Andrew Dacey wrote:
>
> This is probably something other Canuck members have dealt with, receiving
> gear from the States.
>
> I won an auction for some macro flash gear (T-10, T-28, T Power Control) and
> the package arrived today. As soon as it arrived, they wanted a pretty hefty
> sum of money. I asked them what it was for (since I'd already paid in full
> for the gear). A small (but seems too high) chunk of that charge was the
> customs fee. I'm not going to even try to challenge that one. The other fee
> was good old HST (15 0n NS). So here's a couple questions:
Consumer goods coming into Canada which are outside of your small sales
tax tax free exemptions are subject to GST and provincial sales taxes as
well as customs duties. Until recently Canada Customs collected customs
duties and the GST at the gate of entry. The payment of the provincial
sales tax was based upon self assessment ..... ie: personal declaration
to the provincial sales tax authority [which most people ignored]. Of
late the rules have changed for some if not all provinces and now Canada
Customs collect the provincial sales taxes as well. For goods arriving
through the post, Canada Post takes up the role of Canada Customs and
collects all the levies as well as charging a small handling fee.
Likewise, FedEx, Purolator and other courier companies act in the same
way as Canada Post in collecting the money for their shipments but they
can also charge brokerage fees in respect of filling up and processing
the necessary paperwork to get the goods cleared through Canada Customs.
As far as I know, these taxes are usually based on declared values but
of course Canada Customs and its agents can substitute different amounts
if they think that the declared valued are incorrect. Declaring "used
goods" might be a useful ruse if the goods are of insignificant amount
and value but is unlikely to work if the goods are of any significant
amount and value. As far as I know the "used goods" and "no commercial
value" routines only work because, like customs inspections of ship,
there are more items working through the system than there are
inspectors to inspect the goods! The bottom line is that Canada Customs
are not bound by anything other than their own assessment of values of
the goods in question.
Good luck challenging Canada Customs! Pay the taxes or loose the goods.
There is no way they will yield on the question of paying the tax and
customs levies. The only thing you have any hope of challenging is the
value placed on the goods. Relying on a "used goods" declaration to have
those charges remitted is betting on long odds!
Hope this helps
John Hudson
Vancouver, BC
ps: Inter provincial transfers of goods are also subject to sales taxes
in the province into which the goods are taken. This is usually subject
to self assessment and declaration by the transferee.
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