European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 7, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 the stars and stripes Friday february 7,1986 consumer watch customs for Over the Border shopping by Mary Neth consumer editor if you Are living in Germany big Buck shopping across the Border can mean paying Helly duty upon your  s where members of the us. Forces havea real Bennie. They Are allowed custom free shopping by use of an import Export permit. As one american couple found out recently however Spur of the monent shopping can be a hassle. My husband and i spent most of a saturday evening at the Luxembourg German Border explains the wife. We had purchased a rather expensive item and were advised we could receive a value added tax vat refund by stopping at Luxembourg customs. The store gave us a lorm cell lying that the item was being taken out of the  she said this worked quite Well As tar As Luxembourg duty was concerned but then a German customs of facial got into the act. Duty was demanded for bringing the item into Germany. Duty must be paid for any Purchase of More than so Marks. We had to give a Deposit before we could leave she says. On monday she continues she contacted the military Legal office and was Given an import Export permit a lorm 2075 to till out and take to the local customs office. She did so and was Given a refund of the Money they had paid at the Border. Dip let the Happy ending she wonders if there is not a Way of avoiding the hours of total frustration and helplessness they experienced. Yes and no. According to sgt. Mark Bloom at the 42nd military police group customs in Mannheim Germany to save time at the Border you can have the item shipped from the store. Then before it is delivered you can obtain the import Export permit and have it ready when the item arrives. The Blank forms can be obtained at any of the 42nd military police group Field offices in Germany. There Are More than 40. The forms says Bloom generally Are not available at Legal offices. After the forms Are completed they must be approved by the office in Mannheim Kaiserslautern Nuernberg or Bremerhaven. It none of these offices is in your area you can mall the permit to the Mannheim the controversial Lilac look by Mary Neth consumer editor everything is coming up Lilac in Europe fashion shops Light soft purple is the in color Tor  is very stylish has something special and makes a great impression say european women s magazines. Women who wish to be in Are advised to go for a total Lilac look. Yet it s a color that sets your Teeth on Edge. You May shudder seeing Lilac walking shoulder to shoulder along the Street with Orange or Bright red. Don t feel alone. Lilac May a in demand when it comes to fashion but the color itself has a miserable image. Germany s weekly newsmagazine Der Spiegel recently ran an article headlined morbid is signal morbid signal that sums up the anti Lilac viewpoint. The article Points out that it Mac dulls your mind you need not despair. You Are in Good company. That s How Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Germany s most famous poet and novelist Felt about the color which he associated with the horror of the end of the world. It s possible to sidestep the moldy totally Lilac look by using it sparingly in accessories or combining it with dark colors. Spiegel warns however that even this is dangerous. Lilac As is True of purple and Violet the Magazine states generally signals disappointment misery and Poison. It s a color of depression and sadness. According to the newsmagazine those asked to give their impression of the mood Lilac evokes generally associate it with a feeling of decadence something forbidden. The russian Painter Wasilly Kandinsky who founded the Blue rider school of Art also saw the color As somewhat sick. This is Why according to Spiegel the abstract artist stopped using it in later years. The color however has had friends. Spiegel quotes a theologian and psychologist As noting that it has been used As a color Tor cardinals and Bishops lower clerics have worn it in scarves As a Symbol of suffering and fasting. The my psychologist claims to know Why Lilac was picked by the european women s movement As the Standard color of its bib overalls. Is because it is a color that combines male and female elements she says. As an asexual color Lilac also has been identified with homosexuals in France they Call themselves Lea violets and transvestites. Spiegel Ana its experts Are dubious that the fashion Industry can turn this Nightmare color into a Winner they May be wrong. Take a look the next time you Are in a City Center. Spring has not yet arrived but already everything is coming up Lilac. Address on the form the form proves you Are a member of the . Forces entitled to import without duty. Ii you know the hem and its Cott before you leave Germany you can take along the completed permit. Ii you buy something on the spot unfortunately you will have to pay at the Border and then put in the paperwork to become reimbursed. It is a hassle acknowledges Bloom but you do save  the frustrated shopper also would like to know it purchases have to be declared when crossing a Border. Yes says Bloom. If you Are caught with undeclared goods even if they Are Legal to take into the country you could be charged with smuggling customs regulations vary. Americans living overseas in other countries should Check with local authorities about bringing goods across the Border. M Washer Salt on Way those new italian dishwashers Are not going to be Worth their Salt without that special Salt. Some Munich military apartments now have built in european dishwashers that require periodic cleaning with a special Type of Salt. Military families discovered however that the required Salt was no longer on the commissary shelves and would have to be purchased in local stores. It had been deleted from Stock. Asked about the problem the . Army troop support Agency european Region replied that immediate action is being taken to get the Salt plus rinse Aid and other detergent products required for european Type dishwashers Back on commissary shelves. Apple rebate woes Apple computer inc. Informs customers who took part in its aug. 15 to sept. 30 rebate program that there May be a delay in the promised return. A Container of outgoing mail containing rebates was destroyed in Beaverton ore., and Apple is in the process of determining the customers who were affected. Customers who have not received their rebate should follow up by sending their name and address along with the Model and serial numbers of their computer and a copy of the sales receipt. The information should be sent to the attention of Charmaine Clark at Apple computer inc., 2025 Marian ave., Cupertino Calif. Apple has advised a Afes Europe that it will take approximately four weeks to process the new rebate requests. Antifreeze till fall Gumm Labaren those popular rubbery German Bear shaped sweets won t be free of the Antifreeze chemical glycol Dieth Ylene for several months. According to government officials manufacturers can continue adding up to 60 milligrams per kilogram of the toxic substance to the fruit Flavoured candles until this fall. Glycol was found in the candies shortly after it was discovered being used As a sweetener in a number of austrian wines. The wine scandal caused a tightening of wine purity Laws in both Austria and Germany and a closer look at the use of additives in Many other food products. Better wheat bread cafes has improved its regular wheat bread. In response to nutritional directives from the department of the army the bakery in Greenstadt Germany has added wheat bran flakes a source of natural dietary fiber to the wheat bread sold in commissaries and Woodlands. The addition will make the bread equivalent to whole wheat bread. The Price is unchanged