I just came back to the US from Paris and was nervous about going through all the customs procedures simply because I had never done it before. I feel like the system is very confusing and I felt like I was treated as a “suspect” the whole time!
First, when in Paris, I scanned my VAT forms at the kiosk and they were flagged red so I had to go to the agent line. The agent went through my forms and asked to see both bags I purchased plus a Petit H charm so I had to unbox a bunch of stuff.
When I was on the plane home, I asked the flight attendant for a declaration form but he said it was all digital and there would be a kiosk. Alright then.
We land in the US and I start looking for kiosks. We are going through the passport line and the agent asks if I have anything to declare and how much. I told him approximately 9k in leather goods. He then confiscates my (and my fiancé’s) passport and tells us to wait. I’m like, uh oh, did I miss the kiosk or something?
A security guard then comes and escorts us to baggage claim to collect our luggage (all my claimed purchases were in my hands as a carry-on). Everyone from the plane is watching us with our escort and it feels a little embarrassing. We get to the customs area and the escort agent gives our passports to a different customs agent. We wait. Then we’re called up and asked to fill out a form itemizing everything that was bought. There were only 8 lines for items but I had 14 items to declare. I wrote everything down plus the prices. The agent looks at the form then asks to see the receipt for every item.
Luckily I had all of my VAT forms still neatly on me. He then cross checked every receipt to what I wrote and calculated on his phone what the receipt totals were. Luckily his number matched what I wrote, which was a relief. It just felt like a big test. He then told me that I had done the right thing by declaring my items, subtracted $1,600 from the total ($800 for each me and my partner), and charged me 3% customs tax. I was never asked to show any of my items though everyone around me had open suitcases and agents rifling through them. After I paid, he gave us back our passports.
Overall the process made me feel interrogated (although I guess that’s their job lol). I’m happy I was honest though and was grateful to be charged just 3%. I think they can lighten up the scare factor though for people who self-declare.
He also said there was no “declaration kiosk” lol