sethb[at]panix.com (Seth Breidbart) wrote:
- quote -

True, but...

One issue is that the wine will have to be shipped; no way
can it travel checked baggage. There are brokers who arrange
shipments of wine collections -- especially around
Frankfurt, where many US servicemen embark for the States
and bring all manner of collected personal property with
them. The OP's best bet may be to have it shipped, pick it
up on arrival, and transport it to Indiana himself.

Another issue is transporting the wine to his destination
once he gets it landed. If the OP does transport the wine
himself, he's breaking Indiana law, which allows him to
import no more than a quart. If the OP cannot transport the
wine himself, Indiana is, politely, a b***h of a state to
ship alcohol into; it is one of the states that mail-order
wine dealers won't accept customers from. He may have to
find a licensed shipper and consignee willing to accept the
shipment, then pay state tax to get the shipment released.

I can understand the OP's interest. Italy produces many fine
wines in quantities too small for US distribution or even
export. Many of these are one-of-a-kind wines for which
there is not even an approximate substitute in any other
country's production.

--
Chris Green

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Christopher Green <cj.green[at]worldnet.att.net> wrote:
- quote -

I believe I've read that the state rule that applies (or is
applied by US Customs) is that of the state where the person
enters the US, not the state where the person intends to
travel to later.

Seth

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jeremypal[at]yahoo.com (Jeremy) wrote:

- quote -

There is a law question here that overrides the tax question.

Importing wine into the US is regulated both by Federal and
by state law. In order to import your wine, you will have to
make arrangements satisfactory both to US Customs and to the
Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. If you do not, your
wine may be seized.

The Federal rule is that you may bring with you any amount
of any alcoholic beverage, so long as it is for personal
consumption, and so long as you pay duty on the amount
exceeding your duty-free limit, which is one liter per
person.

The rule in Indiana is much more restrictive: a private
person is allowed to import one quart (not quite 0.95 liter)
of any alcoholic beverage for personal use, and no more.
This has been upheld repeatedly on court challenges.

US Customs knows and will enforce the rules of your state.
So you need to comply with both.

You can contact the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission at
302 W. Washington Street
Indiana Government Center South Rm E-114
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone (317) 232-2430

--
Chris Green

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jeremypal[at]yahoo.com (Jeremy) wrote:

- quote -

You simply declare it and pay whatever the duty is.

I made three trips to Argentina in 1999. On the second
and third trips I brought back with me 10 times the
alcohol limits, declared them, and was not asked to pay
a duty tax. I later asked a law school professor this
happened. Her answer was that the duty tax to be
collected was not worth the paper work.

Dick

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"Jeremy" <jeremypal[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

As far as I can tell your wife's nationality has no effect
on the tariff rate.

I went to the U.S. International Trade Commission - 2004
Tariff Database, where I input a search for "wine."

http://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/tariff2004.asp

I got numerous hits for wine products, along with hits for
swine and twine.

The following product category seemed like a good candidate
for the type of wine you propose to import:

22042150 -- Wine other than Tokay (not carbonated), not over
14% alcohol, in containers not over 2 liters -- 01/01/2004

According to the detail page, the Normal Trade Relations
duty rate (formerly known as Most Favored Nation duty rate)
is 6.3¢ per liter.

Assuming them to be 750 milliliter bottles, you're proposing
to bring in about 75 liters of wine. If no exemption or
special rate applies, the tax would come to a bit under $5.

Barney Byrd

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Jeremy wrote:

- quote -

Who is this duty/tax applicable to? This might be only to
importers, and the laws might be different if you are
immigrating. Have a look at the immigration laws.

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My wife and I are moving from Italy the U.S. (Indiana) and
we would like to bring our collection of wine (about 100
bottles). I understand that we are subject to pay duty/tax
on the wine, however it is unclear to me how much. Can
someone help me determine how much the taxes are? In case
it matters, I am American and my wife is Italian.

Thank you in advance,

Jeremy

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