Originally Posted by
Ditto
I don't quite see how those regulations (which I have never seen enforced) hinder such a thing, nothing prevents me from moving stuff from my carry-on luggage to my checked baggage (and v.v) before leaving customs, I even do it quite often in the form of putting my duty-free shopping into my checked luggage, or getting my jacket out or what ever the case may be.
There is also nothing preventing you from handing over goods to other passengers before entering Schengen (instead of before heading out of customs in your destinations), and actually there is nothing illegal in that.
We aren't talking just goods here. There are some areas where the system of hand luggage being checked at point of entry and checked luggage at destination play a more important role, such as transporting cash. Not likely to be in the checked baggage. Yes, someone with more than 10,000€ could try handing something off to someone waiting in the bathroom or whatever to then have less than 10k, etc. But with *no* checks at point of entry it becomes even easier for smuggling of cash.
As far as goods, yes, someone with a long connection time could have goods worth the 430€ in their hand luggage, go through customs and be legal, mail the stuff from the airport. Then when they arrive at their destination, the other 430€ in goods in their checked baggage looks legal too.. But then that's a lot of effort to save not so much money.