Bringing gifts back through NZ customs

Forums › Off topic › Bringing gifts back through NZ customs

1 | 2 | 3

2514 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#920088 23-Oct-2013 07:52

for the price of the Ipad if you are flying home thru Aussie try and get one from there, it works out cheaper than the USA when you get it duty free.

dclegg

2806 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#920090 23-Oct-2013 07:56

dickytim: for the price of the Ipad if you are flying home thru Aussie try and get one from there, it works out cheaper than the USA when you get it duty free.

The iPad is now out of the equation. I return home this Thursday (24th), and it releases on Nov 1. My wife may be able to secure a 2nd hand 4th gen iPad from a work colleague, so it's now a toss up between that and buying the iPad Air locally when it releases in NZ.

Geektastic

17942 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#920110 23-Oct-2013 08:47

dclegg:
surfisup1000:
I wouldn't bring back a new ipad -- even if you do avoid gst on it, you will not save all that much and lose protection under the CGA.

That is a valid point about CGA protection, and the savings is around $76, once you factor in the exchange rate and CA sales tax. If they're released in NZ at the same time, perhaps I'll just order one from the online Apple store. Would also take the heat off my other purchases, as I could convincingly innocently claim they're under $700.

Meh - the CGA is a PITA and if you bung Apple Care on it it will be covered for 3 years by which time it will be a paperweight anyway!

trig42

5809 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#920112 23-Oct-2013 08:48

Geektastic:
dclegg:
surfisup1000:
I wouldn't bring back a new ipad -- even if you do avoid gst on it, you will not save all that much and lose protection under the CGA.

That is a valid point about CGA protection, and the savings is around $76, once you factor in the exchange rate and CA sales tax. If they're released in NZ at the same time, perhaps I'll just order one from the online Apple store. Would also take the heat off my other purchases, as I could convincingly innocently claim they're under $700.

Meh - the CGA is a PITA and if you bung Apple Care on it it will be covered for 3 years by which time it will be a paperweight anyway!

2 Years for AppleCare I think on an iPad, but yeah, what he said.

dclegg

2806 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#920113 23-Oct-2013 08:49

Geektastic:

Meh - the CGA is a PITA and if you bung Apple Care on it it will be covered for 3 years by which time it will be a paperweight anyway!

The CGA has saved my bacon before. Just mentioning it to the authorized Pioneer repairer got them to fix my out of warranty amp (over 2 years old) for free.

Geektastic

17942 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#920125 23-Oct-2013 08:57

dclegg:
Geektastic:

Meh - the CGA is a PITA and if you bung Apple Care on it it will be covered for 3 years by which time it will be a paperweight anyway!

The CGA has saved my bacon before. Just mentioning it to the authorized Pioneer repairer got them to fix my out of warranty amp (over 2 years old) for free.

And if the manufacturer had given you a decent warranty....

afe66

3181 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#920240 23-Oct-2013 11:05

The customs website (posting things) says you can bring in multiple gifts for different people as long as each person is under 110. You need to clearly indicate which items going to which person which I read as individualy giftwrapped and labelled to identify who it is for.

A.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

lapimate

352 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#920287 23-Oct-2013 11:42

mikerussellnz:... I can't see how they can know if you left the country with it or not ...

They can demand proof of purchase, remember their powers are rather like IRD's - the onus is on you to prove your claim. Last century when laptops were more of a novelty the advice was to take the NZ purchase invoice with the equipment when you left NZ intending to return.

dclegg

2806 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#920288 23-Oct-2013 11:46

lapimate:
mikerussellnz:... I can't see how they can know if you left the country with it or not ...
They can demand proof of purchase, remember their powers are rather like IRD's - the onus is on you to prove your claim. Last century when laptops were more of a novelty the advice was to take the NZ purchase invoice with the equipment when you left NZ intending to return.

That raises an interesting point. I took my recently purchased Macbook Pro with me. I don't have proof of purchase, as it didn't even occur to me that it would be needed (I have travelled with pre-owned laptops before). I wonder if they'd accept file timestamps as evidence that this machine was in my possession prior to my trip, should they try to ascertain whether I purchased it while overseas.

mikerussellnz

283 posts

Ultimate Geek

#920290 23-Oct-2013 11:49

I doubt they would harass for a laptop, 100's of people walk through with laptops and phones, I bet none of them carry any proof of purchase. If they started harassing people for that, the publicity wouldn't be good. It is not like it can be flagged as a national security issue.

wellygary

8312 posts

Uber Geek

#920324 23-Oct-2013 12:18

@ mikerussellnz, +1 unlikely for a Laptop these days,

But if you are worried about it, get them to give you a certificate of Export when you leave ( or before, you can get one from any customs branch in NZ )

[Back in the 80s when CDs were new and shiny, and players when big and bulky, I had an original Sony Discman (Which as an aside still runs), after a couple of times being hassled by customs over such an expensive fancy device, I wandered in an got a Export cert for it, problem solved.]

http://www.customs.govt.nz/outprivate/onyourdeparture/throughcustoms/Pages/default.aspx

"If you are leaving New Zealand for overseas with an expensive piece of equipment, such as a camera, which you intend bringing back with you, you might like to consider getting a Certificate of Export. To get a certificate, goods must be uniquely identifiable, with something like a serial number.

If you think that having the item on you when you return could affect your duty-free entitlements, a Certificate of Export is valuable. They are particularly useful for new models of photographic or video camera equipment. It’s always wise to carry some form of documentation to establish your previous ownership. This will help you avoid any potential misunderstanding with Customs when you return to New Zealand.

To obtain a Certificate of Export, present the goods to a Customs office before departure. Please note that this facility is not always available at the point of departure."

alikat

403 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#920345 23-Oct-2013 12:34

Will be interested to hear how you get on as I plan on spending USD$1500 on a handbag while in LA next year.
Of course, I could tell them that I always travel with such expensive handbags and I transport it in the box it comes in to keep it safe between uses.

dolsen

1476 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#920396 23-Oct-2013 13:54

alikat: Will be interested to hear how you get on as I plan on spending USD$1500 on a handbag while in LA next year.
Of course, I could tell them that I always travel with such expensive handbags and I transport it in the box it comes in to keep it safe between uses.

Tell them it's a $10 knock off. They probably won't be able to tell the difference.

k1wi

484 posts

Ultimate Geek

#920432 23-Oct-2013 15:20

If you have a good travel history, chances are you won't even be stopped by Customs. If you've got a black mark against your name you may not be so lucky. The flip side of that is if you are unlucky, get stopped and they care, the black mark against your name will probably always be there...

I was concerned about coming back with two laptops from the States earlier this year, but I had no problems whatsoever. I left all the packaging and superfluous junk behind (just kept laptop and charger) as it made carrying easier.

ilovemusic

1439 posts

Uber Geek

#921124 24-Oct-2013 18:03

how do you know if you have a black mark against your name ?

is there a publicly accessible database of such information ?

1 | 2 | 3