Some days ago, I was in a queue. With Norway being one of the few European countries not yet a member of the EU, we still have duty free sales at Oslo airport. (No, I was just buying a deodorant. The beer selection is awful. I have tried to discuss it with them, but with no success!)
The man in front of me was a guy who shouldcount as a celebrity in these parts, former Prime Minster of Sweden, Göran Persson. He had no intention of buying large quantities of booze, but had picked a bottle of gin and a bottle of port from the well assorted shelves.
The cashier, a girl aged ca 22, gave him a scolding, telling him he had to choose between the two bottles, the duty free allowance for Sweden being only one bottle of alcohol above 20% alcohol by volume. He handed over the port and paid for the gin with his credit card.
-May I see your ID, please?
He showed her his ID card without any fuss and went on towards his Stockholm flight.
A few points:
- The days of Norwegians watching Swedish TV channels are definitely over.
- Even if Mr. Persson is married to the Director of the Swedish alcohol monopoly Systembolaget, he still has to buy his own booze. That’s Scandinavia in a nutshell.
That scenario would have been quite different in Ireland.
That cashier’s a bit of a busybody. What if he’d wanted to declare his port at Stockholm and pay the duty on it?
The cashier just followed the Norwegian rules. She is not allowed to sell more than the allowed quota. If he wants more (either for smuggling or declaring in the Swedish customs), he will have to buy it elsewhere. For instance on the flight home.
That’s Norway!
That’s not allowed (at least not in Scandinavia). At the duty free shop you may only buy duty free goods. If he had bought the port in an off license in down-town Olso, then he could have paid the duty on it in Stockholm.
Cheers, Johan. I confess I’ve never tried to purchase more than my duty free limit. I don’t get out of the EU enough 😦
Anywhere but Scandinavia you’d know the VIP and let it slip. You’d certainly not ask for his ID.
On the other hand, he could have bought 90 liters of port in Denmark, probably cheaper, and brought it on the ferry home..
A credit card payment may sometimes require that the sales person makes a note of the ID card number even if they know the customer in person. So while the cashier may have recognized Mr P, she could have been required to enter the ID number somewhere.
HAha!Hats off to her!