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Swiss Customs Targetting Baselworld Attendees

Ssunnylee24
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Absolute non-sense.
Baselworld is the biggest event in Basel and for them to BSing around like this is crazy.
Swiss watch companies are bringing in so much businesses (rip off) and for them to show this kind of professionalism or lack of? I say do it somewhere else.m, where they are appriciated.
 
MTROIS
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Archer Archer
I’m not sure what problem this shows. You can try to argue with the police officer who pulls you over for speeding that everyone else was speeding too, so since he didn’t stop everyone you shouldn’t get a ticket. Let us know how that works out...😀
Happy to report that this has actually worked In my favor when going to court: dash cam could easily prove that I was in a flow of cars and was selected randomly.
 
MMMD
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STANDY STANDY
laws are laws. A simple Carnet would have solved everything...

I agree that laws are laws, and ignorance is no excuse, but I have to admit that my first reaction to "a simple Carnet would have solved everything" was what the HELL is a Carnet? Good information, thanks.
 
Archer
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MTROIS MTROIS
Happy to report that this has actually worked In my favor when going to court: dash cam could easily prove that I was in a flow of cars and was selected randomly.

If you are caught via radar it’s difficult to believe that they would let you off just because everyone else was speeding...
 
gatorcpa
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Ssunnylee24 Ssunnylee24
Absolute non-sense.
Baselworld is the biggest event in Basel and for them to BSing around like this is crazy.
Swiss watch companies are bringing in so much businesses (rip off) and for them to show this kind of professionalism or lack of? I say do it somewhere else.m, where they are appriciated.
Whose lack of professionalism?

The customs guys are just doing their jobs.

If one regularly travels to an international show with thousands in watches and doesn’t know the laws in the country to which they are traveling, is that Switzerland’s fault?

The attitudes here amaze me sometimes.
gatorcpa
 
CaptainWinsor
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I suspect the customs agents in Switzerland get a cut of the take each day. Absolutely ridiculous
 
JPE.88305
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Tangentially: when returning to the US from Canada for a family vacation when I was little, we were detained for several hours until they could verify all 7 of us kids were in fact siblings, the customs folks thinking my parents were trafficking children.
From that point forward my parents traveled with our social security cards. And fortunately they didn’t care my father was packing a .45 under the front seat.
Ah the 80s...
 
Stufflers Mom
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JPE.88305 JPE.88305
Tangentially: when returning to the US from Canada for a family vacation when I was little, we were detained for several hours until they could verify all 7 of us kids were in fact siblings, the customs folks thinking my parents were trafficking children.
From that point forward my parents traveled with our social security cards. And fortunately they didn’t care my father was packing a .45 under the front seat.
Ah the 80s...

You are John Boy Walton and I claim my £5😀
 
Screwbacks
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switzerland is small but highly progressive country. it needs all taxes that it can assess from every person bringing in and out goods.
 
Adb_85
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The whole point of publishing the article was to warn and inform others so they didn't end up in the same situation. The author even writes what he would do differently next time. Maybe he wasn't aware of the Carnet option but either way he's basically admitting he ballsed up.
 
Omegafanman
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Having read the story on Fratello, I think the best bet in Europe is to drive. Pop over empty handed to pick up your Swiss Vignette (or maybe get a hire car in Germany with a Swiss Vignette) and they you can cross as many borders as you like with very little chance of having your personal stuff searched. You can even get the Ferry to the UK..... Brexit allowing of course...… or as an alternative have a Baselworld arrival outfit and a Baselworld travel outfit.....customs and criminals unlikely to feel your collar with your travel clothes on.....
Edited:
 
bwrold.jpg
steelfish
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Isn't a carnet for commercial samples and tools of the trade only? Versus personal possessions.

I wouldn't expect to use a carnet to travel to the us on hols with two watches.

In any case, customs officials targeting travellers to Baselworld with what's clearly a bunch of personal watches does smack of bloody mindedness and arrogance. I would be royally angry at having to pay myself.

Edit: I changed my mind. The above example is of me on a personal vacation. I guess you need to remember he's on an expensed business trip, so I can see why his watches although personally owned are the tools of his trade.
Edited:
 
Stufflers Mom
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steelfish steelfish
Isn't a carnet for commercial samples and tools of the trade only? Versus personal possessions.

I wouldn't expect to use a carnet to travel to the us on hols with two watches.

In any case, customs officials targeting travellers to Baselworld with what's clearly a bunch of personal watches does smack of bloody mindedness and arrogance. I would be royally angry at having to pay myself.

Edit: I changed my mind. The above example is of me on a personal vacation. I guess you need to remember he's on an expensed business trip, so I can see why his watches although personally owned are the tools of his trade.

Think of it as a "Passport for goods" or "Merchandise passport", an international customs document that permits the tax-free and duty-free temporary export and import of nonperishable goods for up to one year.
 
orlis
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there is a lot of confusion about what is treated as personal item and what can be treated as commercial one.. I may be moving soon to US and I have collection of watches - should I declare them and pay some tax on the boarder? or it is ok to move my goods with me??
 
STANDY
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The watches were personal but the minute he mentioned to the non wis customs officer he was going to a watch fair to take pictures of them with other watches at the event and write a article. Then place them on a online magazine that is sponsored by watch companies. Commercial
( don’t forget he would have declared he was a journalist on his incoming passenger card and that he was there on business )
There is a lot more pieces to the puzzle than you think from the Customs officers point of view.

The main thing was he was fined for not declaring which involves a fine and paying duty as the penalty.

As said if he was not going to Basel as a journalist.

See hundreds of Carnets for personal goods also. Most motorbike round the world and adventure travelers enter Australia with a carnet for their bikes

The days of sending watches with low values and “precision instrument” are nearly over with all the NY times and the like articles on watch collecting for investors.
 
STANDY
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orlis orlis
there is a lot of confusion about what is treated as personal item and what can be treated as commercial one.. I may be moving soon to US and I have collection of watches - should I declare them and pay some tax on the boarder? or it is ok to move my goods with me??

They are personal effects and no need to declare them unless asked in the paperwork. Check personal effects rules on the US website.
 
dialstatic
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Stufflers Mom Stufflers Mom
I'm sure cheese & tomato will be be fine with most customs officers.

Actually, I remember that when I went on a family vacation to Disney World when I was twelve, my ten year old sister was stopped by an officer at the Orlando airport. His sniffer dog had pointed out her luggage and the illegal contraband was a cheese sandwich 😀

No problems ensued other than him confiscating the sandwich, and my sister actually asked if she could feed it to the dog then 🙄
Edited:
 
Stufflers Mom
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dialstatic dialstatic
Actually, I remember that when I went on a family vacation to Disney World when I was twelve, my ten year old sister was stopped by an officer at the Orlando airport. His sniffer dog had pointed out her luggage and the illegal contraband was a cheese sandwich 😀

No problems ensued other than him confiscating the sandwich, and my sister actually asked if she could feed it to the dog then 🙄

There's not many places lower on my list of travel destinations that the US and in particular Disney world.
 
ioaniro
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Maybe something good will come out of this "journalism" (and yes that's sarcastic for trying to pass off as a profesional but not knowing the rules and then follow up with a click-bait article venting your stupidity and blaming others). Maybe the author could actually follow up on this and write a real article explaining to normal people how to handle traveling and customs with expensive watches? You know, something resembling professional journalism.
 
dialstatic
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Stufflers Mom Stufflers Mom
There's not many places lower on my list of travel destinations that the US and in particular Disney world.

For a twelve year old Dutch boy who had never even flown before, it was like heaven. I experienced it as a magical kingdom probably just like Disney intended. My dad and I even went on a day trip to Cape Canaveral. I remember it as the best vacation of my life...never was quite able to get that feeling back.
 
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