Late December this year, I will be going to New York and I hope to visit the apple store during my stay.
Due to the US dollar being less valuable than the pound sterling, it's an absolute bargain to buy an iPad in the USA. However there's a problem; the iPad model I wish to buy is over the 'limit' in value/price, to the extent I will be taxed for bringing it to the UK. Now I appreciate that I can possibly claim the tax back, that's only a possibility though, which would also cause hassle at both airports. Hassle that is not needed as I am travelling with a school, and I doubt the governing staff would be willing to allow this.
So I need to some how get it through UK customs when I return from New York. It only becomes a problem if I have nothing to declare and then they randomly search my luggage, then they have reason to believe that I am trying to conceal a high value item.
So the real question is… Can I some how make it look like/pretend that I took an iPad with me for the trip (that I allegedly bought in the UK), and I am simply bringing it back with me? Do I just put it in my suitcase (concealed in a normal iPad case to make it look normal and inconspicuous) or can I carry it with my hand luggage?
If I do carry it with my hand luggage and they suspect that I bought it in the USA, is the pressure on me to prove otherwise? Or do they have to prove that I smuggled it? How far could customs go to prove that I smuggled a high value item?
Sorry for length
Read more: How would I smuggle an iPad from North America, to the UK?