Duty-Free Question

Buying in the duty free shops just means that the local/state whatever duties and taxes you would pay for the same item on the street have not been added on. This is your reduced purchase price (but comparison shop on the street first!) I've found the same specialty soap for 50% less in Hawaii than it was for the same French product in Paris. Duty free shopping has nothing to do with clearing U.S. Customs. Your total limit is what it is no matter how you bought it. That said, I seriously doubt they'll nail you for one extra bottle of wine unless we're talking the truly expensive stuff or you are bringing in a ton of stuff that is subject to duty fees. My experience with U.S. Customs has been overall positive. The Customs Officers are looking for the idiot that thinks he/she is smarter then them and can sneek in, oh Monkey Urine Herbal Elephant Tusk wine. Or 20 boxes of cigars or a leg of Parma Ham wrapped up as a violin. The Department of Agriculture (which is your next stop before leaving the Customs area) is dead-on serious about bringing in live plants, any non-canned meat product, fruits etc. Their cute little dogs nail people in a second. On a serious note remember if you are catching a connecting flight after arriving stateside and clearing customs you will have to check that extra bottle.

No such thing as duty free into the US. Lets see if I can make this even simpler. Stuff for sale in a duty free shop is free of taxes and duties AT THAT LOCATION. Nothing to do with importing into the US or any other country. When you enter the US you will be asked to VOLUNTARY declare all your purchases on a US form. It is your business if you decide to lie on that form. A custom agent will review and stamp that form as part of the entry into the US. Sometimes the agent will ask questions about the purchases and may ask to see an item. Coming back from Costa Rica this past February he asked to see the bottle of rum that we had declared. And sometime the agent looks at you, looks at your list and stamps it. And, of course, there is sometimes a random search. Never has happened to us, but the party in front was searched. Don't know whay. It all depends. If you are over it will not be thrown away, just pay the fine and the duty. And where you pack it -- checked or carryon -- makes no difference.

If saving a couple of dollars is that important to you, then do it. For me, it would be the inconvenience of being delayed is far important than saving a dollar.

PS -- I have never found duty free to be much of a bargain other than the convenience factor of buying liquids behind the security check point.

Thanks for the info - that clears things up for me. I'm aware that duty free just means free of taxes, and with the exception of the Bruxelles Charloi Sud and Athens airport I haven't found it to be a good deal, but like you said just a convenience.

I'm not bringing back anything expensive, just a few bottles of wine that are hard to find in the States. I'm going to bring a few bottles of new oil and truffle stuff that comes sealed and 'approved' for travel.

Thanks!

As for Customs coming into the US, the two bottles mentioned in the literature will be free of duty required by US customs, but that applies to two bottles purchased from anywhere. As for additional bottles, there really is no limit except what the airlines will let you haul and you are willing to pay baggage fees for. I have brought back as many as 50 bottles of wine (pre 9/11 and weight restrictions) and have never had to pay duty in 5 trips. Declare how many bottles you have on your declaration form, assign a value, and hand over your card. Basically the small amount of duty you may owe is not worth the time for them to collect. Now if you do not claim the alcohol, and they find it, that is a whole other situation, probably resulting in a fine or "confiscating" it.

I doubt if the undeclared wine would be confiscated. Our only experience with undeclared items was being in line behind a couple that were caught with an undeclared camera. They were moved to the side, nearly stripped search, paid the duty and a fine and went on their way after much hassle. As I posted earlier, the risk is not worth it to save $5.

January 6 is the start of Homeland Security USA. It looks like it will have a lot of scenes from airport or border customs agents.

My wife and I were practically cavity searched by Canadian customs once when we did the math wrong on the amount of liquor we were bringing home. I suggest being up front and following the rules, unless you enjoy being detained for the better part of an hour and paying fines.