test
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Hudson" <xyyc@xxxxxxxx>
To: <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, April 13, 2001 8:50 AM
Subject: Re: [OM] Shipping from US to Canada
> 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.
>
> < This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
> < For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
> < Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
>
>
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|