Can a twenty-year-old bring to the USA alcohol purchased legally in Spain?
I overheard a friend asking another friend whether she, being of legal age here in Spain, would have any trouble taking wine purchased here back to the USA where she is not allowed to buy it.
The response was merely anecdotal, so I decided to try to find better information.
A person over eighteen can legally buy alcohol in Spain. If under 21, can she (USA citizen) bring some back to USA? If not, what are the consequences for the attempt?
Best Answer
The fact that you bought something legally somewhere else isn't actually relevant. When you want to bring an item into a country, it's that country's law that applies.
Indeed, the law about what you can bring into a country is usually even stricter than the law about what you can buy when you're there. For example, you can legally buy raw meat in Spain and in the US but you can't bring raw meat from either one to the other.
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Can a 20 year old bring alcohol into the US?
No. Children under 21 cannot bring alcohol into the US, even as a gift.Can you bring alcohol from Spain to US?
Federal and state regulations allow you to bring back one liter of an alcoholic beverage for personal use duty-free. However, states may allow you to bring back more than one liter, but you will have to pay any applicable Customs duty and IRT.Can I bring alcohol to America?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection allows you to bring up to one liter of alcohol into the country duty-free as long as you're 21 years or older. The amount goes up to 5 liters duty free when you're bringing alcohol from a U.S. insular possession such as Guam, Samoa or the U.S. Virgin Islands.BUYING ALCOHOL 2 MINS BEFORE TURNING 21?!
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Answer 2
Legally, no.
In practice yes, provided you are a little lucky and it is under a liter. I successfully did it a few times when I was under 21.
In my experience if you are a US citizen, and you do not declare anything, you are likely waved through US customs without an additional check of your bag. This is not a guarantee and depends on the customs agent's mood and view of you.
I believe there is possible random check before you receive your bags from baggage claim for smuggled goods and dangerous items. Since you are allowed to bring up to one liter of liquor undeclared a single bottle of wine or hard liquor in a suitcase is not going to raise any eyebrows. The people checking for serious smuggling are not going to waste time checking the age of each person with a single bottle in their bag.
It is my understanding if you are caught, customs will simply confiscate the alcohol. You are not violating any customs laws as long as you are under the amount that must be declared.
Answer 3
I brought back a bottle of pisco (brandy) from Chile last year. I was 19. Got detained when I arrived back in the states, but after 20 minutes of waiting they let me go. It was really weird and I probably wouldn't do it again, but maybe you'll get lucky too. I said it was for my parents and that seemed like a good enough excuse to them, I guess. Don't tell jeff sessions
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