Bringing Back Alcohol

[SandPinNY]

Hi all...I know I am still a year out but I need help. Coming out of Jamaica at the duty free shop at the airport they had a Jack Daniels Bourbon that was only available in the Carribean, it was "Silver Lable". Does anyone know if this is available in Mexico as well? I have one bottle left (out of 5) that I am hording. If it is available in Mexico I can open it knowing it will be replaced.

Thanks in advanced for any insight!

[DoctorandDomina]

Never noticed if they have Jack Silver Label, but you can buy it online, though I don't know what the legalities of THAT are, and it ain't cheap either.

http://www.scotchmaltwhisky.co.uk/shop/product/2/540/Jack-Daniels-Silver-Select.htm

You are normally allowed 1 liter per person for any kind of acohol when returning from Mexico. You won't be able to bring it in your carry -on unless you buy it at a duty free store at the airport and is packaged officially by the store and deliverd to you before you board the plane. If you buy it at a regular store, then you will have to pack it properly and bring it in your cargo luggage. My understanding is that if U.S. customs opens your luggage and finds more than a liter, they'll confiscate everything but the 1 liter. When driving back from Tijuana after one of our drinking/buying/crazy partying runs, customs discovered our 10 bottles of Patron .... we literally stood there and watched them pour every over the limit ounce out....RIGHT IN FRONT OF US...CRUEL, CRUEL... We were fortunate not to receive a citation too.

Katrina

[SandPinNY]

Wow...thanks for the response. $80 US!!! I paid 45 US in Montego Bay (they gave me a 10% disc for buying 5). I will have to look when I am down there...or if anyone is going sooner and happen to notice...I would love to know.

That is horrible about the Patron. I love Patron...Patron Silver is my favorite tequila. I would have cried! No disrespect intended at all but would it have been possible to claim it and pay the duty? Your story just convinced me that if they have it and I bring a few bottles back, I won't take a chance.

We almost got busted coming out of Montego Bay ... luckily my wife had the carryone with all the liquor. The searched my stuff and let her go! Whew!

Thanks again!!!

S and P

[DoctorandDomina]

Yes, you can bring back more than one liter per person, but no matter how much your claiming in your duty free exemptions, ever liter over one per person is duty and IRS taxable AND if you bring back an unusually large amount, they'll give you hell for trying to "import", though i cannot imagine 5 bottles would be seen as importing. Also, can't violate any state laws at your final destination.

Here's the language from US customs regarding alcohol, and the website for the booklet that gives you ALL customs regulations.

http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/newsroom/publications/travel/knowbeforeyougo.ctt/knowbeforeyougo.pdf


"Alcoholic Beverages
One liter (33.8 fl. oz.) of alcoholic beverages may be
included in your exemption if:
• You are 21 years old.
• It is for your own use or as a gift.
• It does not violate the laws of the state in which
you arrive.
Federal regulations allow you to bring back more than
one liter of alcoholic beverage for personal use, but,
as with extra tobacco, you will have to pay duty and
Internal Revenue Service tax.
While Federal regulations do not specify a limit on
the amount of alcohol you may bring back for personal
use, unusual quantities are liable to raise suspicions
that you are importing the alcohol for other purposes,
such as for resale. CBP officers are authorized by the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(ATF) to make on-the-spot determinations that an
importation is for commercial purposes, and may
require you to obtain a permit to import the alcohol
before releasing it to you. If you intend to bring back
a substantial quantity of alcohol for your personal use,
you should contact the port through which you will
be re-entering the country, and make prior arrangements
for entering the alcohol into the United States.
Also, you should be aware that state laws might limit
the amount of alcohol you can bring in without a
license. If you arrive in a state that has limitations on
the amount of alcohol you may bring in without a
license, that state law will be enforced by CBP, even
though it may be more restrictive than federal regulations.
We recommend that you check with the state
government before you go abroad about their limitations
on quantities allowed for personal importation
and additional state taxes that might apply.
In brief, for both alcohol and tobacco, the quantities
discussed in this booklet as being eligible for duty-free
treatment may be included in your $800 or $1,600
exemption, just as any other purchase would be. But
unlike other kinds of merchandise, amounts beyond
those discussed here as being duty-free are taxed, even
if you have not exceeded, or even met, your personal
exemption. For example, if your exemption is $800
and you bring back three liters of wine and nothing
else, two of those liters will be dutiable. Federal law
prohibits shipping alcoholic beverages by mail within
the United States."

If it makes you feel any better, there were four of us in the car coming back from Tijuana, so they were only cruel with 6 bottles....lol.

[seisdnueve]

Next time you want to "import" some extra Patron from TJ, you need to know how to safely get it across the border...........







The pick-up area is on I-8 by the illegal alien crossing sign

[SandPinNY]

DandD-
Thanks so much! I hate reading all the leagal mumbo jumbo but have to. Thanks.

[SandPinNY]

Next time you want to "import" some extra Patron from TJ, you need to know how to safely get it across the border...........







The pick-up area is on I-8 by the illegal alien crossing sign

OMG too funny.