BBC News Online looks at what the ruling means, and what impact it will have on the millions of 'booze cruisers' who cross the channel each year.

What was the case about?

It was not about the amount of alcohol and tobacco that can be brought into the UK from the EU, but focussed on the methods used by Customs and Excise to tackle suspected smuggling.

Customs officers relied on what is known as "generalised trend intelligence" - effectively a more scientific approach to random stop and search - to pull up vehicles.

The court ruling means they will now have to have specific reasons to stop a specific vehicle - there must be some legitimate suspicion that a person is attempting to smuggle goods before they can stopped.

They will also need to establish a case that would stand up in a court of law before they could destroy or sell confiscated vehicles.

The complainants also successfully argued that the burden of proof should be on Customs and Excise to prove they were smuggling, rather than on them to prove they were not.

What are you allowed to bring in?

In theory, shoppers can bring in any amount of goods to the UK, but they must be purely for "personal use".

Clearly, selling them on is illegal, but the issue of what constitutes the maximum for personal use is a grey area.

There are no hard and fast rules, but customs give guidelines such as 800 cigarettes, 1kg of tobacco, 90 litres of wine, 110 litres of beer and 10 litres of spirits.

Anyone bringing in more than this is likely to be asked to provide a satisfactory explanation as to how they are for personal use - or could face the goods, and possibly their vehicle, being seized.

The High Court ruling will not affect the levels deemed to be for personal use.

How big a problem is smuggling?

Very big - the trade in black market tobacco alone is estimated to be worth more than �4bn a year, accounting for 21% of all cigarettes sold in the UK.

Total smuggling of alcohol and tobacco costs UK taxpayers �9m a day, according to Customs and Excise figures.

In their efforts to crack down on this, Customs and Excise seized and destroyed more than 10,200 cars last year.

What happens now?

Hundreds of people who had goods and vehicles seized are now being urged to bring similar cases - with potentially serious financial implications for Customs and Excise.

Customs say they are considering appealing against certain aspects of the ruling - but insist that their overall strategy has been vindicated and will not need to be changed.

However, it faces a further challenge from the EU, which has warned that it too may bring legal action unless the seizures, which it sees as stifling legitimate European trade, are stopped.