Foreign Exchange

[Topsie]

I have been watching this program on BBC this week and they are shopping and saving money in America. They say that if you spend more than 145 on shopping then you have to pay tax when you get back to uk.

However, they are buying things like earrings, handbangs, mp3 players and clothes etc. How do they know you didnt just take them with you if you just put them in your suitcase or wear them? Or do they just trust you to say what you have bought when you get back??

Thanks in advance

[article85]

It really all depends on how much you bring back with you and whether it looks as if you are planning on selling them on (they are still in their packaging, you have multiples of each item). I go back to the USA regularly and have bought clothes, small electronics, cosmetics, etc.. - packed a couple suitcases full and was not hassled at all on my return to the UK. I suppose I could have said that they were gifts, but honestly, I have never been asked. The regular traveller takes along so much stuff in the way of mp3 players, portable DVD players and laptops that only a really stingy customs person would be able to tell the difference between personal use and newly bought goods!

[dannydingbat]

If they feel like it they can do anything they like. I have had every piece of paper in my wallet looked at for evidence of credit card transactions. They know what foreign stuff looks like and if they want to they can keep it and will only give it back to you if you prove later that it was bought before you left. From personal experience, it was not worth it!!

[Pinotage]

Dannydb is correct. They do not even have to prove you bought it abroad -- it is your responsibility to show you didn't. Thus if taking an expensive item out with you like a laptop its worth taking a copy of the receipt.

Remember that when you go through the green channel you are declaring you have nothing to declare. If the customs do decide to stop you and check and found you have exceeded the limit, then you are in trouble.

[Buenchico]

(Posted in 2 parts):

Just a few points: Yes, if the total value of gifts and souvenirs exceeds �145 you have to pay tax. Note, however, that the value of �145 isn't actually an 'allowance'. (It's just a figure below which they can't be bothered). So, if you bring back goods worth, say, �345 you have to pay tax on the whole of that amount (not just on the 'extra' �200).

The second point to note is that, if you try to smuggle goods through customs, then HMRC officers have the right to confiscate the goods. (They could also prosecute you but you'd probably have to bring in very high value goods for this to happen). Also, if you've been identified as a smuggler, they can choose to give you the 'full service' just in case you've got some drugs as well. (i.e. a full strip search and a gloved hand inserted into your rectum).

[Buenchico]

(2nd Part):

3rd Point: Customs officers do not have to prove that you bought something overseas in order for them to charge you for importing it. If you buy an expensive item in the UK, shortly before you travel with it to a non-EU destination, then Customs will charge you tax when you return unless you can prove that it was purchased in the UK. (i.e. the onus is upon the traveller to show that tax should not be paid. If you don't take the receipt with you, Customs have every right to charge you tax without having to prove where you made the purchase).

My last point is that the TV programme you watched seems to be rather out of date. The PM programme, on Radio 4 this evening, reported that, because the value of the pound has fallen by 11% against the dollar over the past year, there are no longer any great savings to be made in the US.

The PM programme went on to examine where people should go for bargains. Top of their list was Germany. This was because the pound has risen by 11% against the Euro in the last year. Also, Germany is going through an economic slump and many shops are reducing prices to attract trade. Second on their list of destinations for bargains was Sweden.

Chris

[Topsie]

Thanks very much for all your answers ... from watching the program I could see that just purely going to america to shop wouldnt save you money because after the taxes had been paid they wouldnt even save enough to cover the flights. However, I assume the BBC paid for the flights etc.

Thanks again

Rebecca

[funnywebsite]

I would just take all the tags off and chuck them in the suitcase. I know someone who goes to America and she takes her suitcase empty and comes back with a full suitcase of dirty clothes. Earrings etc, wear one or two pairs and the rest chuck the boxes away and just put them in a bag so it looks like you took them on holiday.