Honeymooners caught in Bali for excess duty free purchases

By Lee Hyo-sik

Every year, tens of thousands of newly-married couples travel to Bali, Indonesia, for their honeymoon. But before arriving at one of the world’s most popular vacation destinations, Korean couples had better keep track of how much they spend on duty-free items before boarding the plane. If their duty-free purchases are worth over $250, they may be fined by Indonesian customs officials upon arriving at the Indonesian Island.

Under the Korean laws, outbound travelers are allowed to purchase and bring in tax-free goods valued at no more than $400 per person, upon reentry to the country.

They are permitted to buy duty-free items at foreign airports right before flying back to Korea, but in spite of having to carry their purchases throughout the trip, most local travelers prefer to do their duty-free shopping at Incheon International Airport before departure because there is a wider selection of goods at attractive prices offered there.

Accordingly, many honeymooners spend over the $400-legal-limit and bring them to their foreign travel destinations.

Bali and other parts of Indonesia allow only $250 in duty-free items when entering the country regardless if they are locals or foreigners. They are also permitted only one bottle of alcohol and one carton of cigarettes.

Consequently, a growing number of married couples going to Bali for their honeymoon have been caught by customs officials there for having too many tax-free items and forced to pay punitive taxes amounting to hundreds of dollars.

In order to avoid paying such taxes, foreigners entering Bali could leave their goods at the stockrooms of the customs office until they leave the island. Yet many are reluctant to do so because their items could be lost and it is difficult to receive compensation, according to honeymooners and travel agency officials. It results in most Korean travelers paying such taxes and defeating the purpose of the purchases.

Local travel agencies say an average of about 20,000 Koreans traveled to Bali each month in 2010. In particular, 80 percent of foreign tourists visiting the island in either spring or autumn are estimated to be Koreans.

“Our sales personnel notify our honeymoon travelers of Bali’s legally-allowed duty-free amount before departure, but many of our customers buy cosmetics and other high-priced goods anyway at Incheon International Airport because they need to give presents to family members and friends when they come home from the trip,’’ Hana Tour spokeswoman Kim Tae-wook said.

On several bulletin boards of web portals and online community cafes, those who traveled to Bali have posted messages that they paid fines at the airport for possessing duty-free items in excess of the legally-allowed amount.

A woman said she had bought shoes and bags at Incheon duty-free shops, worth well over $250 and that she had to pay $300 in fines when she arrived at Bali. Another woman said she was first asked to pay $170 in fines for an excess in duty-free goods. “Customs officials later said I only had to pay $100 because I was a honeymooner. But I kept begging for a further reduction and ended up paying only $50.’’

Kim of Hana said she has also heard of numerous similar cases where Korean honeymooners to Bali were slapped with fines of several hundred dollars for carrying duty-free items over the legal limit.

“It seems that Indonesian customs officials intentionally target Korean couples because they know Koreans buy lots of tax-free goods. If we are allowed to buy tax-free goods at the domestic airports upon entering Korea, this problem will be naturally resolved,’’ she said.

한국인 신혼부부 발리에서 봉!

매년 수 만 명의 한국인이 신혼여행으로 발리를 간다.

그러나 세계에서 가장 유명한 신혼 여행지 중에 한곳인 발리에 도착하기 전에 한국인 신혼부부들은 얼마나 많은 면세 상품을 인천공항에서 샀는지 계산해봐야 할 것이다.

왜냐하면 면세액 한도를 넘는 물품을 갖고 입국하다가 공항세관에 적발돼 고액의 세금을 내는 경우가 속출하고 있기 때문이다.

면세액 초과 물품을 소지한 우리나라 신혼여행객이 발리공항 세관의 주요 타깃이 되고 있다. 인도네시아 입국시 면세품 한도액은 250달러로 우리나라(400달러)에 비해 적다. 담배와 술도 각각 1보루, 1병으로 제한하고 있다.