TWA884

Isn't that like bringing coals to Newcastle?

Eastbay1K

I am almost positive there is some limited duty free shopping at T2 arrivals, post-migraciones, pre-customs.

JDiver

https://www.dufry.com/en/shopping/our-brand-universe

Section 107

I have never seen beer in a duty free shop... has anyone else?

Mexico seems to tax imported alcohol based on the cost of the alcohol (which is different from the US which taxes the amount of actual alcohol by volume). If you bring in more than the 3 liter per person exemption amount than the duty will be ~26% of the value of the beer that exceeds the exemption amount. The exemption amount applies in aggregate to every person in your traveling party who can reasonably use the product (ie., are of legal drinking age).

So, assuming: you are traveling solo, these are 12oz beers, there is no shipping cost nor any insurance on the beer, then you will pay duty on ~5.5 liters. Assuming the total cost of the beer was $50 then you will pay about US$8.40 (approx mxn$168) in duty.

If you are traveling with one other person of legal drinking age then the duty will be ~US$3.80 (mxn$76). If there are at least 3 passengers of legal drinking age then there will be no duty at all.

beckoa

So I downguaged my volume I brought down here, as I was uncertain how much the duty was (the helpful answers didn't appear until after I was in the country).

Ended up with a 12 pack of Alaskan White($16) for friends I'm staying with here.
Port of entry: ZCL
Maximum duty free: 3L
Had roughly 4.25L of beer. Declared.
Customs wanted receipt to show value. Said it would be taxed at 90% of the value of the liquor. They did the math, checked with someone else who said they won't bother with the fee as too low.

Customs was also interested in the frozen salmon I had. Declared too, they unpacked it. Waived thru, think it confused them a bit to what type of fish it was.

Oh, and no duty free at ZCL

chrisny2

I definitely have. Reykjavik has it at Duty Free upon arrival - because their alcohol taxes are massive.

But I've also seen it at departure airports for the national beers. E.g. a gift pack of Carlsberg in CPH.

Boraxo

So just to recap: if the quoted regulations are current then it should be no problem for Mrs. B and me to bring up to 6 bottle of wine into Mexico, so long as we declare it on the customs form.
Which would be great as we have yet to find any wine stores in Cancun that sell anything decent from Napa and Sonoma. Mostly low budget stuff from Argentina, Chile etc. with a smattering of French offerings. And the Vueve Cliquot was priced roughly 100% more than what we pay in California.

Section 107

don't be confused by the term "exemption" - that is not a maximum limit on how much you may bring. Rather, it is only the limit on how much you may bring without having to pay tax. as long as you declare then you will only be subject to paying import tax on the amount over the tax exemption limit. The actual import duty is relatively low for amounts over the exemption limit.

You may bring any amount you can reasonably establish is for personal consumption; bringing amounts that could be considered for commercial (ie. sales) purposes falls under different regulations. So, bringing a case for a week long stay is reasonable. Bringing 5 cases for a weekend stay is suspect....

But why bring the wine? Mexico is has VERY nice wines especially those from the Baja/Valle de Guadelupe region. Mexican vineyards have been winning many medals in the past few years including grand and golds at significant international competitions, frequently outperforming the US. In fact, the very first wineries in ALL the Americas were in Mexico. And those vaunted Napa and Sonoma wines you referenced - yup, you guessed it, they came directly from the cuttings of Mexican vines....

Look for El Cielo, Roganta, Emeve, Hilo, Casa Madero (founded in the 1590s!), Monte Xanic - you wont go wrong. Unfortunately, as their quality has been garnering more and more attention their prices have been increasing. Bottles that I once bought for $15 are now going for $40 and more.. ah, the sweet taste of success....

beckoa

Very true! I ended up with some very good wine from Aguascalientes this summer! Picked up at Costco, at a very reasonable price.

If bringing alcohol into Mexico beyond your duty free allowance however, budget extra time, as it tends to take longer to figure it all out.

Boraxo

thanks we will be fine within the duty free limits. just like a bottle for dinner when we bbq at the timeshare and good champagne for NYE 😃


Everyone is entitled to their own views but I vehement disagree about the quality of wines that I can find in Mexico. And no, our old vines in NAPA and Sonoma do not use Mexico cuttings - maybe centuries ago but of course winemaking is not just about grapes but soil, climate and of course the winemaker. None of which are as impressive anywhere outside NorCal and France. Yes I’m a snob.

TWA884

I make a point of drinking locally produced wines when I travel. I have had great Mexican wine pairings served at Pujol and Quintonil, which are on the San Pellegrino list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants, and at other Mexico City restaurants.

Mexican wines recently won 39 medals, including 14 golds, at the 2019 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles competition. That's more than US wines won.

Valle de Guadalupe, in Baja Norte, is home to more than 150 wineries; some produce wines as good as anything that I've had from California.

Just saying.

FlyerJ

When entering Mexico by air, how many bottles of wine is an individual allowed to bring in … without having to pay any duty or tax to Mexican customs?

Section 107

Depends upon the size of the bottles. The official allowance limits are here: Mercancía que puedes ingresar a México (sat.gob.mx)

I am not sure how if Mexico's other airports work this way, but the last time I arrived at MEX in Terminal 1 (the older terminal) one could purchase at the Duty Free store on the way INTO the country (in fact, you are almost literally routed through the store on the way to baggage claim and customs inspection. Means not having to bother with bottles in checked luggage or carryon. Note that this was not possible at T2 (the newer terminal).

However, I have found that most prices for alcohol in Mexico duty free were actually higher than in the local stores, particularly Walmart, Costco and Mega grocery store. YMMV.

Eastbay1K

The DF prices at MEX were STOOOPID, at least this week. The prices were higher than California retail in many cases. Meanwhile, we drank a bottle of wine we had brought from Argentina. We were going to bring it back home, but decided that it was better than spending $75 for a so-so bottle of hotel wine.

ijkh

Or you could go to the local Modelarama and buy as much beer as you can carry. There are beer stores on every corner even in the tiniest of towns. We are not fans of most Mexican nor Chilean wine that is readily avaialble in our town in Mexico. We bring in "good" wine which is much harder to find and/or expensive. Also wine can get too hot in transit. So you could also go to Costco and buy alcohol. There are Costcos in Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, DF, Guadalajara and bunch more. Imported goods including spirits can be high.