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I have ordered from Dell a customized Alienware 17 R4 and shipped it to my aunt in California. She will bring it with her when she comes to the Philippines.

The item costs around $1700 USD, and weighs around 9 pounds. I'd like to open it here in the Philippines.

Can she hand carry the unboxed product to the Philippines without payment of any fees? If not, how much are customs/duty on such an item?

pnuts
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    Possible duplicate of Can I simply bubble wrap a cardboard box and check it on a US domestic flight? – JonathanReez Dec 06 '16 at 06:26
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    @JonathanReez that's only related. The question is if he needs to pay, duty presumably. – Belle Dec 06 '16 at 06:57
  • @J.Constantine that's too broad then, as it would depend on the airline and the tariff used during booking. – JonathanReez Dec 06 '16 at 06:58
  • @JonathanReez that does seem more like it – Belle Dec 06 '16 at 07:03
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    Welcome to Travel InnZaayynn. Should your question get closed, please don't take that in a bad way. Use it as an opportunity to improve it. We like clear questions :) perhaps you can already help us by answering Jonathan's indirect questions? Now I gotta run, I can help later if needed. – Belle Dec 06 '16 at 07:06
  • I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because this is a question about tax evasion, we should not condone questions about how to commit crimes. – jwenting Dec 06 '16 at 08:33
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    @jwenting How is it about tax evasion? The question explicitly asks what fees would be due, and doesn't ask how to avoid or even minimize them. – David Richerby Dec 06 '16 at 08:55
  • @DavidRicherby " Can she hand carry the unboxed product to the philippines without any payment necessary?" sounds clear enough, they want to avoid having to pay import duties. – jwenting Dec 06 '16 at 08:58
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    @jwenting OK, fine. If you want to interpret that as attempted tax evasion, whatever. To me, it's simply a question about whether duty is chargable, and we owe the asker the benefit of the doubt. For example, if the question was "Can I take things from the minibar in my hotel without paying?" as a question about how hotel minibars work, not a proposal to steal. – David Richerby Dec 06 '16 at 09:02

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I have brought a desktop unit as carry on baggage on flights from the USA to Thailand, so I would assume in terms of getting it on the airplane, rules to the Philippines will be similar. As long as it fits the size and weight limits of carry on bags for the airline she is flying, she should be good. If it doesn't fit the size and weight it will get checked, in which case having it unboxed will not be a good idea.

But will she have to pay duty, that is a totally separate consideration. To determine if and how much, her status comes into play, her citizenship, if she is/was Filipino, etc.

You might want to explore the Philippines customs website: http://customs.gov.ph/

A complex explanation of who qualifies for duty free allowance as a returning Filipino is: http://customs.gov.ph/privileges/

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    Does my stalker care to explain the downvote? A downvote on most every answer I give without comment seems suspicious. –  Dec 06 '16 at 09:14
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    I don't think you have a stalker, just two or more people that downvoted an answer of yours. Could be, of course. I downvoted your last answer, as I felt it didn't answer the question. I actually upvote this one. Someone else must have downvoted this one. Feel free to ping me in chat. – Belle Dec 06 '16 at 09:25
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    If only were just one or two, rather than a pattern. But what the hey, if lots of people my answers are incorrect I will be happy to other things with my free time. –  Dec 06 '16 at 12:49
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    @pnuts - the fact that you explain your downvote, now, makes a world of difference. Sniping at what you consider an incorrect answer anonymously (downvoting without explanation) is wrong and cowardly. If you don't tell the poster what is wrong, how do they learn more. And if members here are not willing to help me learn more, why should I waste my time helping them learn more. It is a two way street. –  Dec 07 '16 at 01:28
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    @pnuts - and as for this answer, without knowing auntie's status, there is no way to get more specific on duty other than suggesting the OP do a little of their own research and pointing them to a good resource for that research. Sorry if I am too lazy to do everyone else's leg work for them. –  Dec 07 '16 at 01:31
  • @Tom sorry, I was typing hurriedly on my phone. I was agreeing with you and supporting your approach to answering the question. – Urbana Dec 07 '16 at 12:48