European judges have ruled that people can not buy cheap alcohol and tobacco over the internet and escape paying excise duty.
People will still have to travel to the continent themselves, and bring the goods back with them.
The European Court of Justice had been asked to adjudicate on a case brought by a Dutch wine club who objected to being charged duty on a lorry-load of wine delivered from France. It's good news for the ferry operators - and the alcohol and tobacco outlets on the French and Belgian coasts - who rely on the booze cruises for some of their business.
If the judges had allowed the internet trade, it would have been a big blow to the government who would have lost millions of pounds in taxation.
