£85 Duty Free Allowance Hiccup

[Lizbiebrowne]

Stopped off this morning at the Les Vignerons de Ile de Re to pick up some goodies to complete both out duty free allowances which included buying 24 bottles of their fortified wine to complete our combined 18 L allowance. They brought the boxes over to the van and I transferred them quickly into the boot to sort out later.

Later when we arrived at our overnight stop before heading to St Malo tomorrow for the ferry, I started to sort the boxes out when I realised they’d sold me the 1 litre bottles not 0.75 litre bottles so we have 24 litres, 6 litres over the allowance.

So, onto the HMRC websites and I declared 15 L of fortified wine in my name to leave my wife with her 9L allowance at a cost of £85. Should I have just poured 6 bottles away? Perhaps but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

 

[Go_buddy_go_]

Think I would of just risked it tbh

 

[bigtree]

Not been searched once for booze on any entry points.

 

[Driventemple]

Stopped off this morning at the Les Vignerons de Ile de Re to pick up some goodies to complete both out duty free allowances which included buying 24 bottles of their fortified wine to complete our combined 18 L allowance.

If it is fortified, ie up to 22% then the limit is 9 litres

 

[TheMachMan]

Never been checked, I doubt it’s worth them checking. I certainly wouldn’t have declared it.

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[Grummyb]

id have risked it (or drunk it and got the wife to drive)

 

[Boldly]

Not sure we could drink 18l of sherry or vermouth type stuff between trips.

 

[Puddleduck]

When my sister was living in France she came home at Christmas with loads of pressies - all wine. She declared it at customs and said it was gifts she had been given but they would have to confiscate it as she couldn't afford to pay the duty. The customs officer smiled, took two random bottles and waved her through.

 

[carolyn]

There are hundreds if not thousands of Funsters semiconscious and needing a stiff drink to get over the shock of your honesty I would imagine. Even I who am very law abiding would have probably risked it and then gone whoops if caught. It did start as a mistake after all.

 

[barryd]

I would have winged it. Well I say that. This reminds me of a day trip we did on holiday as kids. I went with my pal on a weeks holiday to Sussex Beach when we were 17. We went across to Boulogne with our group on a coach for the day on the Hovercraft (1983). Of course all we did was hit the bars and get pissed, smoke Gitanes and try to chat up French girls. Then we stocked up with loads of duty free which the coach driver then informed us we were well over the limits for and we could either dump it or drink it. Guess which option we chose?

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[Lizbiebrowne]

There are hundreds if not thousands of Funsters semiconscious and needing a stiff drink to get over the shock of your honesty I would imagine. Even I who am very law abiding would have probably risked it and then gone whoops if caught. It did start as a mistake after all.

It started as a mistake but then when I found out, well then I knew.

 

[Bramidan]

I would have winged it. Well I say that. This reminds me of a day trip we did on holiday as kids. I went with my pal on a weeks holiday to Sussex Beach when we were 17. We went across to Boulogne with our group on a coach for the day on the Hovercraft (1983). Of course all we did was hit the bars and get pissed, smoke Gitanes and try to chat up French girls. Then we stocked up with loads of duty free which the coach driver then informed us we were well over the limits for and we could either dump it or drink it. Guess which option we chose?

I loved the description of your time in Boulogne, that exactly sums up what I would have done.
Took me back to my younger years, no regrets.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Go thru the Red channel with that story, probably let you off

 

[The Coops]

If you waited till customs and explained in declaring that they, the shop where you bought it, had cocked up with the bottle size i.e few bottles over, they in the main are not bothered , they are after the ciggie and drug smugglers, why do you think they make you drive over speed humps? To see how the van copes and if it goes clink!

 

[barryd]

I loved the description of your time in Boulogne, that exactly sums up what I would have done.
Took me back to my younger years, no regrets.

It was my first ever visit to France and first time on the Hovercraft. All I can remember is when it pulled in the whole place stank of rotten fish (well round the hovercraft port at least).

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[Puddleduck]

We always used to use the hovercraft. Very noisy, bumpy and uncomfortable but fast.

We were on the second to fastest ever crossing by hovercraft and also on one of the last. The previous craft had just crashed into the harbour wall in Dover and cars were being crammed onto the remaining craft. Our friend's car was the last loaded on that crossing and was sideways on in order to get it in. That was a hairy trip as one of our kids was in their car with her best friend but she was on our family passport (remember those?) and the sea was very rough, probably at the limit for hovercraft operations. Instead of a 35-45 minute crossing it took over an hour. The second fastest crossing I think was 22.5 minutes.

 

[Just smiffy]

It started as a mistake but then when I found out, well then I knew.

They would have taken one look at your guilty face and ripped your van apart…

 

[Lyrick]

Came off the ferry at Portsmouth end of October this year. As usual someone comes out of the booth to have a look in the motorhome and garage.

Bottles of wine stuffed everywhere, apologised to the official saying we had a wedding coming up. He said he wasn't interested in how much alcohol we were carrying.

As it happens , when we checked , between us we were under the limit . Just looked a lot.