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unbob
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Crossing border with liquor/wine
Anyone know the rules concerning a limit on bottles of liquor or wine allowed (by US Border Patrol) when returning to USA?
I've heard that only unopened bottles count towards the limit. IOW, if the bottles have been opened, they don't count. True?
TIA, Rob(erto)
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AmoPescar
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Hi There unbob..
There is NO LIMIT on how many bottles of liquor you can bring back with you to the US. However...only ONE (1) LITRE bottle is
DUTY FREE. You will be required to declare and pay duty on any quantity in excess of 1 Litre. Keep in mind though, that if you were to bring
back large quantities, and if the BCP officers feel the amount is more than for your personal use, that it could be subject to liquor importation
laws.
As for it being open...I'm not sure how that would be treated. If you had a couple of half empty bottles...in say an RV, My guess is that it would
not be a problem. But if you had several litres which had just been unscrewed and were full, I'm pretty sure they would charge you duty on them.
I would be very interested to know if any other Nomads have information on this subject, to verify one way or another. When I've crossed the border in
the past, I've had my litre and declared it. But I'm sure there have been times when I've had liquor in my camper that was purchased on a prior trip
and might have been unopened.
As far as taking liquor into Baja...sometimes, a friend and I have taken several bottles of liquor (6 to 10) with us that we purchased at the Duty
Free Store in Calexico and the Mexican Border Officers have never even asked if we had any. If you like to have a drink now and then, I highly
recommend stopping at the Duty Frees before you cross. Their prices are on top brands of liquor are excellent, and sometimes things are on sale,
making it an even better deal.
Miguelamo 
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unbob
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Gracias, Miguelamo!
Any idea what the "duty charge" might be per litre?
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The Gull
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10%
�I won\'t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.� William F. Buckley, Jr.
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Dave
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| Quote: | Originally posted by AmoPescar
Hi There unbob..
There is NO LIMIT on how many bottles of liquor you can bring back with you to the US. However...only ONE (1) LITRE bottle is
DUTY FREE. You will be required to declare and pay duty on any quantity in excess of 1 Litre. Keep in mind though, that if you were to bring
back large quantities, and if the BCP officers feel the amount is more than for your personal use, that it could be subject to liquor importation
laws.
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If you live in a border state you probably won't get to declare and pay duty. It'll be one bottle per person, period. If you're going to Montana or
Idaho it shouldn't be a problem. It really depends on the inspector, though.
Going into Mexico the rule is 3 ltrs per adult.
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thebajarunner
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And now for the facts!!!
The following is directly pasted from US Customs website:
Generally, one liter per person may be entered into the U.S. duty-free by travelers who are 21 or older, although travelers coming from the U.S.
Virgin Islands or other Caribbean countries are entitled to more. See our publication, "Know Before You Go" for additional information.
Additional quantities may be entered, although they will be subject to duty and IRS taxes.
Duty is generally 3% of value and the IRS excise tax is generally between 21-31cents per 750ml bottle of wine, 67 cents/champaigne, and $2.14/ hard
liquor.
It is not legal for travelers under the age of 21 to import alcohol - even as a gift.
The total amount of alcohol you may enter the country with is primarily determined by the laws of the state where you will arrive back into the U.S.
Each state's ABC board (or equivalent ) sets the amount of alcohol a person may bring into the state without a license or permit from that state.
Travelers must check with the appropriate state ABC board, as the amounts vary from state to state. We regret that we are unable to provide this
information, but CBP staff is not able to maintain information about each of the 50 State's various requirements.
There is no federal limit on the amount of alcohol a traveler may import into the U.S. for personal use, however, large quantities might raise the
suspicion that the importation is for commercial purposes, and a CBP officer could require the importer to obtain an TTB import license (which is
required for all commercial importations) before releasing it. If you do intend to travel with a large quantity of alcohol, we suggest you contact the
entry branch of the port you will be entering the country through to discuss your situation in advance.
Duty rates on alcoholic beverages can be obtained in Chapter 22, "Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar," in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Alcoholic
beverages purchased in duty-free shops are subject to duty when you bring them with you into the United States.
*****Now, go to the California ABC site and it says:
(I am paraphrasing)
Adults may bring back one liter per person....
I do not think that you can pay duty at a California border,
in the old days we used to pay 50cents a bottle at El Paso, but that was Texas.
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bajalou
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I once worked for a custom broker in Calif. and a client of ours received a gift of a case of San Miguel beer from a friend in Manila. As he did not
have a Calif license to handle alcoholic beverages, we had to ship it back to Manila.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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bajalera
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For quite a spell there, they weren't asking whether you were bringing back booze, and we took advantage of that. But a year or so ago someone did
ask. We [two of us] confessed to having four bottles of Agavera [sp?], and were sent to secondary.
The guy there explained the 1-bottle rule, we acted like this was news to us, and surprise!-- he said well, this time he'd let us keep the excess.
We thanked him for bending the rules, and he said that we had fessed up to having the stuff instead of hiding it--and we didn't whine or growl at the
idea of giving it up the extras. Sometimes being a good sport pays off.
Is it true that people returning by plane can bring in four liters?
\"Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest never happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.\" -
Mark Twain
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Tomas Tierra
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What about Beer???
I have been caught with (undeclared) a case of Corona Familiar (the big ones) and played dumb and got through. But they told me 1 ltr. of ANY booze
is the limit, beer or liku. Anybody want to confirm this??
Sure is fun to feed your buddies those big one's when you offer a Corona!
Particularly non Baja people that have not seen them before..
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thebajarunner
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What about beer?
Well, is it an alcoholic beverage?
hello....
see above
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Tomas Tierra
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OK smartypants...
I re-read the whole thread, and everyone is refering to LIQUOR or BOOZE or WINE..Is beer liquor or booze or wine?? Beer has significantly less alcohol
by volume,so does that make it a legit question??
HELLO.....
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thebajarunner
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Don't call names- it does not become you.
Once more.....
Go back and re-read the direct paste from US Customs.
It says "alcohol"
If you want to argue that 3% or 4% or 6% is not really alcohol, then be my guest.
And no, I am not going to call you a name,
just suggest you take your own advice and go back and read (not the chatter, the law)
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tim40
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Interesting thread. A business I have come to know of on the mainland brokers and then private labels some fine tequila. The catch is they only will
do so in case quantities. Far from complete, but my research had ended with I could not legally bring it home....so each time I always wonder about
the possibility of shipping a bottle from Mex to each of the friends I would ultimately give the tequila to if I were to bring it home. Any ideas???
When searching for the end of your rainbow you only have until dusk....
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bajalou
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If you ship a bottle to someone, I believe they are the importer for legal purposes.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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elgatoloco
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We were told by SENTRI that not only is the limit 1 litre but that is in each 30 day period. So we can no longer go down every few days and be legal.
As for being ASKED if you have liqour or anything else you technically are supposed to DECLARE everything without being asked.
If they find something that you did not declare,even if it is legal to bring back, they can take away your SENTRI pass.
It has happened. Be diligent.
A few summers ago we came back to the states from our casa in Baja Norte on three successive weekends with limes. No problema. A week later we went
down for six days, while we were down there they found med fly in San Diego County and banned limes. While we were in line we saw a notice posted on a
pole as we neared the inspection booth. We told the guy we had limes he copped a chitty attitude sent us to secondary with a nasty note they threatend
to take away our SENTRI passes because we were trying to 'smuggle' banned items into the states. I told one of the officials what had transpired over
the last month and that we had NO idea of the recent ban AND that we declared said items as we always do. He looked up our crossing record and was
able to see when we had crossed and he let us go with a stern warning not to bring anything illegal back.
Attitude is everything.
MAGA
Making Attorneys Get Attorneys
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The Gull
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Gato
You were lucky, maybe your attitude helped, but you were lucky.
Yes, the rule has always been 30 days for 1 liter and that was before Sentri. You can go down for 1 hour and still be legal, you can only do that
once in a 30 day period.
Back in 1974, I was crossing on and off for a week with friends from Alaska. When I drove, we had one bottle for each of us. When they drove they
could bring back lots more because at that time the interpretation was not what state where you crossed, but what state was your residence. They had
Alaska licenses and virtually unlimited booze privledges. I had them driving a lot.
The "lime" rule has been around for years.
Before the Sentri game, the agent would ask something like, "what are you bringing back from Mexico?" Can this be construed to mean, "I don't need to
tell you about the limes or the other stuff (like fireworks and two cases of Tecate) that I am not sure are OK to bring back."
Now with the Sentri pass, I declare crap that I brought with me to Mexico, since it is not clear to anyone if something is re-exportable
(re-importable).
�I won\'t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.� William F. Buckley, Jr.
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The Gull
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajalera
Is it true that people returning by plane can bring in four liters? |
Lera, since the liquor experts have ignored your question...
Internally, not advised.
Externally, depends on the points of departure and arrival. Carribbean to Chicago, maybe. La Paz to LA, not likely.
Remember, you can bring as much as you can, if you don't get caught.
[Edited on 2-20-2007 by The Gull]
�I won\'t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.� William F. Buckley, Jr.
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Dave
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Has this changed?
| Quote: | Originally posted by The Gull
When they drove they could bring back lots more because at that time the interpretation was not what state where you crossed, but
what state was your residence. |
And wouldn't the vehicle also need to be registered in Alaska?
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The Gull
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Dave
| Quote: | Originally posted by The Gull
When they drove they could bring back lots more because at that time the interpretation was not what state where you crossed, but
what state was your residence. |
And wouldn't the vehicle also need to be registered in Alaska? |
It was. I don't know what the rule are. There is so much information on the web, it conflicts. I have had multiple interpretations given to me by
the Customs agents at the border, so my confusion is not unique.
Also, please think this through...the Federal Government (HLS) cannot enforce state rules - not their jurisdiction. So the 1 bottle limit for
California should not be enforceable by the Customs agent.
�I won\'t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.� William F. Buckley, Jr.
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RICHARDH
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| Quote: | Originally posted by unbob
...
IOW, if the bottles have been opened, they don't count. True?
TIA, Rob(erto) |
I seem to recall that it is illegal to have any opened liquor bottles in a motor vehicle on California "highways" (i.e., public roads). The U.S.
Customs agents are supposedly enforcing laws and regulations within the "domain" of several different agencies, but I don't know if that includes the
California vehicle code.
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