Q: Dear Shmuel,
We thought we had five years to send a lift with aliyah rights, but we only had three, a date which has just passed. We need to bring over some personal items, crates of papers, old furniture, etc. from the NYC area. Shouldn't be enough to even fill a small lift; 20 ft. container. Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to do this? What the taxes might be? Do people share lifts to be more economical? Any idea what company to use? We would need to ship it in July or August.

Thanks very much,
Shari

A: This is lousy news! You are right, aliyah "rights" last for three years and during this three year period, you can import up to 3 shipments from any country overseas.

In answer to your questions:

1) Meches can sometimes (i.e.. almost never) extend your rights. To get this extension, you will need an incredibly good reason like you were in the army or....actually, there is almost no reason they will accept to extend your rights, but it might be worth the effort because...

2) Otherwise, you will be charged duties on everything and it doesn't matter if it is used and for personal use only.

3) Taxes will run in the area of 15.5% for computers and books and up to as much as 35-40% for electrical items. The taxes will be calculated against the current depreciated value of the goods which, since they are used, will be relatively low.

4) You do not have to take a Full Container Load (FCL). There is also the option of paying by the cubic foot in a LCL (Less than Container Load) which sounds like it might be the best thing for you.

5) I know a good moving company...but modesty prevents me from mentioning their name in this public forum...... :-)

All the best, Shmuel