Learn your customs laws

Press, 16 August 1978, Page 24

Learn your customs laws

With off-shore convention venues becoming an increasing vogue, it pays the traveller to become familiar with NewZealand’s. Customs laws. A guide to the regulations as applied to the returning New Zealander is freely available from any Customs office. Failure to observe the rules can result in heavy bills for import duty or even confiscation of goods. Before leaving the country, the traveller should obtain a copy of the latest pamphlet, read it, and take it with them as a reference when buying. This is the present situation: • You may bring back to New Zealand, duty free, personal wearing apparel and personal jewellery. However, the concession does not cover unmounted precious stones or furs worth more than $l2O wholesale. • If 17 years old or more, you may also bring back duty free, 200 cigarettes, or 250 grams of tobacco, or 50 cigars, one bottle of wine and one bottle of spirits or liqueur. • Also you may bring back goods to a wholesale value of $5O. On goods more than $5O up to a wholesale value of $l5O, a flat rate duty of 25 per cent applies. Above that again, the normal Customs tariff is payable and an import licence may also be required. It is not wise to try to bluff Customs officers about the value of items imported. They have lists of the wholesale value of most of the items travellers usually buy. You should show on the declaration form the price

actually paid more than one camera, more than one radio, or more than one tape recorder. If you go over these limits, you are liable to pay the full normal tariff, and you should check on import licencing requirements as well. There appears to have been a rash of attempts at camera smuggling recently and Customs officers are on the lookout. Obviously, if you take any of these items away with you — cameras, tape recorders, transistor radios, furs — it is wise to have them sighted by the Customs officer at the airport before leaving. A special form is available on which to enter such items for signature by the Customs officer. Presentation of this certificate will avoid prob= lems on return. Such formalities will take a little time, so allow for it on departure. However, goods bought duty free at New Zealand airport shops cannot be sighted and approved for re-import in this way. They count exactly the same as items bought abroad in calculation of liability for import duty. There is yet another pitfall in bringing back items. Goods which do not come with you in the same aircraft are not eligible for concessions. If you air freight items or post them from abroad, they do not count for the $5O duty free allowance.

Therefore the items to send home by post or air freight are wearing apparel, personal effects and similar goods which are duty free anyway. Bring with you on the plane, goods which would be liable to duty so you can gain maximum benefit. Some items are partially or absolutely bannied from importation, including animals, skins, raw wool, hair or bristles, horns, hooves, bones, feathers, saddles, many foods, fruits, plants, vegetables, eggs, seeds, viruses, vaccines, fungi and firearms. Some of these items may be admitted after fumigation or other treatment but importation will involve complications and delays. Quite possibly, such items will be con-

fiscated and the outlay lost. There are heavy penalities for concealing goods or making false declarations. One further warning; Unscrupulous drug pushers will try any means to enlist the services of innocent and unsuspecting tourists. Do not, under any circumstances, accept packages to bring back to New Zealand without being quite sure of the contents. There are complications in bringing back even innocent items on behalf of others. But if you do, insist on checking the contents minutely. A final tip, take your New Zealand cheque book to avoid complications on return should you buy and declare something liable to customs duty.