'Where did you buy that camera?’

Press, 11 August 1982, Page 21

'Where did you buy that camera?’

Cameras make up a "good proportion" of goods that people attempt to smuggle into Christchurch, according to the Assistant Collector of Customs in Christchurch. Mr B. J. Kearns.

Mr Kearns said that when customs officials questioned returning New Zealanders found to have cameras in their luggage, a common explanation was that the person had taken the camera out of New Zealand on the outward leg of the journey. “If we are not sure that someone has declared a camera correctly, we say, 'Where did you buy it?’ and go back to that source." Mr Kearns said. The camera would be kept bv customs until they had proof that the camera was owned bv the person before he or she left New Zealand. To avoid being questioned about a camera that has been owned before a trip overseas, a trip to a customs office can solve the problem. If a camera is sighted by a customs officer and its serial

number recorded, a certificate of export can be issued and this is then shown to customs officials on return to New Zealand. The officials have then only to ensure that the camera being presented is the same as the camera described on the certificate. “Cameras are the sort of thirg. more than other types of goods, that people do take with them." said Mr Kearns, explaining why cameras appear most frequently in smuggling cases.

“I do not see any excuse for people not to know that this facility is available to them." he said.

The export certificates are publicised through brochures and information sheets put out by the Customs Department.

"The whole idea of it is to facilitate people getting equipment back in." Mr Kearns said.

The certificate of export applies not just to cameras but to any items which are subject to duty if bought duty-free or overseas. This

includes some sporting equipment. More than 200 cameras have been confiscated by Auckland Airport customs officials in the last 12 months, comparable figures for Christchurch were not available.

The Auckland figures represent two-thirds of all confiscations at the airport. The department can trace serial numbers on cameras, and knows what makes are available in New Zealand and even in specific shops in such countries as Fiji and Singapore.

The incidence of skiers bringing equipment into New Zealand and selling it here is "something of a seasonal problem." according to Mr Kearns.

Mr Kearns said that when people brought several pairs of skis into New Zealand, as in the case of competition skiers, customs officials kept a record of the equipment brought in and checked it out again when the skier left.