The Consumer Association of Iceland (NS) believes that current laws on how much the average traveller can bring into Iceland are outdated, and do not account for inflation since the economic crash of 2008.
Like most other countries in the world, Iceland has specific laws on the maximum value of items travelers can bring into the country without paying a customs toll. By Icelandic law, people are allowed to bring items they bought abroad that have a value of up to 65,000 ISK without having to pay a fee.
However, this law was put into effect in June 2008 – months before the economic collapse severely devalued the krónur. Vísir reports that NS believes this needs to change.
Jóhannes Gunnarsson, the director of NS, pointed out that not only has the krónur devalued since 2008, but the values of other currencies have comparitively increased – the euro, pound sterling and Danish crown have increased in comparitive value by about 25%, and the US dollar has increased by 54% since 2008.
For the math to hold, he contends, the toll limit should be increased from 65,000 ISK to 100,000 ISK. He believes the government needs to examine the current economic situation better, and make changes to the existing toll law accordingly.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
