Just came through Dulles Friday night with a case which we declared. Asked how many bottles we had and waved through with a “have a nice night.”
I brought back 9 bottles last night from France. I didn’t even need to declare, as Customs officer at the separate line for GE, just asked for our kiosk receipt and waved us through with a “Welcome back” comment.
As a side note, 2 - 3 years ago, I would return back from any trip abroad and I would be the lonely guy occupying one of the 6 self-service GE kiosks at JFK.
Last night there were 2 or 3 rows of self-service kiosks, each row with about 7 - 8 machines. Wife and I had to wait in line, only about 1 minute wait, to get to an available kiosk. This GE thing is gaining in popularity.
I was once yelled at for trying to pay duty on a few bottles of wine when the guy asked me if I really wanted him to gill out all those forms just so he could collect 25 cents. He was just joking. The only time I got into trouble was when I dropped a bottle of Kahlua and stunk up the place.
I was once sent to the USDA person over some food. It was a different line. They were friendly and waved me through quickly.
Charlie, great to know. Any limitations on number off bottles?
That is incorrect. While they may refer to “1 liter of alcohol” you will see in the details that it’s “1 liter of alcoholic beverage”.
The duty owed is based on the alcohol brought in, but not the exemption. I haven’t gotten a straight answer to whether the flat duty rate of 3% for the first $1000 of purchases beyond the personal exemption or 6.3 cents per liter for still wine based on the published duty schedule (file:///C:/Users/Barry/Downloads/Chapter%2022.pdf) applies.
This came up only once, about 15 years ago, when the agent wanted to collect the 3% and I had a copy of the linked schedule showing 6.3 cents per liter. It ended up being waived. In the multiple times since then, it’s been waived without any discussion.
I declare everything. If you declare unpasteurized cheese under 60 days old, my experience is they will waive that through, even though it’s not allowed. Meat products that aren’t canned are never allowed through.
You need to be careful at Dulles. VA law prohibits the importation of more than a gallon of alcohol. I was once stopped and given a warning by one of the custom agents that my case of wine was in violation of VA law. I’m not sure if that only applies to VA residents but something to keep in mind if Dulles is your port of entry.
I don’t know the true or exact rule, but I’ve always been waived through, with a quick question on the contents and sources, whenever I bring in meat products in sealed jars.
I think jarred is treated like canned (I have successfully brought fois gras entier in a jar back).
But a salami - no way it gets throught.
Fruit is also an issue, as well as plants.
Had this happen to a friend in NH - customs agent made a comment about NH law and friend quipped back with “who do you work for? The state of NH or the Federal Gov’t”.
It didn’t go over well…but his wine got thorough.
Just came back with two wine checks laden with alcohol from Belgium at LAX. The customs agent at the end of the GE line didn’t even look at my slip and just said “Bye” with nary a glance.
Great news and timely as Im off to Paris in less than 3 weeks and in Europe for a month where Ill certainly have an opportunity to pick up some rare imports. Thanks
Kahlua??!?? That deserved to be dropped!
fyi just brought 36 bottles from Italy, via Newark. I checked the box for wine, and got pulled aside to the customs area. They were super nice; the net result was that I should have paid ~ $25 in duties but the cashier was missing so they didn’t end up charging. That was the second time I’ve had that happen with the cashier - I haven’t yet had to pay but Newark does play the game moreso than DC. The net result is that it cost me about 30 minutes of time, no cash and given that I brought back things like Bartolo Mascarello and 2010 Massolino Vigna Rionda for release prices, saved a ton of cash vs buying in the US