Sending parcels overseas?

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 561, 8 November 1994, Page 7

Sending parcels overseas?

Don't panic, but we are fast approaching the 'silly season' again. Most of us have family and friends who live overseas, and the last thing you want is for your gifts to arrive in time

forEaster! NewZealand Post are keen to help in any way to ensure this is not the case for you this festive season, and have supplied a list of their close off dates to ensure

pre Christmas Day delivery of your cards and gifts. To make it even easier for you this year, the local stores have a great variety of goodies to help fill the

parcels. No need to do all your shopping in one day - relax and look at what is available locally first. For the truly New Zealand gift, you can't go past a hand knitted jersey from Mawhenua, made with wool from their own sheep you are sure of strict quality control!. Berry's Bookshop have a huge supply of the hottest items for kid's this year - books. Every subject you can think of and more. Be quick and you could also save $200 on their range of bikes and there's time left to lay-by to make it easier on your pocket. For a gift for the home don't miss A Place In Time, now on Clyde Street, they also have in store a large selection of unique festive decorations to make your tree and table extra special. Fill your whole list from McLean's, they have stock arriving almost every day for you to choose from...or make someone you love a millionaire and give the gift of Lotto. You can forget the deadlines altogether and simply make one stop to Joce's Flowers and let them send flowers and gift baskets to your loved ones. They also have a range of Do-it-yourself ideas for a really personal gift. New Zealand Post Shop is your last port of call, but don't forget to see their range of cards, wraps and ribbons to make your gifts extra special. You can even take the hassle out of dining out this year, with many local restaurants offering special festive menu's for your end of year functions and also Christmas Day meals. Country Classic Lodge, The Ruapehu Hotel and The Hobbit chefs are all hard at work making special arrangements to make your life easier. So you can see, that everything you need to have a great stress free festive season is right here!

A Post Shop or Post Centre can make it easy for you to get your Christmas parcel delivered on time - whether it's to a sister in Chester or a great-aunt in Apia. Because parcels to other countries cross customs borders, they require a customs declaration - simply a form that says what's inside the parcel. Small parcels are charged by weight. They must not be heavier than 2kgs, and must not be worth more than NZ$620. It must have a simple green Customs Declaration form (OS8). If your parcel is: heavier than 2kgs, or is worth more than $620, or has combined

dimensions (length + width + depth) more than 900mm (with no dimension mor-e than 600mm), or you want to insure it, then, it' s a "Customs Parcel" and must have a full customs declaration (OS9), Your Post Shop will give you the right form, and can help you fill it out correctly, when you post your parcel at the counter. There are maximum dimensions for Customs Parcels too, and the different countries accept different maximum weights - mostly either up to lOkgs or up to 20kgs. The heavier your parcel is, the more it will cost to send. It's cheaper to have a Postage Paid sticker put on your Customs parcel at a

Post Shop, rather than to put stamps on. That's because New Zealand Post is required by law to charge GST on all stamp saies. Y ou don't pay GST on your Customs parcel if you get the Postage Paid sticker. Please check before you

buy a gift that we can carry the item for you. There are a lot of goods that we are not allowed to carry for safety reasons. Some are quite obvious, such as explosives, but others are not - such as aerosol cans which can explode when trans-

ported by air, (some hair sprays, deodorants), cigarette lighters, (flammable) or oxidisers such as peroxide hair dye or disinfectant. Some countries also have particular prohibitions and restrictions on goods entering the country.