US Customs charged for bringing in jewelry from India

[hai1]

Hi,

On Dec 23rd '13 I landed in Houston, TX from India by BA with my 3 years kid. I went for marriage and naturally I came with lot of gold, packed in carry on. As customs officer what's in it, I said some ancestral jewelry and food.

To this extent they took me to other room and made me stay there for gruesome 1 1/2 hr without even access to use cell phone.

While asking for amount of jewelry I declared $2k- $4K. However they started checking. Then they saw my diamondnecklace and started counting each diamond and finally demanded $400 which I paid by my credit card.

Naturally the next day I called customs and was told that

1) if from ancestors the maximum allowed gift is $100

2) if own brought outside US, the amount of valuables has to be declared and pay the fine; $10K limit is not forjewelry it seems.

3) if owned before going to India, they want us to show proof of ownership from atleast an year earlier through receipts or via insurance claims.

Can murthy law firm help in this case and what is that I can now do to claim back our hard earned money. My mind still thinks all this money is from my earnings, bought after paying taxes, used for personal use; so why the hell I need to pay fines. All the material on CBP is so confusing.

Thanks!

[Raj_Chicago]

Unfortunately, they have decided to Tax. This is slowing becoming a common occurence. Which airport was it?

Chicago is known to put such taxes.

I guess you need an attorney with Custom's specialization to prove that you purchased 1year before you took the tirp. How much was your tax?

[GcLLC]

As per the CBP website you only need to prove that they were in your possession before you left US. I am not sure where the 1-year rule is coming from.

[Attorney_25]

I see several issues here that necessitate that you hire an attorney.