Shopping Allowance?

[mushumadness]

Hiya

Can somebody please tell me how much I can spend before I NEED to declare to customs? and also is it the same amount for kids and adults?

Its just I am wanting to buy a lead pad, thomas trains etc while I am in the states, and I have never really bought lots of toys for me before lol,

Also how do you declare, and if you declare do they just go through the cases, or do you just have the expensive items in a seperate bag for them to see??

Also is there still a mr potatoe head place at dtd?

thanx anna

 

[jtlover]

Not sure of the exact figure but it is less than £150 each - but lots of people buy more and dont declare it, especially with clothing . If it is a big item then you might have a problem.

Regarding Mr Potato head - yes there is a shop at DTD with everything and anything you can add to MPH - there is also an area where you can play doing it

 

[UKDEB]

When travelling from a non-EU country (including the Canary Islands, the Channel islands and Gibraltar) you can bring the following into the UK for your own use without paying UK tax or duty:

200 cigarettes; or 100 cigarillos; or 50 cigars; or 250g of tobacco
60cc of perfume
2 litres of still table wine
250cc of eau de toilette
1 litre of spirits or strong liqueurs over 22 per cent volume; or 2 litres of fortified wine*, sparkling wine or other liqueurs *such as port or sherry and
£145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs.
If you have any more than these allowances you must declare the goods in the red channel or use the red point phone. If you do not, you are breaking the law and we may prosecute you.

If you are under 17 you cannot have the tobacco and alcohol allowances.
You are entitled to these allowances only if you travel with the goods and do not sell them.
If you bring in something worth more than the limit of £145, you must pay charges on the full value, not just the value above £145.
You and anyone you are travelling with cannot pool your individual allowances to bring in an item worth more than the limit. You will have to pay charges on the full value of the item.
If you are bringing back any duty-free or tax-free goods you bought when you left the UK, these count as part of your allowance.

 

[mushumadness]

so no one good over £145? sorry to sound dense

I tend to ship things back, which normally go through customs on the way in, so do customs bill you?

 

[UKDEB]

Total of £145 per person. Are you saying you ship things back to avoid Customs? If so, you can't guarantee they won't intercept.

 

[mushumadness]

no, i get a bill from fed ex when they are at the office to collect, and pay the customs the day I pick up the parcel. I got one today for some wedding stuff I ordered I saved over £100 on what I bought and the customs was only £23 so well worth it.

I ship things back because of the weight issue, I tend to buy heavy candles, home decor etc, or bulky items, such as a life size skeleton for halloween, they are much easier to post home lol

I just wondered when you declare on the way in, do you pay then or get a bill?

I have used the red phone one time declaring my watch for my 21st as it cost alot, but no one picked the phone up!

sorry I didnt mean to sound as if I was dodging customs, just needed to know how it works, I only really have experiance in customs by mail

 

[UKDEB]

I just wondered when you declare on the way in, do you pay then or get a bill?

You pay at the time, if anyone is interested. As you've discovered, often no-one is. They have bigger fish to fry.

 

[mushumadness]

I would love to work at customs, it must be so interesting

 

[Goofyish]

I would love to work at customs, it must be so interesting

I can just imagine you with your latex gloves on and a sinister smile on your face

 

[Danauk]

DH bought a guitar last time we went to WDW and had it in the hold as his extra piece of luggage (he bought the flight case to go with is as well.) When we went through customs I took my luggage through the green chanel and he took the guitar with the receipt plus one suitcase through the red chanel. They didn't look in the suitcase, just in the guitar case as that was what he was declaring. They needed to look at the receipt so they could calculate the tax. So if you go through the red chanel, just make sure you have all the receipts for the items you are declaring ready and it will only take a few minutes.

 

[UKDEB]

I would love to work at customs, it must be so interesting

I'm not convinced that Customs Officers would agree!

 

[mikki.young]

The allowance was supposed to be going up to £340 odd earlier this year. Anyone know when it is likely to happen or have they changed their minds?

 

[Laurafoster]

I can just imagine you with your latex gloves on and a sinister smile on your face

Yeah me too!!

I agree about customs charges though, everytime ive needed to declare something - there not interested, once i had camera which was quite a bit over the limit, when i told them about it they just said dont worry

However i ALWAYS seem to get the bill if i ship things home or buy via the internet!

 

[AlanUK]

I would love to work at customs, it must be so interesting

As with most jobs I suspect it all depends on what you end up doing. I am sure there are some very interesting investigative jobs working for Customs and Excise, equally I think that standing in a red or green channel at an airport all day every day must bore the sock off them after a while.

The allowance was supposed to be going up to £340 odd earlier this year. Anyone know when it is likely to happen or have they changed their minds?

I'm not sure about this. I'm sure I read somewhere a while ago that when GB was chancellor he was keen on raising the limit to £1000 but needed to get agreement from other EU countries which he was having trouble doing.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi Anna,

Can you not buy the Thomas trains in the UK?

Strange really, when we buy clothes in the US the labels on the items seem to just drop off almost by magic before we put them in the suitcase....

 

[Goofey's Girl]

Hi Anna,

Can you not buy the Thomas trains in the UK?

Strange really, when we buy clothes in the US the labels on the items seem to just drop off almost by magic before we put them in the suitcase....

Yes i have that same problem...also i love wearing my jewellery when i am travelling. Keeps me in a holiday mood.

 

[homerdog]

If you declare your goods to the officer in the red channel, he may ask you to pay duty and VAT, it largely depends on the items involved. If it was several low value items you are less likely to be charged, but a large item (like the guitar mentioned above) is more likely to be charged.

Many people don't realise they are above the limit, so head straight through the green channel. If they get stopped and the officer finds they have too many 'other goods' (ie not cigarettes, tobacco or alcohol) then, assuming they are pleasant and compliant, they are likely to be let off. The worst that is likely to happen is that the officer will take them through to the red point officer, who will take the duty and VAT owed.

If, on the other hand a person knowingly tries to evade duty, they will have their goods seized. The goods may be offered for restoration, but the amount will be much greater than the duty and VAT due had they been properly declared.

 

[mickg7dyd]

The allowance was supposed to be going up to £340 odd earlier this year. Anyone know when it is likely to happen or have they changed their minds?

As mentioned earlier our Chancellor wanted to raise the limit to £1000 but the EU wouldn't allow this. Apparently a compromise was reached (read UK backing down as usual) and the limit was to be raised to 500 Euros but there is no indication when this will happen.

Mick.

 

[matty624]

If you declare your goods to the officer in the red channel, he may ask you to pay duty and VAT, it largely depends on the items involved. If it was several low value items you are less likely to be charged, but a large item (like the guitar mentioned above) is more likely to be charged.

Many people don't realise they are above the limit, so head straight through the green channel. If they get stopped and the officer finds they have too many 'other goods' (ie not cigarettes, tobacco or alcohol) then, assuming they are pleasant and compliant, they are likely to be let off. The worst that is likely to happen is that the officer will take them through to the red point officer, who will take the duty and VAT owed.

If, on the other hand a person knowingly tries to evade duty, they will have their goods seized. The goods may be offered for restoration, but the amount will be much greater than the duty and VAT due had they been properly declared.

This really is not something people should worry about. I'm sure you're not trying to scare people, but having been through customs returning from Florida over a dozen times over the years, and that's back into a number of different Uk airports too, we've only ever 'seen' a customs officer once! And all he was doing was watching folk walk past. We usually have many times more than our limit of £145/person, all with price tags removed, and really dont worry about it anymore. That said, if you walked through with a couple of new laptops and a piano sticking out of your suitcase, you'd be asking for it!
I'm sure there will be people who say they have seen travellers who have been stopped, but as long as you dont have many thousands (and I mean many!) of pounds worth of goods on you, which are clearly new, I really wouldn't worry about it.
Matty

 

[paulfoel]

Having been to Florida loads of times (lost count now), I'm sure we've always had more than £145 per person and never been hassled once.

Like most people said, its rare to actually see a customs officer...

If we buy things like clothes we do cut all the tags off though. Cant see how they can prove you bought the items over there then....

Has anyone ever had any hassle at all about the £145 thing?