I'm returning from the US soon and I am considering bringing a small area rug, valued at about $140 and some curtains I got for $20. Is stuff like this even worth declaring? How do I go about it? All the customs stuff I find doesn't really specify what to do. I have the receipts for all of it. Any advise?

I have brought in far more and was never asked a single question upon entry to ZH from Seattle / NYC.

Since the total value of goods is less than CHF300- (the personal import limit), you can legitimately walk through without declaring anything. On the off chance that they stop you, you can show receipts and should be allowed to go on your way with no other formalities.

I peaked into the "goods to declare" area when I was passing through and there was no one in there even if I wanted to declare anything. Maybe it was just the day I arrived?

I would just go through. It seems customs are very relaxed here. No x-ray of the bags, no forms to fill out...

You have to wait for them to come out. They are either in the back watching you on the video or at the other entrance.

As far as I know the limit is 300 CHF. They do conduct some random checks and I got stopped once when I was going through the green exit but no problem because I got nothing to declare. On the contrast, I do know someone tried to sneak through and got caught, not only he paid the duty but also got a fine. To make it worse, whenever filling a form for visa, the poor guy need to state this. Hope helps!

I declared goods when last coming back from London - I had about CHF 500 of stuff.

Very simple, Customs officers were already in the Red area. I showed the receipts (in GBP), explained one of the receipts was books (lower VAT rate). Customs man calculated the totals in CHF and I paid up (CHF 39).

OP - no need to declare if under CHF 300.

Did you peek, or did you peak?

When there was no-one in the red area, I went to the customs office in the baggage area and declared my goods there.

I am glad to see this thread. I have been kind of dodging them for years and was never stopped. As a precaution, I always take the tags of any clothes i buy and wear them at least once while on the trip. However, it seems that when they look, they really look hard and i dont want future problems with visas

It's generally best to declare as they definitely do checks. I don't know how "random" they are though as my husband is stopped and thoroughly searched every time he comes into the airport - no exceptions.

I, on the other hand, have never been stopped.

It's not as though customs officers are completely naïve and ignorant of what people do. Of course some people import more than they should, however the idea is not to blatantly flaunt the system and cheat the state out of the 8% VAT on goods imports. This country, like any other, needs taxes for it to function as efficiently as it does.

Customs screening will of course include years of experience of assessing dress code, body language and group or family synergies. Of course no one cares if you bought a few clothes and washed and wore them before importing them, but don't carry the receipts with you! However, if you have 10 pairs of designer jeans and pretend that you owned them before leaving Switzerland, then your story will not receive any sympathy.

The rule is to play fair and if in doubt, don't do it. Here is the basic overview of your allowances.

I think it all depends on your arrival time and where you are coming from.
They are usually stricter with flights from non-EU countries; searching for milk-meat products in addition to regular non-declared goods

I believe they have a good person judgement based on years' of experience; picking people based on looks, bags etc

In general if you are coming after 8pm they rather turn their backs to travellers.. similarly on weekends

One time I was unsure so I just went in and told them what I had and they said, no need to declare and off I went. If you are unsure or want to be safe then do it this way.

In November I tired to slide through with a whole bunch kids stuff in a third suitcase and was stopped. The Customs Agent asked me where I was coming from, I said Canada, he said the US, I said no Canada, he asked again - were you in the US, I said no. Then he looked all the bags, asked what was in them. I told him and he said go ahead.

I got the impression he was hunting for someone who had been in the US taking advantage of the great exchange rate. He was clearly not interested in Canadian kids clothes and toys.

I travel alot, probably 6 or 7 trips to the US/Canada a year and within Europe the same and I find it is just luck as to whether you are stopped but I suggest that when unsure you err on the side of caution -Otherwise you may look guilty and are sure to be stopped !

Hello,

I suggest that you go through the non declare area since you have no goods over the limited value of Chf 300. If you are being checked have the receipts available and it should be no problem.

Good Luck!

We just took over a beautiful and rather expensive Afghan carpet to our children in England for Christmas [weight 14 kgs] in our suitcase. Neither Swiss customs in Geneva [outgoing] nor UK customs in Luton Airport were remotely interested - but then we didn't actually declare the goodies.