RE: OT: Bringing Cisco equipment to US

["Tomas L. Byrnes" <tomb () byrneit net>]

Even more off-topic: What he said.

I've brought WINE back into the US as checked luggage from wine tasting
trips abroad, but I had printed out all the applicable regulations,
declared it, and had a cashier's check ready for the tariff, and I STILL
had to deal with a supervisor.

The guy at the airport is harried, and anything that takes longer than
about 5 minutes for him to grok puts you in the very long queue. If you
can avoid it, at any reasonable cost, do so.

You CAN'T do that with wine, as it has to be for personal consumption
and traveling with you, but for anything that you can, it's just worth
doing.

Ship it a week early, in case it gets held up.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Edwards [mailto:john () vocus com au]
> Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 3:29 PM
> To: Martin Hannigan; Sherwin Ang
> Cc: nanog () nanog org
> Subject: Re: OT: Bringing Cisco equipment to US
>
>
> On 30/06/2009, at 6:52 AM, Martin Hannigan wrote:
>
> > Not a lawyer -- not legal advice.
>
> Neither are the customs guys - experience tells me that if they have
> any doubt, they'll seize the equipment. They'll want to see an invoice
> for the original purchase of the equipment, and if it was more than
> $2000 (I think) it needs to be processed correctly.
>
> Anything coming into the country is an import, even if you don't plan
> to sell it. If customs seize the equipment, they'll be nice enough
> about it, but allow for a week to resolve the problem with a broker
> system that seems to prefer faxes and hand-written forms.
>
> Cisco provide a tool for determining the correct tariff codes for
> pieces of their equipment and the components therein;
>
> http://tools.cisco.com/legal/export/pepd/Search.do
>
> "Country of Origin" doesn't work so well for Cisco equipment, as most
> of it is made outside of the US.
>
> "Machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or
> regeneration of voice, images or other data, including switching and
> routing apparatus" have a zero tariff for import into the US, unless
> they were manufactured in North Korea or Cuba.
>
> > You should only have to declare them at the border and pay the import
> > duty (tax) _right there_. They take credit cards. Declare them on
> > customs form I-74? handed out on the plane before you land.
>
>
> Notify One Willshire that the equipment is coming, and use an
> international courier to send it there.
>
> The courier will likely charge you less than a customs broker will for
> a single item - the brokers are mainly used for large transactions.
> While you're legally entitled to bring this equipment in carry-on
> luggage, proving and authenticating your right can be a costly and
> timely exercise.
>
> John Edwards