5-HTP foils again: when customs intervenes

The lo' down -
Ordered 4 Bottles of 60 cap/100mg jarrow 5HTP off iherb.com, after 1.5 years of procrastinating and cheapskatedom, happy as a lark and waiting for its coming, to find....
A BLOODY CUSTOMS LETTER demanding immediate reply and 4 pages of questions and more questions
They have asked for
- a copy of passport
- a copy of visa (if non-ozzie)
- a packaging list of the contents
I cracked when it asked if i had packed the box myself. They didn't ask what the purpose of ordering it was for, and i could safely tick off most of their constipated list of "illegal" goods except with the: medication (herb) section.
Q&(hopefully)A:
1) has anyone encountered this problem?
2) Safe to fill out and send back?
Pls throw me your opinions

Should be fine. The only snag perhaps is that you are only allowed to order enough for personal usage over a prescribed period (I forget how long that period is - hopefully someone-who-has-more-time can look it up) and you may have to tell them you really need 240 capsuals.
Want to scan throw up a copy of the letter so we can see? (just blot out your name and any serial numbers etc on the letter for anon.)

3 months is the alloted time for personal supply at one time I believe.

FUCK!!! I'm waiting on my 5htp atm. If this happens to me i'll be VERY unhappoy.

I had 4 bottles arrive from clubnatural.com last week - opened & re-sealed by customs.
Previously myself and a friend ordered 4 bottles from iherb.com about 4 months ago, was opened & inspected, re-sealed & came through ok.
Please keep us posted with the progress.

I also have had the 4 bottle from club natural, opened and resealed by customs. It took a while to get here but it arrived none the less.
Wazza is correct in saying no person may import more than a 3 months supply for personal use. At 2x100Mg capsules a day that allows for about 180 capsules, however I think you could probably get away with saying that its 2 bottles for you and 2 for a friends, you just ordered them together because its cheaper and easier that way. (thats the excuse i was going to use if they asked me any questions but they didnt).
As for the passport thing, that all sounds a tad unreasonable - are you an australian citizen, because it may be if you arent that the customs people checked with DIMA and when they found out you werent they became suspicious. It might even just be if you have a foreign sounding surname, but i have a feeling it was more than likely the customs officer who inspected your parcel was the over zealous power tripping type who takes his job to seriously and likes having a brown nose...
In any case, I would ring customs and ask to speak directly to the person who is charge of your particular matter and find out what all the fuss is over. It seems very unreaosnable (and probably isnt even legal) for them to demand your passport and such. And if the person on the phone starts getting upity at you make noises about calling your lawyer or sumthin, they usually like to avoid legal trouble.

You sure you ordered plain ol' 5HTP? You didn't order one with something like kava kava (which is no longer allowed to be sold here) in it as well?
As far as the 3 months supply goes, as I understand it, because there is no RDI for 5HTP, it comes down to what is written on the bottles (I may be wrong about this though). So if the bottles say "take 1 a day" you've ordered more than you are allowed to ship at once.

The bottles usually say something like:

Contains: Extract of griffonia simplicifolia equivalent to 5-HTP (L-5-hydroxytryptophan) 100mg**
** Daily value has not been established.
So you should be able to get away with bringing in 240 caps at a time, easily. As babydoc said, don't order with anything else that could complicate issues.
BigTrancer

Click to expand...

I have never had an issue with ordering from health-pages.com but I have had customs open them...
I order 6 bottles at a time

Its weird, in New Zealand you can just buy 5-HTP over the counter at any health store. And I saw Kava Kava for sale at my local phamarcy just the other day.
I never thought Australia was any different. I hope New Zealand does't change its laws!

I've ordered four bottles many times from iherb and the've always come through even after being inspected. If it comes to it just tell them your using it for appetite supression and you need to have 4x100mg per day, i suppose thats the beauty of having no daily nutritional value established, they can't say what the limit is. :D

i may get in trouble for asking this but ill ask anyway.i knwo afew peopel have mentioned local places where 5htp can b obtained in other states does any1 know of any place in sa that still stock 5htp. if ya not willing to say on here email me so as not to give away the info and there4 that place gets in trouble.ill wait 4 a reply from sum1 and ill give em my email privately

PEACEBOY - 5-HTP is available for over the counter sale in Queensland. As far as I know it's not available OTC in SA, however, it's not in NSW and I've found a place in Sydney where they'll order it in for you upon request, in small amounts though.
I'm not sure of the quantity any one person may purchase at any one time in Queensland, but it's the only state you can buy it OTC. Mail order? They'll only ship to addreses with a 4*** postcode.

[ 03 October 2002: Message edited by: apollo ]

Sounds like there's a mixup somewhere... the paperwork they're asking for (passport etc..) is the same as the paperwork required when you import personal effects (eg: clothing, household stuff). I'd get in contact with Customs and find out what is happening because they should only hold it if there's greater than 3 months supply or what they would consider commercial quantities (what you ordered doesn't seem to be). Hope that helps....

::UPDATE::
sorry i havent been back here since my first post but well WOTW was in the social agenda and i got lost somewhere so... hehe
but anyway i filled out those forms, yes am not a local here so was very hesitant to give them my details .. but DHL personnel were calling and i didnt want to waste the moolah so off the forms went and THIS MORNING i received my 4 botts finally!!
.. and all that free foam that came packed with it... woohooo time to make new pillows
anyway im guessing this is new standard procedure, i'm not sure but anyone who gets similar letters let us know.
cheerz to all ur feedback

Sweet as
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Try and find places that send the goods through the mail, you get far less hassles than thru some courier companies, trust me