Return-Path: Received: from speech1.cs.cmu.edu by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa25403; 9 Jan 90 14:51:01 EST Received: from SPEECH1.CS.CMU.EDU by SPEECH1.CS.CMU.EDU; 9 Jan 90 14:49:50 EST To: Bovik@K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU cc: aki@SPEECH1.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: custom problems Date: Tue, 09 Jan 90 14:49:46 EST Message-ID: <14848.631914586@SPEECH1.CS.CMU.EDU> From: Aki Ohshima Dear Dr. Bovik: You may be interested in the information I've got. If so, please feel free to edit the following so that it looks appropriate for your database entry. Best regards, Aki Ohshima ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 08-Jan-90 23:30 Yoshiaki.Ohshima Help wanted: custom problems From: Yoshiaki.Ohshima@SPEECH1.CS.CMU.EDU Does any of you exactly know where I should ask questions about custom problems? Neither the misc collection of Bovik's database nor the Yellowpage's "Governmental Organizations" part gave me useful information about this. Here's my story: This afternoon, I was asked to pay about $240 to receive the parcel from my parents, who live in Japan--oh, by the way I'm Japanese. Supposedly, the package just includes clothes. No purchase, import/export activities have been involved. In other words, it was sent as a gift. I think: 1) it is strange to impose duties on personal gifts, 2) $240 is outrageous. Sorry about my ignorance, but would anyone knowledgeable please help me get a direct pointer to professional advice for this kind of problems? Thank you very much, Aki Ohshima 09-Jan-90 14:37 Yoshiaki.Ohshima Re: Custom problems From: Yoshiaki.Ohshima@SPEECH1.CS.CMU.EDU First of all, thank you very much for all the people kindly responded! Fortunately the officer at the Airport Custom Service was very kind, sincere, and knowledgeable enough to answer my questions. I will send the package to the custom office to have it opened and evaluated. I learned a few of things, which may be interesting to some of naive foreign students: 1) you are allowed to bring in personal belongings free of duty only once, 2) after that, everything exceeds $50 is subject to duty, even if it's a gift from someone--this is what I didn't know, 3) ask the officer at the Custom Service at 644-3587, if you have questions, 4) you may have the package sent back, if you don't want to pay the duty. Regards, Aki Ohshima