Originally Posted by
dulciusexasperis
People always seem to assume that what can go wrong, won't go wrong. Right up until they discover that what can go wrong, may indeed go wrong. On any given day how a Customs Officer chooses to deal with someone is pretty much an open book. It the CO got out of bed on the wrong side that day, they can and do sometimes choose to interpret their rules as they please.
<br /><br />No they can't<br /><br />
Originally Posted by
dulciusexasperis
<br />The phrase, 'transport them yourself' is NOT ambiguous. It means that you carry(transport) your personal allowance, yourself..
<br /><br />Can you cite the legal precedence for this interpretation?<br /><br />Two people pushing a trolley through customs - who is doing the transporting - your OED interpretation is too simplistic. At what moment does the transport start and end? what if I start pushing the trolley and then my spouse takes over?<br /><br />
Originally Posted by
dulciusexasperis
<br />'You can't combine with other people' is the other specific term. Do you see anything that says that does not apply to a family member?
<br /><br />You're not referring to the law just simplified .gov guidance which obviously is sometimes overly simplified<br />Look at the Law and relevant case law.<br /><br />
Originally Posted by
dulciusexasperis
'Got separate receipts for the two bottles, one your receipt, one your spouse's receipt sir? No, so you bought both is that right sir? So they are both yours. You are only allowed one. what about these cigarettes sir? Does your spouse smoke this brand sir? And back to the whiskey, does your spouse drink whiskey sir? Is this or is it not for your spouse's personal use sir? It must be for your spouse's personal use, not your use sir if she is going to say it is her personal duty free allowance sir. So both bottles are for your use only sir.'
<br /><br />Is my wife mute? will they only talk to the male - idiotic assumption.<br />Paid for on one card - yes a card issued to both my wife and I - paid from a joint bank account<br />There is another flaw in your logic here - you entitled to import duty free with the intention of making the item a gift - so a simple explanation why there might be 2 boxes of the same brand - one is for personal use, the other (on your spouse's allowance) will be a gift to someone of their deciding.<br /><br />
Originally Posted by
dulciusexasperis
<br />If a CO decides to give you grief simply because s/he doesn't like the way you look, they will have no problem whatsoever in doing so when YOU have more than your allowance in YOUR suitcase. When you walk through that GREEN path, you are at their mercy.<br /><br />But if someone can <strong>provide a link </strong>that shows family members can combine their allowances, I will be more than happy to read it. Every single reference I can find says you cannot combine and nowhere can I find a reference that says a family member is an exception to not combining with another person. That Customs may be lax in how they interpret that doesn't mean they cannot interpret it 'as read' if they choose to do so. Or as the saying goes, 'past performance is no guarantee of future results.'
<br /><br />How about providing the link to LAW that you are relying on in your argument. <br /><br />The 1979 Act (as amended) seems to require an intent to defraud her Majesty of the necessary Duty. Nothing to do with carrying suitcases or how you pack them, it doesn't even define "transport". 2 people travelling together who put their individual Duty Free allowance in the same case - where's the necessary Mens Rea?<br /><br />As for Customs Officers having bad days and choosing to take matters into their own hands - this is paranoid nonsense. The officers are professional and have more than enough work to do without giving people unnecessary hassle about how they've chosen to pack their Duty Free. They work to Codes of Practice and Official Notes. There is also a robust complaints procedure. Independent of this, should the matter go to court they still have to satisfy a court that they have applied the necessary code for Crown Prosecutors, and their case passes the required Evidential and Public Interest Test to the appropriate standard.