Camera PV 2007 » Digital Camera » Duty free buying
Duty free buying
Question:
Anyone have any good experiences buying duty free cameras? I’m looking at getting a digital camera duty free on departure but a bit confused about the $400 allowance. Do most people not declare the item on their return or do they take the risk and pay the difference if caught. If you did it legally and declared it, you wouldnt save much over retail if you had to pay duty/sales tax on the remainder of a $1000 camera (less $400)….. I’m confused, any ideas/advice? Thanks Peter Before you buy.
Response:
Basically, yes, you are meant to declare it when you bring it back in. Having said that, it’s not exactly unusual for a returning tourist to have a camera with them so customs are fairly unlikely to question you about it. Cheers, Jon — Remove *NOSPAM* from Email address when replying. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Anyone have any good experiences buying duty free cameras? > I’m looking at getting a digital camera duty free on departure but a bit > confused about the $400 allowance. Do most people not declare the item > on their return or do they take the risk and pay the difference if > caught. If you did it legally and declared it, you wouldnt save much > over retail if you had to pay duty/sales tax on the remainder of a $1000 > camera (less $400)….. > I’m confused, any ideas/advice? > Thanks > Peter > Before you buy.
Response:
You buy a new $1000 camera, and when you come back you declare it. Tax is assessed on $600 (1000 less 400 duty free) and you pay that bit. You only save the tax on the $400 part. Other way: don’t declare it. Customs officer finds it in a random search. Asks how long you’ve had it. (It’s tax free if you have had it for 12 months, or you bought it and paid normal prices before you left) Now, you’d then have to prove these things!!!! Difficult. A new digital camera probably wasn’t on the market 12 months ago… so, to prove you had it before you left (therefore, it wasn’t a duty free purchase) you’d have to produce the receipt for it at full price from a normal shop. You wouldn’t be able to do this… They have a pretty good idea of what is an old camera, and what is an undeclared duty free item!!! <g> You would then be up for paying the duty on the full $1000, PLUS a large fine for lying… Is it worth it? LJ – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Basically, yes, you are meant to declare it when you bring it back in. > Having said that, it’s not exactly unusual for a returning tourist to have a > camera with them so customs are fairly unlikely to question you about it. > Cheers, > Jon > — > Remove *NOSPAM* from Email address when replying. > Anyone have any good experiences buying duty free cameras? > I’m looking at getting a digital camera duty free on departure but a bit > confused about the $400 allowance. Do most people not declare the item > on their return or do they take the risk and pay the difference if > caught. If you did it legally and declared it, you wouldnt save much > over retail if you had to pay duty/sales tax on the remainder of a $1000 > camera (less $400)….. > I’m confused, any ideas/advice? > Thanks > Peter > Before you buy.
Response:
> You buy a new $1000 camera, and when you come back you declare it. Tax > is assessed on $600 (1000 less 400 duty free) and you pay that bit. You > only save the tax on the $400 part.
Don’t forget that if you travel with a partner you may combine each person’s $400 allowance so you would have $800 duty free and be expected to pay duty on the remaining $200. Chances are thay will not bother! Gerrit Before you buy.
Response:
The duty payable is waived if it is less than $50. But ONLY if the item has been declared. So combining your limits if you are travelling with a partner is worth it. If you are travelling with children then their limit is $200 and can also be combined with yours. Peter – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> You buy a new $1000 camera, and when you come back you declare it. Tax > is assessed on $600 (1000 less 400 duty free) and you pay that bit. >You > only save the tax on the $400 part. >Don’t forget that if you travel with a partner you may combine each >person’s $400 allowance so you would have $800 duty free and be expected >to pay duty on the remaining $200. Chances are thay will not bother! >Gerrit >Before you buy.