[Gordon]

Well, didn't I come unstuck recently!

I used to go way over the limit, with booze and ciggies....

Recently, I bought 3 x 1125mls. bottles of spirits back from NZ (into Sydney)

I got hit with over $100. in duty tax!!!!

I offered to 'surrender' one of the bottles, thereby making my imports totally legal, with no duty payable.... oh, no! Too bad, because once you're into their 'holding area' where they are assessing you, they won't let you surrender anything, nor 'turn back' to dump or 'give away' anything excess!!!

So, I wound up with a $125. bottle of white Jim Beam, that I could of brought in Sydney for about $50. or so (1125mls.)

Morale of the story....

STICK TO THE LIMIT OF 2.25litres EXACTLY.... or you'll pay dearly, not just on the one or two bottles excess..... but the WHOLE LOT you have with you!!!!

(sniff, sniff!!) (tears trickling down my checks).....

[Mal]

Did you declare them at the gate, or did they find them themselves?

One of the features of the new limits is that if you go over, you don't just pay for the bottle that tipped it over - you now pay for everything in that duty class (as in your example, the three bottles rather than just the one).

[serfty]

As I mentioned on another thread, this is a money making exercise for the government.

I had a work associate who was about to embark on a honeymoon ask me about the D/F allowances and what about a "you beaut" $2,300 dvd camcorder purchased duty free as a wedding present.

This was purchased in Melbourne before departure by his soon to be MIL.

I told him that even with pooling his and his bride's $900 allowances they would be well over the limit and may need to pay up to $230 duty on this on return.

"Rubbish" said MIL.

His bride rechecked with the travel agent who (verbally) advised they would only need to pay $50 duty on the amount over $1800, if at all. So off they went.

When I saw him after his honeymoon he was steaming about having to fork out an extra $350 in duty/excise as they were over both their alcohol & general concessional limits. It was $230 for the camcorder and $120 for the booze.

MIL reckons it was his fault for declaring the goods! :roll:

He had complained to the TA who denied advising anything of the kind.

[NM]

Originally Posted by serfty

It was $230 for the camcorder and $120 for the booze.

Maybe they should have claimed they have used the camcorder extensively while away and hence it has now depreciated in value, to say about $1800. Might be a bit hard if they bought it OS and were only away for a week. But if you use the GST refund on exit or have been OS for a while (perhaps a month or more) it might be worth asking the depreciation question if caught in a similar situation. Perhaps 10-20% depreciation might be considered acceptable - but I guess it depends on the mood of the agent.

There are bins in the airports and on planes for a reason people....

:twisted:

The day the government starts spending my taxes wiseley is the day I will stop beating the system :2cents

[dajop]

If you open the extra bottles of alcohol .. hic ... and have a few swigs on the plane .... hic .... does this count towards the allowance..... hic ...or is it separate?

[Gordon]

I actually DECLARED, and went off to the RED gate. I saw the Customs Officer... he asked me what did I want to declare. I told him "a few extra bottles" (even though they got me for having three bottles totaling 3.375 litres, I actually had MORE in my carry bag!!!)

I was then directed to the DUTY COLLECTOR counter, where the guy looked up my particular bottles, read off a table, and told me the duty would be for $XXX.

I started to argue, but then though "sh*T!!!" I've got all that extra in my other bag!!!! "OK, thank you officer..."

Lucky they didn't want to 'search' me (do they have free internet in Long Bay?)

regards,

[infoworks]

The new limits have made customs "go hard" on collections. If you do declare, say a new camera, and it is over the duty free limit (single or joint - kids are half) and it is taken out of the box, customs will normally apply a 20% depreciation, less the DFA, prior to calculating the duty. They are normally pretty good about doing it in my experience. If in doubt make sure you say it's "out of the box and been used" and check they have allowed the first years' depreciation in their calculations.

Also, despite them saying the customs xray is for quarantine, they have often commented on my "2 bottles"...so depending on who is looking, they look at more than quarantine.

Also, I have also found the "nothing to declare" lane is often staffed with contract security staff who seem less concerned with limits than the customs guys in the "declared" lane.

[markis10]

Quarantine Xrays brought me down last year when I missed declaring one bottle and it got noticed by the customs officer. My travelling partner was also caught and tried the open bottle trick - it does not work.

The new rules have just removed the old buffers that were in place, in a way they have made the line clearer as to what exactly is possible as far as duty free goes. Having said that I am still amazed that a $20-30 bottle of grog gets more attention than the $2000 notebook that you are carrying that maybe you did not leave the country with, the last 40 business trips I have done I have never been asked about my laptop in Australia.

[serfty]

Originally Posted by markis10

... The new rules have just removed the old buffers that were in place, in a way they have made the line clearer as to what exactly is possible as far as duty free goes. ...

Don't forget that the changes also allow customs to get more $$$.

For example, 1 person bringing back $1000 worth of unused duty free goods and nothing else used to be up for $60 in tax on return. They now will be up for $100.