[mstade]

Open the box and plug it in while in the states. Now it’s just property you brought along, not imported goods, so no duties to pay. I ain’t no lawyer though, and this is just advice I’ve been given in the past, so mileage may vary etc. (I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s entirely wrong, someone please correct me!)

[ForHackernews]

I'm pretty sure that's legally fraud, but yes, there's a good chance you'd get away with it.

[gambiting]

Unless you're buying it with an explicit purpose to sell it off and avoid the import taxes that way it's absolutely not fraud. You are legally allowed to buy something for yourself while abroad and bring it back.

That's why you get certain allowances of how much you are allowed to bring back with you - say up to 200 cartons of cigarettes are free to bring over and that's clearly not something that you brought with you.

[ForHackernews]

In the case of Sweden, the personal duty-free allowance absolutely does not run to the cost of a specced-out Mac Pro: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/travelling...

> Other goods (including perfume, coffee, tea, electronic devices etc.)(a) - Up to a value of €430 for air and sea travellers

[gambiting]

It's one law that every single country has on the books and no one ever enforces - observe how it has no provision for anything that you actually own, if you go out of EU with your MacBook Pro and come back you should technically be declaring it at customs as an item over the allowance value. You should be declaring your phone and your watch if it's an expensive one too. Literally no one does this, and if you do try declaring those items you will be just waived through for wasting the guard's time.

[mrunkel]

You have very strong opinions for someone who really doesn't understand import/export at all.

Of course things you owned, left the country and are returning with are exempt.

Import Duties apply to items purchased while outside the country and that you are returning with.

If you were away long enough to establish residency, there are usually exemptions to items of personal property you are bring back with you.

The duty-free allowance is different for every country, but in Germany for example it is around 450€ per person (the exact number escapes me). Any goods you return with in excess of that amount is subject to duty.. Some items you return with are always subject to duties.

In Germany for example, they very much will check for this and enforce it.

[mstade]

If it is fraud, then at what point is it not? If I used it for a day/week/month before bringing it, is it ok? Intent matters I suppose, but how do you prove intent to circumvent import duties, versus just bringing my stuff? I genuinely don't know, seems like a lot of gray area.

[ForHackernews]

IANAL, but I think if you were legally resident in the USA for some number of years, and then moved to the EU, you could bring your personal possessions with you.

If you travel to the USA for a week and buy something, that's subject to import duty.