Ah the insane procedures involved in returning home...

[ggunn]

Michael, it's been a few years since I was in Mexico. What is the limit on how many bottles you can bring back. It used to be two per traveler. Kaluha is dirt cheap in Mexico compared to here in Louisiana.

I called US Customs and asked them a few years ago, and they told me two bottles, with one caveat, the limit can be pre-empted (downward only) by the state through which you enter the US. Fair enough, so I called the... well, I don't remember which Texas state agency it was that finally gave me the scoop, but sure enough, Texas says (or said, at the time I was asking) only one bottle.

 

[cdiver2]

cdiver2...Love you!!! Finally a man who understands....and agrees...and one who's wife will love him forever....

It took two marriages before I understood/gave in

 

[DandyDon]

I called US Customs and asked them a few years ago, and they told me two bottles, with one caveat, the limit can be pre-empted (downward only) by the state through which you enter the US. Fair enough, so I called the... well, I don't remember which Texas state agency it was that finally gave me the scoop, but sure enough, Texas says (or said, at the time I was asking) only one bottle.

Ah ha! I thought there was some deal. Yeah, we have more Baptist churches than banks. Lots more...! :shakehead

I do remember a trip to the USVIs years ago, returning thru Atlanta, and we were allowed to bring 3 free - as long as one of them was produced within some co-op there, or something. Gawd, I can't remember details from my drinking days. Imagine that.

I brought home several bottles of rum once from St.Martin, and we had to walk forever at Miami customs. I got so mad I lied about having anything to declare - with maybe 4 liters there in my shoulder bag. Not a good idea at all. :11:

Let them at my buds house, then his new GF drank them in a week.

 

[JessH]

The stuff I am finding online right now says you are only allowed to bring one liter back into the US duty free. Anything above that may be charged duty and tax. That being said you can bring as many bottles as you want back for personal use as long as you pay the duty on them. Personally I usually bring 2 or 3 bottles back and I have never been charged anything by customs. They barely even look at those forms.

As for Kaluah prices, you should be able to find a bottle for $8 or $9 in Mexico. Any more and you are probably in the wrong part of town.

~Jess

 

[DandyDon]

The stuff I am finding online right now says you are only allowed to bring one liter back into the US duty free. Anything above that may be charged duty and tax. That being said you can bring as many bottles as you want back for personal use as long as you pay the duty on them. Personally I usually bring 2 or 3 bottles back and I have never been charged anything by customs. They barely even look at those forms.

As for Kaluah prices, you should be able to find a bottle for $8 or $9 in Mexico. Any more and you are probably in the wrong part of town.

~Jess

I saw that just now: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/paying_duty.xml

Ever hear of anyone having a problem returning with a camera, laptop, jewelry, etc that they took with them from the US? They have forms for those to prove you took them out of US and are simply returning with them, but I have never bothered. Maybe I should, having just returned with a laptop and three cameras...?

 

[JessH]

Ever hear of anyone having a problem returning with a camera, laptop, jewelry, etc that they took with them from the US? They have forms for those to prove you took them out of US and are simply returning with them, but I have never bothered. Maybe I should, having just returned with a laptop and three cameras...?

I have never heard of anyone having any problems. Things such as computers and cameras actually tend to cost more in Mexico than in the US so they don't have any reason to believe that people are buying them in Mexico and trying to skip out on paying the importation taxes. If you plan on taking anything very valuable that might be mistaken for something you bought in Mexico then it might not be a bad idea.

If you are taking multiples of things such as cameras into Mexico there is the possiblity that Mexican customs might think that you are going to resell them there and hastle you about it.

~Jess

 

[Ron Brandt]

I saw that just now: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/paying_duty.xml

Ever hear of anyone having a problem returning with a camera, laptop, jewelry, etc that they took with them from the US? They have forms for those to prove you took them out of US and are simply returning with them, but I have never bothered. Maybe I should, having just returned with a laptop and three cameras...?

Friends of mine returned from Coz last Friday and spent time being searched at Canadian Customs. The Customs officer did mention that he could make them produce receipts for every piece of gear they own and the gear would be locked up until they could produce them.

He recommended they get a green card for their equipment .

I'm planning on going back in Feb and will go to customs to get one of these cards.

Ron

 

[DandyDon]

Now that's just absurd. What was the agnt's problem? Gawd...!

I know that scuba gear costs more in Coz than it does in the US, and I'd suppose so for Canada - so there's no logic there. Was your friend caught at something else?

Here are the requirements from the US Customs site. Can you imagine an LDS group showing up at the departing airport all asking for an inventory & document? Jeeze.

Tip: Register Items Before You Leave The United States

If your laptop computer was made in Japan—for instance—you might have to pay duty on it each time you brought it back into the United States, unless you could prove that you owned it before you left on your trip. Documents that fully describe the item—such as sales receipts, insurance policies, or jeweler's appraisals—are acceptable forms of proof.

To make things easier, you can register certain items with CBP before you depart— including watches, cameras, laptop computers, firearms, and CD players—as long as they have serial numbers or other unique, permanent markings. Take the items to the nearest CBP office and request a Certificate of Registration (CBP Form 4457). It shows that you had the items with you before leaving the United States and all items listed on it will be allowed duty-free entry. CBP officers must see the item you are registering in order to certify the certificate of registration. You can also register items with CBP at the international airport from which you’re departing. Keep the certificate for future trips.

 

[waynel]

ggunn, you and I both being from Louisiana, we can probably bring 5 bottles each into this state. jessH, like I said earlier, Kaluha is dirt cheap there. $8 there and $18 here in LA. So, for me, forget the Tequila, I want to bring as much Kaluha home as I can legally carry. Besides stocking it in my home bar, I like cooking gourmet at home and I have a number of recipes calling for Kaluha.

 

[ggunn]

ggunn, you and I both being from Louisiana, we can probably bring 5 bottles each into this state. jessH, like I said earlier, Kaluha is dirt cheap there. $8 there and $18 here in LA. So, for me, forget the Tequila, I want to bring as much Kaluha home as I can legally carry. Besides stocking it in my home bar, I like cooking gourmet at home and I have a number of recipes calling for Kaluha.

Except that if your entry point into the US is Houston, the Texas laws are the ones you have to deal with. But anyway, I don't waste my allotment on Kahlua; it's available in the States, and the amount of money I would save even on five bottles is a piddling amount compared to what I would have have just spent on a dive trip to Cozumel. What I bring back is Xtabentun (D'Aristi brand is the best, IMO).

I would never publically post advice on how to get more than the allowed bottles through Customs, and neither would I confess here ever having done so.