Stupid question but why not: can one who is a US citizen shop at the duty free shop at a US airport [say JFK] when leaving the country?
Posted by
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
430 posts
Yes -- but... if you bring it back, it could be treated as being imported for the purposes of your re-entry to the U.S.
Go to this website and look at "tip #8" and poke around some more -- the whole answer is on there somewhere, but I can't ferret it out.
There are also some TSA implications if you buy liquids. Liquids bought in Duty Free shops within the secure zone, of any size, are still permitted on the plane --- but only for direct flights to final destinations. If you are making a connection to your final destination liquids are subject to local restrictions. In most cases that means that containers exceeding 3.4 fluid ounces will not be allowed to make a connecting flight, and most airports no longer recognize the 'tamper evident duty free transport bags' that were briefly used.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9369 posts
Yes, you can, but there's really no benefit to doing so. Airport prices aren't great, and whatever you can buy at the airport you could buy before you go.
Posted by
OP
MIAMI!
75 posts
ah, thanks!!!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23564 posts
Duty free is more of a marketing tool. Simply means duty free in country of purchase -- whatever that means. Remember many years ago watch some young couple get stripped to their socks by US customs officers because they did not declare a camera that they had purchased at a duty free shop in Europe. I think they honestly believed that they did not have to declare it. BUT as the custom officer stated rather sternly, "May be duty there but not duty free here. What else do you have that is duty free?" I am sure the rest of the afternoon was fairly miserable for them.
No stupid questions, but some of us (self included) can provide some really dumb answers.