Derboesekoenig Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 If I have to pay duties on 25 boxes, I am thinking about bringing an empty suitcase with me and filling that up as well. Might as well get my monies worth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JY0 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 5 minutes ago, Derboesekoenig said: If I have to pay duties on 25 boxes, I am thinking about bringing an empty suitcase with me and filling that up as well. Might as well get my monies worth I took an extra suitcase. My duty was $190.00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derboesekoenig Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Ok you sold me. Second suitcase is coming with lol I was also thinking of going to my bank the day before, and withdrawing Euros. Do they keep a decent amount at banks or nah? I've never thought about this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JY0 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I'm in the US. I took Euros to convert instead of USD's to avoid the 10% penalty. I gave my bank a week's notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derboesekoenig Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely do that. Is it like domestic where you're only supposed to take currency under $10k USD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JY0 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Not sure, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JY0 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I believe us customs asks to report anything over 5k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derboesekoenig Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Ehh...well hopefully 5k euros lasts me a week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JY0 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Best place to exchange your Euros for CUC’s is a bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derboesekoenig Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 So don't do it at the airport? Head straight to a bank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabidraccoon Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 On 5/28/2018 at 7:49 PM, JY0 said: Just got home. We had an amazing trip, our first but definitely not our last. I claimed the truth, 3 liters of rum, 25 boxes and 3 bundles of customs. The agent was shocked and we went back and forth a few times with me reassuring him that yes, I said and meant 25. They pulled me into a back room with my 3 suitcases and had us sit down. It was my wife, me and 2 uniformed agents. I think he was just testing me. "These are for commercial use, right'? No sir, I smoke a lot of cigars, had a big humidor and this was my first and probably last opportunity to bring these cigars in legally. I know the law and honestly disclosed what I was bringing in. He told me to go sit down. He called a supervisor and had a short conversation. I was too far away and couldn't hear anything. He came over and asked me who told me that I could bring this amount of cigars in. I told him that I did my homework, had all the receipts and the rules are published on their website. While we were sitting there I pulled out my phone to look at me email. He told me that we were currently being detained in a federal facility and cell phone use was not allowed. That 'detained' word alarmed me a bit. He supervisor called him back. He hung up and came over with a big smile and said, "We are going to let you bring all of these in but you will have to pay duty.". I told I was aware of the rules and fully expected to pay the duty. He said that he is a cigar smoker and asked if I had a picture of my humidor. I told him I did not. At that point he took my into an office and prepared a bill for $190.00. He never looked in my bags or asked to see any cigars. He ignored the bundles and the rum completely. After I paid he told me there is a lot of confusion about the rules out there. I kept my mouth shut. The takeaway: At least at the Miami ship port you can bring in 100 boxed cigars per person duty free. If they feel like it they will charge you 4% on anything above that. Damn at least I’m glad you got to bring everything home. I think they have some clause where there is a lot up to the discretion of the agents. I usually visit distilleries in Scotland and Mexico and bring back 5+ liters of alcohol and it usually depends on the specific agent. Some of them just wave me through, some of them send me to secondary inspection and open everything up to look at the bottles and then let me go. Never brought in a large quantity of cigars though cause I burn through my supply slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverstyx Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 Remember when you go to a bank to exchange money, the rate they give you is about 5% below spot. Still better than bringing dollars down, but the reduced benefit may make it not worth it for some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derboesekoenig Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 I'll just hope that the Euro is doing very well in July... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crasmith Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Thanks for the great info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokinNukie Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 When I came back through the port of Miami on Jan6 there was no declarations forms being used or questions asked. I made it home with 300 sticks (150+ custom) and could have brought home more than double that amount. Cuban customs didn’t ask either. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monterey Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 When I went thru cuban customs, they opened all of my bags and were counting how many non-boxed cigars I had. As long as I had a fractura, they were happy. Luckily I had split my customs among other people in my party. They were really cracking down on customs. This was on 1/11/2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOFLO88 Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 On 1/17/2019 at 7:34 PM, Monterey said: When I went thru cuban customs, they opened all of my bags and were counting how many non-boxed cigars I had. As long as I had a fractura, they were happy. Luckily I had split my customs among other people in my party. They were really cracking down on customs. This was on 1/11/2019 How many customs did you bring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monterey Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 10 hours ago, SOFLO88 said: How many customs did you bring? 50 customs and 40 singles (Talismans, Sivlo VI, La Trova). They all count the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houdini Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Have Fracturas. I went through last week. Ive never been so searched coming back from Havana or anywhere else for that matter. If you dont have facturas, dont bother. I had 40 customs and facturas for 4 boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSegal Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 I have had my carry-on suitcase opened and checked when leaving Jose Marti Terminal 2, one time out of all the times I've been there. But I think it was because I had a loose bottle of rum in there, and they were looking for liquids over 3.5 oz. So they said. Then they saw 7 boxes of cigars and asked if they were for "all for you?" and I said yes, and showed them receipts and they were quick to zip up the suitcase and just take the $8 bottle of rum. Fine with me. I bought more in the duty free shop. BUT...the part I'm never sure about is what to tell the US customs people--I fly in and out of Newark when visiting Cuba.When they ask if I have alcohol or tobacco, I always say no, and they just say welcome home, and let me thru. I'd rather tell them what I have and be honest, and don't mind paying 4% duty over x amount, but I never want to spend the time, and don't want them to even consider taking anything away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JY0 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 29 minutes ago, DSegal said: I'm always honest in US Customs. It's legal to bring cigars in for personal use. I'm not going to risk losing them to avoid a 4% duty. (over $800) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derboesekoenig Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 1 hour ago, DSegal said: I have had my carry-on suitcase opened and checked when leaving Jose Marti Terminal 2, one time out of all the times I've been there. But I think it was because I had a loose bottle of rum in there, and they were looking for liquids over 3.5 oz. So they said. Then they saw 7 boxes of cigars and asked if they were for "all for you?" and I said yes, and showed them receipts and they were quick to zip up the suitcase and just take the $8 bottle of rum. Fine with me. I bought more in the duty free shop. BUT...the part I'm never sure about is what to tell the US customs people--I fly in and out of Newark when visiting Cuba.When they ask if I have alcohol or tobacco, I always say no, and they just say welcome home, and let me thru. I'd rather tell them what I have and be honest, and don't mind paying 4% duty over x amount, but I never want to spend the time, and don't want them to even consider taking anything away. Oooooo good luck with that. I am always honest with Customs. I've never had to pay a duty for anything, brought from any country. Surprisingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madandana Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I’m always honest about it. Out of 5 trips they only made me pay once and I had 350. Even then it was only $60. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monterey Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 A guy posted on another forum the other day about a case gone wrong. He had 32 boxes. They determined it was for commercial purposes and took all but 4 boxes. They didn't even give him the option to pay the fee. It was the Miami Florida airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derboesekoenig Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 25 minutes ago, Monterey said: A guy posted on another forum the other day about a case gone wrong. He had 32 boxes. They determined it was for commercial purposes and took all but 4 boxes. They didn't even give him the option to pay the fee. It was the Miami Florida airport. Flipper or non-flipper? Maybe someone at CBP had a bad day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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