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mara

Aug 28, 2002, 12:56 PM

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Do I declare?

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hello friends. I'm leaving for Mexico City next week with my husband, who is Mexican. We made the mistake of telling my inlaws in advance that we were coming, and now they've asked us to bring about $2500 worth of electronics and perfume that they will pay us back for. Up to what amount do I have to declare those sort of things? SHould I take stuff out of the box? How bad could it be if I get the red light at aduana? Any advice and/or self-deprecating anecdotes appreciated.

Rolly

Aug 28, 2002, 1:31 PM

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Do I declare?

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If you are arriving by air, you will each have a $300 of duty free allowance for a total of $600 for the two of you. If you are driving in, you’ll have only $50 each, $100 total. $=US dollars.You cannot bring a desktop computer at all. You can bring a lap top duty free. The perfume is generally regarded as a personal item and is duty free unless you have enough for a small store in which case you might want to declare it. I would take the perfume out of the box and break the seal.Cameras, both film and video, are duty free and need not be declared. Likewise a cassette player and a reasonable number of cassettes, CDs, video tapes, books, etc, are free. Any other electronics should be declared. If you get a red light with a bunch of undeclared items, you may be in trouble. It’s called smuggling. Frequently gringos can plead stupidity and not be in serious trouble only a bunch of $$$. But since your husband is Mexican, you should not count on getting away with being dumb.One more thing---How many checked suitcases and boxes will you have? If it is more than two for each of you, you should call your airline to find out what their limit is. Some airlines are now limiting checked items to two bags/boxes. I had a big problem with that on Continental.

Linda M

Aug 28, 2002, 6:07 PM

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Do I declare?

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:The duty is 25% of the declared value. If you don't declare and get a red light the penalty can be as much as 120% of the value according to the declaration form I filled out in June. If your in-laws are looking to save money it could end up costing them much much more than just buying the items in Mexico City.
: hello friends. I'm leaving for Mexico City next week with my husband, who is Mexican. We made the mistake of telling my inlaws in advance that we were coming, and now they've asked us to bring about $2500 worth of electronics and perfume that they will pay us back for. Up to what amount do I have to declare those sort of things? SHould I take stuff out of the box? How bad could it be if I get the red light at aduana? Any advice and/or self-deprecating anecdotes appreciated.