Strict new EU laws due to come into force in weeks will curtail the smuggling of counterfeit goods into the State.
It is estimated that organised smuggling costs Irish firms around €750 million in lost revenue annually. Sportswear, CDs, DVDs and branded jewellery such as Prada and Rolex are the most popular counterfeit items.
Figures show that there has been a major increase in the seizure of counterfeit goods across EU states since 1999.
Organised gangs have also been involved in smuggling counterfeit car parts and even fake aircraft parts into the EU, according to an Irish Customs spokesman.
"When that happens you can get into all kinds of difficulties because something like a counterfeit engine part would not stand up to the same level of stress as a genuine part," Mr Dermot Gilroy of the Revenue's Customs department said.
Counterfeit foodstuffs and medicines can also pose a serious health risk, he said.
The new legislation is expected to come into force in April. It is designed to make it easier for customs and revenue authorities in EU states to initiate prosecutions against those involved in smuggling.
They will also make it easier for customs officials to confiscate counterfeit goods being brought into member-states in their holiday luggage. Even if holiday makers stay within their duty-free limits, goods can still be confiscated.
The new legislation leaves it to the discretion of individual customs officials to decide whether a quantity of counterfeit goods found in holiday luggage could be defined as commercial smuggling.
Those returning home with, for example, just a handful of the same counterfeit soccer shirts may be targeted even if the value of those goods falls within permitted levels.
The new measures are expected to hit holidaymakers returning from Asian countries hardest. The new legislation does not cover counterfeit goods being transported cross-border within the EU.
It is estimated counterfeiting accounts for more than €300 billion in lost revenue for EU companies every year. The annual cost to Irish firms is put at €750 million by Revenue's anti-counterfeiting group.
Under the new rules right owners - firms which own brands or intellectual property - will no longer be required to pay a fee to initiate proceedings. Under current legislation right owners were required to pay £400 before an action could be initiated.
Mr Pat Carey TD, a member of the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs, said counterfeiters threaten hundreds of jobs in Ireland every year.
"Under [the new regulations] three football jerseys in one suitcase would just about qualify as personal luggage coming through the airport. Gone are the days of bulging suitcases stuffed full of fake goods and the message must get through to counterfeit traffickers that they will be caught."
The legislation has yet to be fully finalised and ratified by the EU.
