Customs warn on US shopping

By JONATHAN PRYNN FOR MAILONLINE
Updated: 05:22 EST, 5 December 2006

Bargain-hunting Brits flocking to New York will be met with a Customs crackdown when they fly back with their goods.

The strength of the pound against the dollar means huge savings for transatlantic Christmas shoppers. BA has put on extra flights as Britons snap up iPods, jewellery and half-price jeans at Bloomingdales, Saks and Tiffany.

But many are unaware of the £145 allowance above which they have to pay import duties and VAT which could add 20% to the bill on their return.

Customs officials at Heathrow, Gatwick and other major airports are preparing for their homecoming. A senior Customs source said: 'We are fed up with people thinking they can walk through the nothing-to-declare areas loaded up with goods and evading paying duties.

'We have been urged to step up our stop and searches of people and where they have been too greedy, take appropriate action. That could mean seizing the goods, levying fines or even prosecution.'

The Customs source admitted: 'There are many, many people who are simply ignorant of having to pay duty - it is not a question of wilfully avoiding paying up.'

He added: 'We don't wish to be Scrooges but these people rip off the rest of the law-abiding travellers and push up costs for everybody in the travel industry and those who travel. Shoppers have been warned and they can try their luck if they want.'

The £145 limit is in contrast to the £1,000 limit for purchases brought from within the European Union. Coleen McLoughlin fell foul of the US duty rules when she returned from New York. She walked through the green channel with four suitcases full of purchases and was presented with a £3,000 bill.

Regulations say 20% duty must be paid on goods, including gifts and souvenirs worth more than £145 - although some are exempt. Anything which is subject to VAT at 17.5% if sold in Britain will also have it levied.

The complicated system means that while iPods attract duty of two per cent, handbags vary in rate from three per cent to 9.7% and digital cameras are exempt from all duty - except VAT.

A shopping bag containing electrical items and fashion accessories costing up to £700 could attract a tariff of as much as £134.

The boom in transatlantic shopping has been triggered by the favourable exchange rate triggered by the collapse of the dollar in recent weeks.

British Airways have put on an extra flight a day to JFK to cope with rising demand. A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic said bookings to America were up 20% on last year in the past fortnight.

Hotels in New York are reporting record levels of bookings and have increased prices to take advantage of demand.

In Bloomingdales, businesswoman Lorraine Hansen, 32, of Willesden Green, spent £700 on clothing for herself and boyfriend Jack.

She said a pair of DKNY jeans had cost her £18, adding: 'Where in the world can you buy these jeans for that kind of money? I also bought Hugo Boss jeans for £30 which had 30 per cent off and a Polo Ralph Lauren jumper for £25.

'For myself, my bag is full of Clinique cosmetics. Some cost £10 and in Selfridges they would have cost double.'

Nursery manager Deborah Potter from Ashford, Middlesex, spent £500 on shoes. 'I love shoes and this place is paradise for shoppers like me. I have saved £500 and it is a great time to be here with all the Christmas decorations.'

Many British shoppers paid their respects at Ground Zero and then headed for the Century 21 department store immediately opposite the former site of the Twin Towers.

Jacqueline Robinson, 48, of Streatham, said: 'Seven friends and me got on a flight last night for New York as we thought it was the best place to do Christmas shopping. Normally we would hit Oxford Street, the Galleria at Hatfield or Lakeside, but this place is unbelievably better.

'Our husbands are going to be quite angry when we get back, but at least they and our children will be spoilt this Christmas.'

Michael Burrows,47,of Wembley, said: 'There are so many Londoners here and my flight was packed. It is just like being on Oxford Street when you see all these Brits scrambling for presents. I recommend anybody who can get here to do so.'