As the pound soared to a 26-year high against the dollar last week, customs officers effectively gave the green light to travellers on bargain-bagging breaks to the States who might exceed their duty-free purchases limit.

Under current legislation, travellers can bring back goods from outside the EU worth up to a total value of £145 without paying duty or tax. Purchases exceeding that value must be declared, attracting Vat at 17.5% and duty at rates ranging from 2% to 15%. But a senior inspector at a London airport has admitted that, “These days, very few people bother declaring goods and, frankly, you’ve got to be highly unlucky to get caught.”

“We have to weigh up the priorities,” says HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). “The risk of death or injury from imported heroin or cocaine is far more important than a few pairs of designer jeans, and we don’t have the resources to stop every passenger on every flight arriving from the USA. All we can do is make sure people know the rules and make declaration a matter of conscience.”

And those caught smuggling have little to lose. “We rarely prosecute minor offenders because all we want at the end of the day is the tax and the duty. So those who are caught in the green channel when they should be in the red are simply asked to pay what they owe.” But substantial savings can still be made even after UK import duty and Vat have been paid. A Canon 400D digital camera costs £445 in John Lewis. At Adorama in New York City it costs £330. Add duty and Vat and it comes to £388. A pair of Rock & Republic designer jeans, £262 in Selfridges’ Manchester branch, costs £92 in Miami’s Neiman Marcus, rising to £121 after duty and Vat.

Airlines report a scramble for seats to the popular US shopping spots. Virgin warns that seats to New York are selling out and BA says “flights to most US destinations are filling fast, although if you’re quick there’s still some availability”. And if you were planning a shopping trip to New York, you could be too late. Calls to a dozen popular New York hotels revealed that most weekends between now and Christmas are already fully booked. Packages to other cities, such as Philadelphia, Chicago and Miami, are still available from some tour operators, but don’t expect savings made on the weak dollar to be passed on.

“Prices definitely will not go down,” insisted short-break seller Fleetway Travel. “The closer it gets to Christmas, the more expensive these shopping breaks are going to get.”

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