Under 21 Duty Free question
 

So I am under 21 but traveling with two other people over 21. Can I bring wine back? What is the duty free limits and if i go over the limit how much duty do i have to pay?

thanks!

If you yourself are under 21, you won't be personally allowed to bring wine through customs but you can certainly give it to your companions who are of age. I have to admit, too, sometimes the customs agents either don't notice or look the other way on the DOB thing for alcohol--- I was 18 for my first trip to Mexico and brought back a large quantity of booze. As for amounts and duty, it depends on where you are coming back from, to some extent but if you ask the FA's on your outbound flight, they will probably be able to give you all the details.

You can't. They each get 1 liter.

Link

I noticed at Schipol yesterday in the Duty Free shop, that you had to be at least 16 to buy alcohol.

Actually it depends on where you are going back to.

If going back is Canada 18 or 19 depending on which province you live in. (Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec is 18 years old)

If going back is the USA different rules apply. See previous posters response.

Because that is the legal age to purchase alcohol in the Netherlands. At 16 you can legally buy it in Holland, but that doesn't mean you can bring it to the US, as the legal age to possess and consume alcohol in the US is 21.

Tere in lies the problem. Very similarly, you could buy marijuana in a coffee shop in Amsterdam, legally. Have it on your person when you leave Amsterdam, but try declaring it when you arrive in the US and see what happens :)

You don't provide any details of where you are "going back" to, but given the general arrogance of Americans to assume that the USA is the only country there is I will assume that is where you originate (please correct me if I am wrong).
Given that assumtion I have never ever been questioned regarding my age when purchasing duty free alcohol. I have however been asked about ID many times in the US (and I am 29) so this tells me that duty free shops are more relaxed than the average bar/restaurant in the US. Regarding going through the US customs I have never been stopped there either (or in any other customs for that matter), so I assume that your chances of going through there with alcohol are better than your chances of purchasing alcohol at a US bar.

yes, i am going back to the US. You can see my location, all three cities are in the US also the US is the only country in the world with a drinking age of 21.

Anyway, has anyone ever declared booze coming into the US when they were under age? Also, can i bring my allowance and have someone over 21 bring it through customs? I am in Argentina and would like to bring some wine back? If i just have an over 21 friend declare putting him over the duty free limit how is the amount of tax calculated?

Where exactly can we see you location? You certainly do not expose that information in your FT profile. As an example, my location is shown as "location: Sweden" in the details provided to the left of all my posts. You only show your join date and the number of posts. Also, as far as I am aware Egypt, India and UAE also have an age limit of 21.

thats odd, i had it up before I don't know why it disappeared

Do you feel lucky?
 

The answer is no, I didn't start travelling international until I was over 21, but it still wouldn't matter. There is always the slim chance that you will get pulled over in customs, and you would have to fess up. So, you have to ask yourself "do you feel lucky"? (Apologies to Clint Eastwwod)

BTW in my many trips back to the US I've never been pulled aside (including in my early 20's) and searched, but, as they say, YMMV.......

If your friend is "over the limit" it can be anything from a wave on by (:) good day), or several times the cost of the wine in fines (:( bad day).

Yes, you can do that, no problem. That person can legally bring in wine - what he or she does after they leave customs/airport/whatever is up to them.

How many times has Mom or Dad gave a teenager a glass of wine with dinner? They are not supposed to do that either. Or (although it's not the same) a whole group can get a AAA fare on Amtrak even though only one person in the group is a member.

Even if there's extra duty due on the extra bottle(s), many times Customs will just forget it. (They don't want to go through all the paperwork for $1 or $2 of duty due! :rolleyes: ) If you brought back 150 cases, that's a different story, but 1 or 2 bottles, I'd say no problem. But YMMV.

I'm not trying to break the law, but it can be done.

My usual suggestion to those who are worried is a 750mL suppository.

They don't care. Stick it in your bags, don't bother to declare it.

99.9% chance nobody will bat an eye. In my experience, they don't even look at your passport for long enough that they could possibly have time to note your age.

0.1% chance you'll get into some sort of trouble (don't ask me what kind) if they decide you warrant extra inspection for some reason.

Bottom line, as someone else said: how lucky do you feel? :)

So should i just have my over 21 friend declare it and pay a couple $$ in duty?

Or i sneak it what would they do