In addition to other regular checks, customs officials will start making sure that travelers crossing into Finland from Russia have been in that country no less than 24 hours, if they are carrying cigarettes for import.
If officials have any doubts about the duration of a stay, not only documents, but also surveillance footage can be used to establish when any vehicle has crossed at border points.
Expecting problems
The problems that customs officers may now face stems from provisions of the regulations that come into force on Monday. Finnish citizens will continue to be allowed to bring back any cigarettes that they took with them into Russia, something that could give rise to a new type of fraud.
"We are now watching to see if cigarettes start being sold, for example in Vyborg, carrying Finnish labels," explains Lasse Jutila, who heads customs operations at the Nuijamaa border crossing point.
It is possible that a traveler could purchase cigarettes in Finnish packaging in Russia, and then claim they were bought in Finland and can be "returned" to the country duty-free.
Meanwhile, residents of Russia can bring a carton of cigarettes into Finland if they will be in the country at least 72 hours. Those visiting for a shorter time are permitted to bring in cigarettes for personal use, but the law does not specify exactly what amount that is.
"Should we start making decisions on the basis of how yellowed someone's fingers are, or use some other measure of how may cigarettes a day he smokes?" asks Jutila.
Customs officials expect that problems with interpreting and enforcing the new regulations will not go away until there have been some legal precedents set.