action line ..... Min datter og jeg modtog hver to pakker, som indeholdt to danske juleplatter fra min søster i Danmark, og siden alle fire forsendelser indeholdt nøjagtig det samme (samme vægt, værdi, osv.) ville vi gerne vide, hvorfor det amerikanske toldvæsen i Newark, N. J., opkrævede forskellige toldbeløb. De kan se ud fra de vedlagte kvitteringer at de tog $2.70 for to, $2.48 for den tredie, og $1.35 for den fjerde. Endvidere, siden hver pakke var betegnet som gave med en værdi under $10, undrer vi os over, hvorfor vi skulle betale told overhovedet. Min søster har sendt os disse platter hvert år de sidste 10 år og det er første gang, vi har måttet betale noget. Vi skrev til det amerikanske toldvæsen og modtog et standardbrev med adskillige situationer afkrydset, og ingen syntes at have noget med os at gøre eller forklare noget. - Hans Clausen, Pleasanton. Vores forespørgsel til det amerikanske toldvæsen udløste et brev og en telefonopringning til Dem og et brev til os, og alt synes afklaret. Ifølge loven, må en privatperson modtage gaver toldfrit, så længe salgsværdigen, der går gennem tolden ikke overstiger $10 for den pågældende på en given dag. Toldvæsenets arkiver (som må være omfattende) viser at danske platter fra det indeværende år ville sælge for $12 en gros og $20 til $24 udsalgspris, men afsenderen angav en værdi af $8 på hver pakke. (Pas på med det, søster og tante!) Pakkerne kunne være blevet beslaglagt som undervurderede, men blev det ikke. Men toldvæsenet sagde, at de havde klokket i det. De skulle have vurderet hver pakke til $12 (siden told er baseret på en gros prisen) og de skulle have opkrævet $2.70 told på hver. Men en tolder sagde, at de ikke vil forsøge at indkassere flere penge fra Dem. Pyha.

action line ..... My daughter and I each received two parcels which contained two Danish Christmas plates from my sister in Denmark and since all four shipments contained the exact same thing (same weight, value, etc.) we want to know why the U. S. Customs Service in Newark N. J., charged different amounts of duty. You can see by the enclosed receipts that $2.70 was applied to two, $2.48 to the third, and $1.35 to the fourth. Furthermore, since each parcel was marked as an unsolicited gift with a value under $10, we question why we had to pay a custom duty at all. My sister has been sending us these plates every year for the past 10 years and this is the first time we have had to pay anything. We wrote to the U. S. Customs Service and received a form letter with several situations checked, none of which seem to apply to us or explain anything. - Hans Clausen, Pleasanton. Our inquiry to the U. S. Customs Service generated a letter and a phone call to you and a letter to us and everything seems to be explained. Under the law, an individual may receive gifts duty-free provided that no more than $10 retail value is processed through customs for that individual on any one day. Customs records (which must be profound) show that Danish plates of the current year would go in sets at $12 wholesale and $20 to $24 retail, but the shipper marked a value of $8 on each package. (Watch that, sister and aunt!) The parcels could have been seized as undervalued, but were not. However, the customs service said it did goof. It should have placed a value of $12 on each package (since the duty assessment is based on the wholesale value) and should have collected a duty of $2.70 on each. But a customs official said no attempt will be made to collect any further money from you. Oh good.