Duty-free boost for US bargain hunters

CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown has won the first round in his fight for a better deal for shoppers who go bargainhunting in America, it has emerged.

After pressure from the Chancellor, the European Commission has agreed to review the £145 limit on tax-free imports of goods.

Brown has complained that transatlantic shoppers wanting to take advantage of the strong pound are being unfairly penalised on their return. Thousands have found that the final bill for their weekend expedition can be much higher than they expected.

The Treasury wants the tax-free limit on purchases raised to as much as £1,000, which would allow shoppers to bring back several iPods or a set of golf clubs without paying duty.

One of those caught out by the £145 limit was Coleen McLoughlin, girlfriend of Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney. She was stopped at Manchester airport last October with designer clothes and jewellery worth an estimated £15,000 after returning from New York.

McLoughlin, who told customs officers she did not know there was a limit on how much she could bring in duty-free, had to pay a bill of around £3,000.

In December, Brown wrote to European Union Customs Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs urging him to revise the tax-free limit, set in 1994. The Chancellor said it was currently too low, and that a higher threshold would 'better support cross-border shoppers'.

The limit applies to all travellers returning from countries outside the EU, but has particularly hit those taking advantage of the weak dollar to stock up on cheap goods in the US.

In his reply to Brown, Kovacs agreed to review the customs limit. He said the commission shared the view that administrative burdens for travellers should be reduced as far as possible 'and, in this respect, I am pleased to examine your request that the current value limit of £145 be reassessed and possibly increased'.

A Treasury spokesman said: 'We are pleased the commission has responded to our proposals and look forward to negotiating a substantial increase in the limit.'

However, if the limit is to be raised it will require a unanimous decision of all 25 EU members, including those in Eastern Europe that want to prevent cheap goods flooding across their borders.