U.S. Customs

[Cygnus]

Many, many years ago my wife and I went to Ireland, Scotland and England on our honeymoon. We specifically used money we had received as gifts to purchase some special items on the trip because way back then the exchange rate was soooo good.

We bought Waterford crystal in Ireland which was shipped to us. The store labeled it as a 'gift' and we paid no duty.
We bought china in England which was shipped to us. The store declared full value and we paid the duty.
We bought many yards of different tartan material in Scotland which was shipped to us. The store declared the value at about $25.00 so it was exempt from duty.

Three different countries, three different approaches. Odd though that it was only the English which were the sticklers.

I'd take care if I were some of those vendors - labeling a parcel as something that it's not (even the value of the parcel) is illegal in most countries. And I'd hardly call something somebody paid for a "gift". The only reason so many things get through that way is that there are way too many parcels to check, and it really wouldn't be worth it to governments on either side of the transaction.

While I have little sympathy for my government or its financial situation, I am proud to be a citizen of my country and so will obey its laws.

Sorry if that came across as dogmatic - those are my reasons for being up-front about shipping of goods.

I'm stepping off my soapbox now...

[Lyle1]

Interesting...I read recently that bagpipes were exempted from import duty. I wonder what it would take to extend that exemption to kilts.

I discussed the issue of duty charges on kilts with an employee of the Customs Office several months ago. He said that KILTS SHOULD BE EXEMPT under the ETHNIC CLOTHING section of the regulations.

Another point: When the carriers charge you for duties, do they in practice present a detailed breakdown of the charges and some proof that they were actually paid?

[ctbuchanan]

No offense taken, as none was intended.

It is just a story I tell often to highlight the different approaches that I thought were interesting. My father was a Yorkshireman and career British Army officer. He wouldn't have approved of those "avoiding" the proper laws either.

As I recall we never discussed it with any of the store clerks (but it was quite a while ago) and we fully expected to pay the duty here when they arrived.

Cheers

[Cygnus]

I discussed the issue of duty charges on kilts with an employee of the Customs Office several months ago. He said that KILTS SHOULD BE EXEMPT under the ETHNIC CLOTHING section of the regulations.

I'll keep that in mind for future reference - it just might come in handy.

EDIT: I found the CBP site to be especially informative on the subject.

[wildrover]

I discussed the issue of duty charges on kilts with an employee of the Customs Office several months ago. He said that KILTS SHOULD BE EXEMPT under the ETHNIC CLOTHING section of the regulations.

Aha! Good to know!

[ForresterModern]

[QUOTE=Lyle1;900533]I discussed the issue of duty charges on kilts with an employee of the Customs Office several months ago. He said that KILTS SHOULD BE EXEMPT under the ETHNIC CLOTHING section of the regulations.
QUOTE]

OK, we have had this discussion in much greater depth before, and as it turns out it would be an extremely rare situation that would allow a kilt to be considered tariff/duty exempt, except from certain countries like Canada and Australia. See the detailed discussion in the following thread about "ethnic clothing" exemptions to the US Customs code:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...example-58250/

I did a pretty intense drill down of the code (probably deeper than most customs folks would) to get to the bottom of this in that thread.

jeff

[Ursularose]

Hi There - I don't think you will have a problem paying tax etc or import duties. I ran a business in the UK sending made to measure riding boots to many clients in the US and they never had a problem.