Planning Your Trip to Dublin - Dublin - page 4

separately and have your sales receipts handy. Returning U.S.
citizens who have been away for 48 hours or more are allowed to
bring back, once every 30 days, $800 worth of merchandise duty-
free, as long as you bring it with you as accompanied baggage. You'll
be charged a flat rate of duty on the next $1,000 worth of purchases.
On gifts, the duty-free limit is $200. You cannot bring fresh food-
stuffs into the United States; tinned foods are allowed. For specifics
on what you can bring back, download the invaluable free pamphlet
Know Before You Go online at www.cbp.gov . Or contact the U.S.
Customs & Border Protection (CBP), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW, Washington, DC 20229 ( & 877/287-8667 ) and request the
pamphlet.
Citizens of the United Kingdom who are returning from a
European Community (EC) country will go through a separate
Customs Exit (called the “Blue Exit”) especially for E.U. travelers.
In essence, there is no limit on what you can bring back from a E.U.
country, as long as the items are for personal use (this includes gifts),
and you have already paid the necessary duty and tax. However, cus-
toms law sets out guidance levels. If you bring in more than these
levels, you may be asked to prove that the goods are for your own
use. Guidance levels on goods bought in the E.U. for your own use
are 3,200 cigarettes, 200 cigars, 400 cigarillos, 3 kilograms of smok-
ing tobacco, 10 liters of spirits, 90 liters of wine, 20 liters of forti-
fied wine (such as port or sherry), and 110 liters of beer. For more
information, contact HM Customs & Excise at & 0845/010-9000
(from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152), or consult their website at
www.hmce.gov.uk.
For a clear summary of Canadian rules, write for the booklet
I Declare, issued by the Canada Border Servies Agency ( & 800/
461-9999 in Canada or 204/983-3500; www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca).
Australians can obtain a helpful brochure, Know Before You Go,
available from Australian consulates or Customs offices. For more
information, call the Australian Customs Service at & 1300/363-
263, or log on to www.customs.gov.au.
New Zealand citizens should obtain a free pamphlet available at
New Zealand consulates and Customs offices: New Zealand Customs
Guide for Travelers, Notice no. 4. For more information, contact
New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St.,
Box 2218, Wellington ( & 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.
customs.govt.nz).