Rules on Transporting Wine out of EZE to the USA
Jun 15, 2008, 10:20 pm
#46
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US Customs is very easy going with wines, provided that you declare every single bottle you have with you. I have a significant group of customers that are serious "whinos" and will sometimes carry back 3 cases (yes, 36 bottles of wine) and regularly have no issues bringing in the wine.
Again, whats important is that you place every single bottle you have on your customs declaration form, and if you get asked questions, as long as you can convince them that you are not in the wine trade (ie. that the wines are not for resale - that they are for your own personal use) almost every time the customs folks will not bother to charge you tax & duty. As far as Ive researched, the reason for this is that the US doesnt charge duty based on the value of wines, rather on the alcohol content, so since most wines have an average 13-14% alcohol content in the end even if you have 3 cases of wines its not worth their time to write you up and charge you what they are supposed to.
However, please do not try to scam the Customs guys and say you have 4 bottles of wine when you are carrying 6... since if you get picked for a spot check and they catch you with a lie, they will give you the full Midnight Express routine...
On a final note on how Customs are with wines, I have one interesting anecdote to share.... last month, I received the visit of a retired member of Congress who purchased 3 cases of wines to take back home with him. He asked a lot of questions about duty free allowances and listened very carefully to what information I gave him. This gentleman travels with an aide/personal assistant, and I remained in email contact with the assistant to make sure that the Senator´s wines arrived well, etc. I was surprised to hear from the assistant that upon entry to the US, the Senator had to insist the Customs agent charge him the duty, as he wanted to play 100% by the rules.
Again, whats important is that you place every single bottle you have on your customs declaration form, and if you get asked questions, as long as you can convince them that you are not in the wine trade (ie. that the wines are not for resale - that they are for your own personal use) almost every time the customs folks will not bother to charge you tax & duty. As far as Ive researched, the reason for this is that the US doesnt charge duty based on the value of wines, rather on the alcohol content, so since most wines have an average 13-14% alcohol content in the end even if you have 3 cases of wines its not worth their time to write you up and charge you what they are supposed to.
However, please do not try to scam the Customs guys and say you have 4 bottles of wine when you are carrying 6... since if you get picked for a spot check and they catch you with a lie, they will give you the full Midnight Express routine...
On a final note on how Customs are with wines, I have one interesting anecdote to share.... last month, I received the visit of a retired member of Congress who purchased 3 cases of wines to take back home with him. He asked a lot of questions about duty free allowances and listened very carefully to what information I gave him. This gentleman travels with an aide/personal assistant, and I remained in email contact with the assistant to make sure that the Senator´s wines arrived well, etc. I was surprised to hear from the assistant that upon entry to the US, the Senator had to insist the Customs agent charge him the duty, as he wanted to play 100% by the rules.
Jun 15, 2008, 10:40 pm
#47
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I have to say, as an experienced wine tourist, that this is VERY dependent upon where you clear customs in the U.S. As an individual traveler, I have muled back as much as 20 bottles and been waved through in many places - especially when clearing customs on the East Coast of the U.S., but while clearing customs in California - particularly LAX, I have been given grief and forced to wait on line for over an hour for as little as 4 bottles with duty due of less than $3. My sense is, that in California, they are conscious of protecting the local wine industry, while in other locales, they don't care and can't be bothered with the inconvenience of charging people a few dollars duty so long as the traveler has declared the stuff honestly and is bringing it back for personal consumption.
Jun 18, 2008, 3:49 pm
#50
Moderator, Argentina and FlyerTalk Evangelist
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The answer to your question is Yes... I think we should take the details of the discussion to PM.Cheers,
Alex (Gaucho100K)
Jun 19, 2008, 3:58 pm
#51
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4 bottles arrived safely as checked luggage EZE-ATL this morning. I did have to pay AR$30 to have the box wrapped at the airport. Also of note, I had to claim the box in the oversized luggage claim area - wasted 15 minutes for it to show up on the regular carousel. No mention of duty as I cleared Customs.
Jul 7, 2008, 11:03 am
#52
Join Date: Sep 2007
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It is also very dependent of traveler's attitude. My husband and I have brought many bottles back (always in foam shipper) from Australia, Italy, and France. Never had problems with airlines or customs except for one time when my husband got sassy and started to explain what the law allows to the customs agent. Things went down hill very fast. We were losing our treasures. As a dutiful wife, I quickly pushed him aside and begged for forgiveness. We were charge about $80 for the two cases we had with us. (I guess about $4.00 per bottle). We did gain a wonderful travel story.
Jul 29, 2008, 11:22 am
#53
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Just to add to the above posts... when I have customers at the store that worry about US customs and wine, I offer them a money back guarantee. If folks follow my instructions with how to declare wine (which is to declare 100% of the bottles you have on you), if you get checked and they charge you duty on your wines, I will refund your credit card for the duty amount you are charged. In my almost 5 years in business, Ive had to refund a client in only 2 (two) occasions. One client was charged $14 and the other $16.50......
Therefore, in my experience, play legit and by the rules and 99.9% of the time they will send you on your way.
Therefore, in my experience, play legit and by the rules and 99.9% of the time they will send you on your way.
Oct 23, 2008, 2:20 pm
#54
Join Date: May 2005
Location: DCA
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No issues with a checked case of wine from EZE to IAD.
We declared everything at US customs and again had no issues.
Better yet, thanks to Gaucho's shop and packaging, the wine arrived safely.
My only regret? Not buying two cases.
We declared everything at US customs and again had no issues.
Better yet, thanks to Gaucho's shop and packaging, the wine arrived safely.
My only regret? Not buying two cases.
Oct 24, 2008, 3:56 am
#55
Moderator, Argentina and FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Oct 24, 2008, 10:28 am
#56
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I also bought a case from Gaucho but actually had some problems with LAN. I was thinking about getting 2 cases, and I am glad we just went with one.
LAN claimed you are only allowed 6 bottles per person, no matter where you were flying to. Two other supervisors got involved and "double-checked" their policy.
Since it was 2 of us, this meant we would have to break up the packaging into 2 boxes.
What's amazing is LAN handed over this tiny box and asked me to squeeze 6 bottles (with no padding) and that nothing would break, unbelievable.
I decided that I would stuff 3 bottles in each of our other luggage, but our luggage had already left their conveyer belt, so it had to be tracked down.
On the meantime I decide to walk around the shops at EZE to find a box I can use. I come across a wine store and get a hold of some 6-bottle boxes with styrofoam, just like Guacho's (the lady at the wine store told me they were IATA approved). So $100 ARS later, i had found the best solution possible. The airline requested I wrap the boxes, so there went another $60 ARS.
The good news is the bottles arrived intact and no problems with customs.
Hopefully somebody out there can benefit from my experience and save themselves some stress and money (since I ended up doubling my wine packaging expenses).
LAN claimed you are only allowed 6 bottles per person, no matter where you were flying to. Two other supervisors got involved and "double-checked" their policy.
Since it was 2 of us, this meant we would have to break up the packaging into 2 boxes.
What's amazing is LAN handed over this tiny box and asked me to squeeze 6 bottles (with no padding) and that nothing would break, unbelievable.
I decided that I would stuff 3 bottles in each of our other luggage, but our luggage had already left their conveyer belt, so it had to be tracked down.
On the meantime I decide to walk around the shops at EZE to find a box I can use. I come across a wine store and get a hold of some 6-bottle boxes with styrofoam, just like Guacho's (the lady at the wine store told me they were IATA approved). So $100 ARS later, i had found the best solution possible. The airline requested I wrap the boxes, so there went another $60 ARS.
The good news is the bottles arrived intact and no problems with customs.
Hopefully somebody out there can benefit from my experience and save themselves some stress and money (since I ended up doubling my wine packaging expenses).
Oct 24, 2008, 12:04 pm
#57
Moderator, Argentina and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
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Im very sorry for your troubles.... this is the first such incident I have reported with LAN. I will try to see if this is in the contract of carriage... and I will actually get to the bottom of this as I have a good friend that is senior management at LAN Argentina.
I will be back and report my findings once I speak to my LAN contact.
Once again, csrx, Im very sorry for your troubles and I appreciate your goodwill with this tense & stressful situation. I will send you a PM with my proposed solution to compensate you for your troubles.
I will be back and report my findings once I speak to my LAN contact.
Once again, csrx, Im very sorry for your troubles and I appreciate your goodwill with this tense & stressful situation. I will send you a PM with my proposed solution to compensate you for your troubles.
Last edited by Gaucho100K; Oct 24, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Oct 24, 2008, 2:10 pm
#58
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I am posting a little more information on my situation with LAN:
They wouldn't allow that much liquor/alcohol content in a single bag/box. Due to the size of the bottles, only 6 would be allowed.
One of the supervisors seemed confused and unsure about the rule, but since everybody else was telling her the limit was 6, she gave in. At that point, there was no turning back.
The lady at the wine store told me it was hit or miss for 12 bottles.
I remembered reading about a situation with DL and the 5 liter rule. I told the supervisor this was not hard liquor, this was wine and had a lower percentage of alcohol and not bound to that rule. She phoned her supervisor, explained the situation, and the answer was the same. Split the packaging into 2 or you cannot take those with you. I would think that after all these years of people checking-in wine, these agents would be very clear on the policies, specially the supervisors.
They wouldn't allow that much liquor/alcohol content in a single bag/box. Due to the size of the bottles, only 6 would be allowed.
One of the supervisors seemed confused and unsure about the rule, but since everybody else was telling her the limit was 6, she gave in. At that point, there was no turning back.
The lady at the wine store told me it was hit or miss for 12 bottles.
I remembered reading about a situation with DL and the 5 liter rule. I told the supervisor this was not hard liquor, this was wine and had a lower percentage of alcohol and not bound to that rule. She phoned her supervisor, explained the situation, and the answer was the same. Split the packaging into 2 or you cannot take those with you. I would think that after all these years of people checking-in wine, these agents would be very clear on the policies, specially the supervisors.
Oct 24, 2008, 2:24 pm
#59
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csrx-- I think that the agents & supervisors are making the same mistake that the DL folks did a few months back. I think they are forgetting that wine is not flammable.
Nov 8, 2008, 3:12 am
#60
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Im reading over on a few wine IBBs that the TSA is going to be relaxing rules limiting transport of liquids in the next couple of months... this is because most large airports are getting the new generation scanners that are able to detect the dangerous stuff, etc.
This is great news for folks wanting to travel with wine... some are even speculating that wine will once again be allowed as carry-on... ^
I will keep you all posted on the developments.
This is great news for folks wanting to travel with wine... some are even speculating that wine will once again be allowed as carry-on... ^
I will keep you all posted on the developments.