Duty Free Alcohol into Australia

[NM]

Of course the best way to be compliant with the law and to maximise the benefit is to carry 6 x 750ml bottles between you.

 

[Danger UXB]

Don't go over the limit though because you loose your duty free allowance and they charge you duty on the whole lot. eg one person brings in 6 bottles of wine they charge you duty on all 6 not just on 3 with 3 free of duty. I the bill to prove it
Cheers Danger UXB

 

[straitman]

Don't go over the limit though because you loose your duty free allowance and they charge you duty on the whole lot. eg one person brings in 6 bottles of wine they charge you duty on all 6 not just on 3 with 3 free of duty. I the bill to prove it
Cheers Danger UXB

Yes.

This has been posted a few times in the past but always good to get a timely reminder.

 

[justin23]

Yes i didn't realise that myself. If you exceed the alcohol duty limit, duty is payable on the whole amount.
I had 3 litres of alcohol once, but given I declared all sorts of stuff, they seemed happier that I was declaring everything and to charge me duty on just .75l excess of alcohol was not necessary.

I imagine they use discretion on these things. If you go in yelling and screaming i bet they charge you everything dollar they can get

 

[serfty]

As per the thread linked to in post #19, duty used to be assessed on the excess. If the total duty assessed was < $50 nothing was payable.

 

[Gold Member]

I've just arrived back from NZ (via Sydney) and collected my stash of booze in NZ. To my amazament, customs simply waived me through without even checking my bags nor how much alcohol I had. I could have brought 50 litres in! Anyhoo, the Johnnie Blue is standing proudly on my top shelf

BTW, last night upon arrival into SYD on EK A380 in a thuderstorm (very cool show out the windows), although we landed and disembarked unimpaired, apparently due to the conditions the baggage handlers couldn't retrieve luggage - 1.5 hours later in baggage collection carousels with 4 other Int'l flights dumped and without aircon... and with a dom xfer connection within 30 minutes! I don't think I've ever run so fast from customs to QBus Dom xfer! Fortunately at check-in (25 mins prior to scheduled departure, and with at least a 15 minute delay waiting/taking the bus), the lass granted me access and tagged my luggage Business which was a nice surprise in Melbourne as it came out first. So thank you Qantas for your flexibility and understanding. Not sure I could handle a night in Sydney airport...

 

[Mal]

Also, duty free tends to have 'sampler' packs of spirits available near the check-out to help bump up your usage of the allowance. Fairly decent prices on them at times - espcially for some of the more premium ones.

For example, 2 x 1L bottles + 200 ml sampler = 2.20L, or 50ml under the allowed limit.

 

[DJ737]

Hi there

I always find that if you declare stuff on the arrivals card, the customs people in MEL are pretty good, just tell them what you have, and 9 times out of 10 they direct you straight out, bypassing the scanner queue.

Have arrived with 3L of scotch and 400 ciggies without any problem.

Told them the 3 bottles was a special offer (it was 3 for the price of 2 at DXB) and the officer wished me a good morning and sent me on my way.

YMMV

Cheers
DJ737

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I've just arrived back from NZ (via Sydney) and collected my stash of booze in NZ. To my amazament, customs simply waived me through without even checking my bags nor how much alcohol I had. I could have brought 50 litres in! Anyhoo, the Johnnie Blue is standing proudly on my top shelf

On the subject of Johnnie Blue.....

Just be careful if travelling inbound to Oz on an international flight where you have a transit stop at an international gateway that you will be subject to LAGS screening in the transit area so anything in excess of 100ml will be confiscated by security when you pass through the screening point (airside) in order to reboard your aircraft.

Had friends travelling on JQ58 SIN/CNS which is a one plane through international flight with a transit stop in Darwin. Even though they weren't clearing customs until CNS everyone had to disembark the aircraft to be screened so bingo wave bye bye to Johnnie Blue and friends. Ouch that's gotta hurt.

Same LAGS rules apply to pax joining the DRW/CNS flight on the domestic sector.

Anyone else flying ex SIN (JQ62) ex SGN (JQ74) ex DPS (JQ82) with onward domestic connections on JQ via DRW need not worry as they disembark and clear customs in DRW and the next sector of their flight is a domestic one and therefore not subject to LAGS screening. This is irrespective of whether you are continuing on the same flight number or boarding a new one eg SGN/SYD on JQ74 or SGN/DRW on JQ74 connecting with JQ62 DRW/MEL.

This calls for situational awareness when booking flights and the consequences. Their itinerary said nothing about a stop in DRW so cannot rely on that.

Oz

 

[Happy Dude]

Hi there

I always find that if you declare stuff on the arrivals card, the customs people in MEL are pretty good, just tell them what you have, and 9 times out of 10 they direct you straight out, bypassing the scanner queue.

Have arrived with 3L of scotch and 400 ciggies without any problem.

Told them the 3 bottles was a special offer (it was 3 for the price of 2 at DXB) and the officer wished me a good morning and sent me on my way.

YMMV

Cheers
DJ737

I was billed $80 for declaring and importing 2.75L of Tanqeray Gin and wine through MEL. The tone and repetitious nature of the questioning by the customs officer was most annoying.

So yes, YMMV.

 

[simongr]

On the subject of Johnnie Blue.....

Just be careful if travelling inbound to Oz on an international flight where you have a transit stop at an international gateway that you will be subject to LAGS screening in the transit area so anything in excess of 100ml will be confiscated by security when you pass through the screening point (airside) in order to reboard your aircraft.

Surely this is only if your connecting flight is an international flight number? SYD is an international gateway but if connecting to a domestic flight (QF400+) you wont be subject to LAGS rubbish?

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Surely this is only if your connecting flight is an international flight number? SYD is an international gateway but if connecting to a domestic flight (QF400+) you wont be subject to LAGS rubbish?

Sorry, I re-read my post and I hadn't made it clear that it's only if you are continuing on an international flight from the international terminal which could be the same flight number or a different one that is QF1-QF399.

Same plane example: QF2 LHR-BKK-SYD-MEL or QF10 LHR-SIN-MEL-SYD

Connecting example: QF6 SIN-SYD connecting QF175 SYD-BNE

Anyone who clears customs and immigration at the first point of entry at the particular Australian gateway is done and dusted and having entered the country with their duty free booze can continue on to their domestic flight QF400 & above, DJ or JQ with the said booze in their carry on luggage.

This is assuming it doesn't go over the 7kg limit on DJ or QF or 10kg on JQ.

LAGS screening points are only inside the customs area. For pax using combined terminals eg ADL & DRW after checking in you go through the security screening point as per usual then if on an international flight you will be further screened for LAGS on entering outbound customs. So obviously if flying DRW/SYD you will still be able to hang on to your precious Darwin Stubbie.

 

[Dave Noble]

Anyone who clears customs and immigration at the first point of entry at the particular Australian gateway is done and dusted and having entered the country with their duty free booze can continue on to their domestic flight QF1-399, DJ or JQ with the said booze in their carry on luggage.

No. The international rules apply on all flights from the International Terminal

If you arrive in on QF1-399 and then connect onwards on a domestic flight from domestic terminal, then all is ok
If you connect on a flight from international terminal, then the liquids rule will apply

Dave

 

[Mal]

I thought I already knew this, but can't find my references... how do I calculate what Customs would charge me for bringing in excess spirits? Saw some stuff on the ATO website, but it didn't include the various duties...

 

[NM]

I thought I already knew this, but can't find my references... how do I calculate what Customs would charge me for bringing in excess spirits? Saw some stuff on the ATO website, but it didn't include the various duties...

Its a customs issue, not at ATO issue. Have a look at these documents:

http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4232&c=4312
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4232&c=4256

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Anyone who clears customs and immigration at the first point of entry at the particular Australian gateway is done and dusted and having entered the country with their duty free booze can continue on to their domestic flight QF400 & above, DJ or JQ with the said booze in their carry on luggage.

DOH, have now corrected it on original post - that's what I meant to say so the post would've sounded totally blonde!

To clarify: if you are on an international flight within Oz thereby departing from the international terminal irrespective of whether you are solely doing this domestic leg or whether it's at the tail end of an international journey LAGS screening will apply.

 

[quirkj01]

I read this on the Australia infrastraucture site.

No duty free items will be permitted to be taken through an international transit screening point in Australia. For example: A passenger travelling on a flight from Singapore to Sydney via Brisbane would be required to undertake security screening at Brisbane airport. Any oversized liquid, aerosol or gel items the passenger has on their person, (including duty free) would be required to be surrendered before passing through the security screening point to reboard their flight and continue on to Sydney. Similar rules are in place at airports internationally. You should check with your airline for specifics about the rules in effect at your transit stops.

My question is .

I'm travelling from Glasgow home to Perth via London and Singapore. So am I to understand that the only place I can buy liquids and take them on is if they're bought at Changhi airport? That seems strange to me, how could they tell if you've bought scotch from Changhi or Scotland?

 

[NM]

My question is .

I'm travelling from Glasgow home to Perth via London and Singapore. So am I to understand that the only place I can buy liquids and take them on is if they're bought at Changhi airport? That seems strange to me, how could they tell if you've bought scotch from Changhi or Scotland?

Your choice is to purchase at Changi from an approved air-side duty-free shop, Perth international terminal upon arrival before immigration control, or on-board the aircraft inbound to Perth.

At SIN, there is a security screening point at each gate lounge where all liquids are screened and will be confiscated. If you purchase from the air-side duty-free shops at SIN at least 1 hour before scheduled departure, the store will package the purchase into an approved sealed bag and will deliver the package to the boarding gate on the other side of the security screening point.

If you purchase in the UK, you will lose the item at the SIN security screening point as it was not purchased in SIN, packaged in an approved sealed bag by the SIN duty-free store and delivered to you at the boarding gate.

 

[quirkj01]

If you purchase in the UK, you will lose the item at the SIN security screening point as it was not purchased in SIN, packaged in an approved sealed bag by the SIN duty-free store and delivered to you at the boarding gate.

Ok, so you I go to the duty free shop in Changhi, buy the alcohol at least an hour before departure and then they bring it to the lounge once I go through the Gate security check again?

It's all really very frustrating, that means I can't bring Scotch home from Scotland, feel a bit ripped off!

 

[serfty]

... It's all really very frustrating, that means I can't bring Scotch home from Scotland, feel a bit ripped off!

You can bring it - carefully packed in your checked luggage