classic examples of smuggled goods are highly-taxed products, such as diamonds, spirits, and tobacco. Smuggling, then, is an economic-political reality that cannot be dissociated from the development of national states and laws on taxation. Different types of smuggling can be distinguished.
Commercial smuggling involves the transportation of large quantities to be sold for profit abroad.
Petty smuggling applies to individual people crossing a border to purchase goods at a cheaper price. Research has consistently shown that petty smuggling is a widespread problem. Legislation on smuggling dates back to at least 14th-century England, when the Statute of Treasons of 1351 made it a crime to import counterfeit money. From then on, smuggling laws were gradually expanded to cover many other goods. But as remarkable as the historical development and expansion of smuggling legislation is, smuggling has always been practiced.