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Show Conquering Customs .'"V ' j - i t .' .. Editor's note: , ,s 1 ' Carol V. Clark is a state consumer education sfiec'ial-' ' ist with 'the' Utah Attorney General's office. She writes v d weekly column on consumer consum-er issues which will be a - regular feature in the Park .. Record.. , , .oJf. you;; are planning to travel abroad, take time to get some information before you go.' A good place to start is to get a copy of "Your Trip Abroad." This costs $1 and is .' -availabler from the Con-, Con-, sumei;, Information Center, ' Department 128-M, Pueblo, ; Colorado 81009. ' This ' ''booklet provides useful information about passports, yisas, certificates of vaccination, and international inter-national driver's licenses. For example, the book explains ex-plains that for a fee and two passport-size photographs, you can get an international driver's license from the local office of an established automobile club. If you're planning to drive anywhere from Bermuda to Brussels, you might want to check into that early enough to get the paperwork completed, i vhe book also suggests such things as checking on your:,: car and health insurance insur-ance to see how you are protected if you are out of the country. Customs is another important impor-tant aspect of foreign travel I've done some foreign traveling and have been amazed at tne variety of approaches ap-proaches countries , take to customs. For example, when I was in Cairo, Egypt, there was no electronic security, and the customs official waved me through without looking at anything. On another trip, I entered Great Falls, Montana, after having been in Edmonton, Alberta, and received the scrutiny of my life. The official went through everything. John Tuckerman, local port director for the Customs Office in Salt Lake City, says in this country customs officials of-ficials receive training to watch for certain things as people go through Customs. Since it is impossible to check every piece of luggage thoroughly, especially when hundreds of people are waiting to re-enter the country, coun-try, if a person shows nervousness ner-vousness or acts in any way which is deemed to be suspicious, the Customs official of-ficial will check further. When the official finds something which seems a little lit-tle out of order, he will also check further. Customs inspectors in-spectors have authority, in most circumstances, to search anyone. There are no set questions per se that the Customs official of-ficial has to ask an individual. in-dividual. Each person coming back into the country must fill out a specific Customs report which lists items, however. The official will look for any inconsisten cies in the written form and the oral comments. If, 'for" example, a customer' tells: the official ' the trip was purely for pleasure, but on the form he indicates he was out of the country on business, the Customs official of-ficial is likely to ask more questions. Customs officials enforce state liquor laws in the state of entry. If a group landed in Salt Lake and went through Customs, each person would be allowed to bring in only one liter of alcohol. All other amounts would b3 taken away, even if they were purchased pur-chased at a duty free shop at the point of departure. Consumers Con-sumers should be aware that if they desire to bring back items that have a limit, such as liquor, they need to check with the local Customs office. of-fice. Agricultural questions and revenue law questions are likely to be asked all passengers. Customs officials of-ficials cannot allow endangered en-dangered species or most agricultural items to be brought into the country. There are also certain revenue laws which must be observed. In most cases you can take out of the country as much money as you wish, either in cash or traveler's checks, and you may bring back as much money as you wish, but you must indicate on a Customs form exactly what you are bringing in with you. There is no duty Carol L. Clark charged to bring large amounts of cash into the country. An area which has proven problematical for many consumers con-sumers is leaving the country coun-try with a foreign-made camera or watch, and coming back into the country, coun-try, only to be questioned .. about the purchase of such items. Any time anything foreign-made comes into the country, it is subject to duty, so to protect yourself so you don't get charged duty for a watch that you bought here and wore on your trip, it's a good idea to register these things with the Customs office of-fice before you leave. This is especially true if you go to the Orient or another place where watches and cameras are often purchased. The Salt Lake City office is the only customs port in Utah, and personnel can register for you all items with serial numbers. Tuckerman warns that foreign-made jewelry should simply be left home. Custom officials are likely to look for jewelry when you re-enter the country. |