View Full Version : O/T Import allowances from USA
thedales
01-06-2005, 16:47
I am going to Florida in 2.5 weeks....can anyone tell me what I am allowed to bring back such as ciggies...booze...electricals....
TIA
Sorry if in wrong forum...
:cool:
SMHarman
01-06-2005, 16:48
Ciggies 200
Booze 1l
Electricals and other purchases £140, though this I thought was going up soon.
If you remove the tags / packaging from something then it is of course harder from HMCE to tell that it is new.
Chimaera
01-06-2005, 16:54
From this (http://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk/dutyfree.html) site:
When travelling from outside the EU to the UK you are allowed to bring in the following, provided you travel with the items and do not intend to sell them.
* 200 cigarettes; or 100 cigarillos; or 50 cigars; or 250 gms of tobacco
* 2 litres of still table wine
* 1 litre of spirits or strong liqueurs over 22% volume; or 2 litres of fortified wine, sparkling wine or other liqueurs
* 60cc/ml of perfume
* 250cc/ml of toilet water
* £145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs
TheBlueRaja
01-06-2005, 16:56
If your buying stuff you can get over here - dump as much packaging as you can apart from the product - then just tell them you took it with you (iPod for example).
SMHarman
01-06-2005, 16:57
For savers, he said that the tax-free limits on individual savings accounts would be maintained for another five years. Even travellers were rewarded. Mr Brown said he was seeking to raise the duty-free value at which goods can be brought back from non-EU countries. Currently it stands at £145. The Treasury is thinking of £800.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,10089-1385602,00.html
paulyoung666
01-06-2005, 16:59
If your buying stuff you can get over here - dump as much packaging as you can apart from the product - then just tell them you took it with you (iPod for example).
and dont tuck the manual away somewhere , you can be sure they will find it :Yikes: :D :D :D
TheBlueRaja
01-06-2005, 17:02
and dont tuck the manual away somewhere , you can be sure they will find it :Yikes: :D :D :D
You know - that could really chaff after a long flight :D
paulyoung666
01-06-2005, 17:04
You know - that could really chaff after a long flight :D
:rofl: :rofl:
ian@huth
01-06-2005, 17:04
and dont tuck the manual away somewhere , you can be sure they will find it :Yikes: :D :D :DPost it to yourself back home.
and dont tuck the manual away somewhere , you can be sure they will find it :Yikes: :D :D :D
Well, Having the manual isn't proof that you bought it there (although it can be). If you are worried about it, just mail the manual back individually.
and dont tuck the manual away somewhere , you can be sure they will find it :Yikes: :D :D :D
Just post it to yourself "Par Avion" :D :D
Yeah, mailing packaging and manuals is something I used to do on business trips to the States ;)
Yeah, mailing packaging and manuals is something I used to do on business trips to the States ;)
Don't forget to do the same with the receipts too. Depending on what you've bought you may want to keep them...in case there is a problem.
Ben
Okay something bothers me with this, what is to stop you buying loads of stuff say about 10kilo of tobacco or something daft, and just mailing it back to yourself?
Okay something bothers me with this, what is to stop you buying loads of stuff say about 10kilo of tobacco or something daft, and just mailing it back to yourself?
You have to label the parcel (green customs sticker) accurately. If you don't, you'll have a lot more trouble than paying a bit of tax.
I am going to Florida in 2.5 weeks....can anyone tell me what I am allowed to bring back such as ciggies...booze...electricals....
TIA
Sorry if in wrong forum...
:cool:
Clothes out there are mega cheap as are trainers, we went a couple of years ago, we got £500 worth of clothes for £200 Uk money. Don't take many clothes with you buy them over there then bring them back.
Okay so if I go to the US of A, and buy a cheap car over there ( which I may be doing ) and want it over here, plus a nice tv ( with uk mod ) and a cell phone, I could have issues getting it all back over to the UK, just because I am bypassing the stupid UK prices we have.
That sucks.
Clothes out there are mega cheap as are trainers, we went a couple of years ago, we got £500 worth of clothes for £200 Uk money. Don't take many clothes with you buy them over there then bring them back.
Definately find out what your baggage allowance is, pack extremely light and come back with more suitcases than you went with if you are allowed 1 bag per person ;) It's amazing how much you can get into one suitcase if you try hard and carry on holdalls and handbags can hold quite a lot too :angel:
It's amazing how much you can get into one suitcase if you try hard and carry on holdalls and handbags can hold quite a lot too :angel:
You can wear quite a lot too :D
Ben
Posting things back is a favourite especially if you do it each day you're there using different methods (Parcels service, UPS, Etc)
£145 allowance goes a long way and you can combine people in your party I believe (MUST be travelling together) therefore if you have your child with you they also get £145 allowance and used this to buy you a new IPOD!
Watch some goods, based on the model/serial number etc. it is easy to spot that it was purchased in the States and not the UK - This is especially true of clothing and shoes (a favourite of mine when coming back from the states) - I always play the "I took this out with me" card, as my passport has a number of US stamps I am OK (hopefully!)
Never try "Lie" on the customs form when posting back to the UK, they are tough on this sort of thing out there...By all means mark down the value of the goods but again it's a risk - NEVER post anything illegal
Okay so if I go to the US of A, and buy a cheap car over there ( which I may be doing ) and want it over here, plus a nice tv ( with uk mod ) and a cell phone, I could have issues getting it all back over to the UK, just because I am bypassing the stupid UK prices we have.
That sucks.
Just pay the duty on it, it'll probably still be cheeper, my contacts are!
Definately find out what your baggage allowance is, pack extremely light and come back with more suitcases than you went with if you are allowed 1 bag per person ;) It's amazing how much you can get into one suitcase if you try hard and carry on holdalls and handbags can hold quite a lot too :angel:
My dad god rest his soul went to the states a few years ago on a golfing holiday, he bought a set of ping golf clubs over there made to measure the lot cost £500, over here the same clubs would cost £1,000-£1,500. He dumped his old clubs over there and bought the new pings back :D :D :D When I picked hi mup from the airport my mum was sick with worry incase the customs pulled them. All the way back she was looking out of the back window to see if the customs were following :D :D :D Me and my dad were laughing all the way back.
SMHarman
02-06-2005, 09:48
Definately find out what your baggage allowance is, pack extremely light and come back with more suitcases than you went with if you are allowed 1 bag per person ;) It's amazing how much you can get into one suitcase if you try hard and carry on holdalls and handbags can hold quite a lot too :angel:If you are travelling on a scheduled airline (BA, Virgin, American, United etc (not Britannia, TUI or one of the Orlando Sanford specials) then your allowance is 2, 62in 32kg suitcases per full fare paying pax. Let me tell you thats a lot of luggage. If you have an internal flight then the allowance for the transatlantic applies for that flight too.
__________________
Okay so if I go to the US of A, and buy a cheap car over there ( which I may be doing ) and want it over here, plus a nice tv ( with uk mod ) and a cell phone, I could have issues getting it all back over to the UK, just because I am bypassing the stupid UK prices we have.
That sucks.
Well you can't check a car into the hold of an aircraft, you need to ship it and arrange for that, you also need to arrange for it to be made UK legal when it gets here (headlights etc) and get a certificate of conformity. It will still be LHD, but the task is entirely possible.
Curiously Americans find it cheaper to buy luxury european cars over here (well on the continent as they are LHD and export them back). I met a guy doing a driving holiday who started in Germany, bought a used Boxter (instead of renting a hire car), drove it around for the month of the holiday and then put it on a slow boat to the US for when he got home. The saving on buying the Porsche paid for the vacation.
I would not buy a US TV, the two scanning systems, NTSC and PAL are sufficiently different to make that a very awkward purchase.
Make sure you get a TDMA mobile phone not a CDMA or it will not work on the EU GSM network. With the subsidies the network providors give in the UK I would be suprised if you can make a saving here.
To be honest these are the sorts of things that unless you live there for a while it is too awkward to think about purchasing, PC hardware, music, DVDs clothes etc are all easy, but cars, tvs etc require too much thought IMHO.
Theodoric
02-06-2005, 18:59
Ciggies 200
Booze 1l
Electricals and other purchases £140, though this I thought was going up soon.
If you remove the tags / packaging from something then it is of course harder from HMCE to tell that it is new.
On the other hand, if HMCE wanted to be difficult I believe that is up to you to prove that you bought it in the UK, not up to them to prove that you bought it abroad.
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