BoarderYUL Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 FYI I bought a used board 2-3 weeks ago and got it shipped to Canada from the US. The seller, thinking he was doing a good move, insured for 600 USD (which is the brand new sale price, not the price I paid!) Canada Customs then charged me taxes and duty fees on a value of 600$.. which is 100$ ! Just to let u know: if you send used gear to Canada, pls don't insure it since duty fees are pretty high !!!! That was my rant-of-the-day ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Thanks for the advice. Does shipping a "Gift" from US to Canada have any taxes collected? --Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoarderYUL Posted September 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Mine as been shipped as a "Gift" and I still got the fees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crucible Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Next time have it insured for a nominal amount, or for the amount that you paid the seller. I have done the latter, and not had any duties levied on boards that were under $250.00. The GST and brokerage fees however, are another matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 covered in my "shipping" faq ;) sucks to get hit with taxes like that. What happened to NAFTA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoarderYUL Posted September 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Sucks to get hit for a sale made between two individuals... I would not complain if it was a store, but now... a bit abusive I think ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie00 Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Usually I ask people to mark down as USED snowboard it usually works good to get stuff in to Canada. What company did you use for shipping ? I find using USPS / canada post works the best. UPS is to be avoided at all cost. Ernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoarderYUL Posted September 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Used USPS and Postes Canada to get the stuff. I think they just decided to get me frustrated I'll call the customs tomorrow to have more details on that situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 I'll bet you anything that if you got a statement from the seller saying how much the actual transaction was for you would only be taxed on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Houghton Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Canadians will always be charged GST plus provincial taxes on the declared value, unless it's below $40. There is a claim form that comes attached to the package (or you can find it on line) that you can use to claim a rebate based on the fact that the value declared was incorrect. There is a long wait but it works. NAFTA will ONLY apply to boards made in Mexico, US or Canada. Otherwise an import duty will be levied, depending on how well you know your 10 digit harmonized tariff codes. DSub has a good writeup on this, shipping 101 I think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy D Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 I sold some Seismic springs to a fella up in Canada ... Then I got a phone call from Customs. Turns out, they thought the person I was shipping to was a business, in which case there were extra fees, etc. I said, no, it isn't a business. The moral is, don't use forum names for shipping, unless you want to thouroughly confuse customs agents. As soon as they figured out what I was trying to say, they sent the package on with no delay or extra charges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Canadians will always be charged GST plus provincial taxes on the declared value, unless it's below $40. There is a claim form that comes attached to the package (or you can find it on line) that you can use to claim a rebate based on the fact that the value declared was incorrect. There is a long wait but it works.NAFTA will ONLY apply to boards made in Mexico, US or Canada. Otherwise an import duty will be levied, depending on how well you know your 10 digit harmonized tariff codes. DSub has a good writeup on this, shipping 101 I think? When shipping USPS, I've never once been charged anything but a small processing fee ($5), GST and PST on any item I have shipped from the US. This is a lot of car parts that have "Made in Germany" written all over them plus snowboards and outdoor gear from various countries. Honestly, I don't think the Customs guys can be bothered with the paperwork for what amounts to 3% or 5% tariffs, not with the amount of goods flowing across the border. And yes, BoarderYUL, you need to dispute that charge. I once had an Italian steering wheel sent to me with an honest declared value of $300. The Customs agent thought he knew something about vintage car parts and assessed me taxes at $1,500! I disputed the charge and got a cheque within 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C5 Golfer Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Watch for duty fees also if you buy from Blue tomato and have it shipped DHL. About a month after you recieve the item you'll get a bill for the duty charges from DHL. I recently bought a Hot Blast 178 and the first shipment was damaged so I emailed Blue tomato with the pictures of the damage and a claim number I filed with DHL, Blue tomato sent a new Blast out to me very quickly but I am now fighting DHL for double duty charges since there was two shipments. That shipment was last December and it is now in a collection agency and they are going back to DHL with my argument - 1 board - 1 duty charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Houghton Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 The replacement board SHOULD have been identified as "warranty replacement - no charge" then it flies through no duty or taxes. This is a very convenient loophole, if you know what I mean............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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