Duty?? - UPDATE

[pampamz]

Seriously??? I had no idea you can buy cars in the US and bring them back...thought there was all sorts of "red tape" and crazy duty etc.

You just pay GST and that's it -- easy peasy? What about plates? If you finance it how does that work?

I'm intrigued...

[EllasMum]

Perhaps Marina can elaborate on this but my understanding is that you have to be a resident, or 'have a residence' in the States in order to avoid duty. That is how my uncle was able to avoid it - he listed his residence as his friend's condo in Montana. He had to wait a specified period after the purchase to bring it across the border.

[Piglet]

There were a few articles in the Toronto Star this month - I will try to post the links. In any event, the duty is not an issue of the car was made in the US/Canada/Mexico (see... NAFTA works sometimes). Toyotas are made in the US, as are most other mainstream cars. Volvos, Porsches, VWs, Subarus and some Mazdas are not made in the US and you have to pay 6.1% duty, which is still pretty reasonable when you consider the savings. There is no chance for financing, so we spent a lot of our savings and will be paying ourselves back in monthly payments (I have an ING account that does automatic withdrawals 2x a month from our main bank account in the amount of our prior car's payment). The agency that oversees import of cars has a website - www.riv.ca you can go there for further info. I got the hairbrained idea from the Canadian Sienna message board on www.siennaclub.org and there is a ton of info on there both for Toyotas and importing cars in general. I should point out that the reason Toyotas are so popular for import is that they honour their warranty in Canada. Honda doesn't, so we couldn't consider an Oddyssey.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...d=968867497088

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...l=969048871196

Enjoy!

[pampamz]

Thanks! That's awesome info -- I appreciate it.
We like Honda and have been considering upgrading our CRV to a Pilot but ix-nay that if the warranty doesn't work here.

The US prices always seem so much more reasonable, atleast on the commercials...

I'll have to mull this one over.
Thanks again.

[sand82552]

I haven't posted here in a while, but I thought I would share some info on duty, brokerage, and tax.

If you follow this link it will take to a fantastic calculator that will help determine the percentage of duty that is charged on items when you buy from the US.

http://www.aacb.com/tools/dutytax.asp

I use it all the time to determine the duty that I could be charged, just so I am prepared. For example duty on textiles (clothes) is anywhere from 0 - 20%, this calcultor uses 20% (the most charged) - Toys and Books have 0% duty, most examples are listed.

Canada Post charges $6 Brokerage Fee, even if they are only collecting GST or GST&PST and no duty they will charge the Brokerage Fee. [Other shipping companies have different Brokerage rates]

The only way you can not be charged Brokerage, Taxes, and Duty is like some others mentioned if the Value of your items are under $20, or if the item is a gift and under $60.

In addition any item that is manufactured in the US, Canada, or Mexico falls under the NA Free Trade Agreement, and No duty will be charged on the item - no matter what it is - ever. GST, or PST can of course be charged - but never duty. (Always remember that if GST or PST was collected by the shipping company then Brokerage Fees will also be charged)

If you are charged incorrectly, then you can get your money back from Canada Customs. For example, I ordered Toys from Barnes & Noble, who happen to have a GST number (like Hanna Andersson), and they collected GST, Canada Post also charged me GST and of course the Brokerage. I received all of my money back. Or if you ordered some items from a boutique and charged duty, and they were actually manufactured in Canada you can apply to receive your duty back that you may have been charged, but not your Brokerage fee, b/c GST still had to be collected.

Another alternative to ordering from the States is using a postal company. I live very close to Blaine, WA and I have some items shipped to a company there, and then I drive to pick up the items and bring them across the border my self. If I do go into the customs office it is only to collect GST, I have never been charged duty. TO charge me duty they would have to have me bring in all of the clothes to determine the country of manufacturer to assess the appropriate duty which again would be between 0-20%. This also depends on the customs officer you get though, I have heard of people having to drag all their items in, and everything itemized and the duty charged, so it is hit and miss - but pretty unlikely.

The great thing about shipping to a US address and collecting yourself is that you can take advantage of within US free shipping, lower shipping fees, and quicker shipment times. I keep my billing address as Canadian, so I can use my Credit Card.

I do still have baby clothes delivered to my house when I am busy and can't make it down to Blaine, especially from Janie and Jack, and it is a gamble, sometimes my package sneaks through, other times I am charges the duty, GST, and brokerage. A lot of JJ's clothes are manufactured in China which is a duty rate of about 18%...YIKES!!!

I hope this helped, and it wasn't too much to read. One more tip is to make sure if you buy on ebay to have the seller list the correct value and description, and if they are comfortable depreciating the value or marking as a gift then that is a bonus to you.

I really think that Canada Customs should increase our allowable limit, $20 is nothing --- it is really frustrating.

[Piglet]

Thanks for the great information! That answered a lot of my questions about the brokerage fees. I have always wondered why the heck they need to charge brokerage when they are calculating GST - it's not like they charge you brokerage to calculate GST if you buy in a retail store.

I wish I lived close enough to the border, but we are 3 hours north of middle-of-nowehere Montana here in Calgary!

[sand82552]

No problem, the crazy thing too - is you also are charges GST on your brokerage fee. LOL....

[torontomom]

deleted...

[sand82552]

I heard of it through word of mouth, there is at least 4 companies where I live that do this. I did a quick search for you for the Buffalo Area, all I could find is some info on a forum that suggested using Mailboxes Etc. in Buffalo. The forum said that this MBE is very familiar with accepting packages for Canadians. I know the place I use I don't phone I just go down when I know my package should be there and pickup, I am charged $2 per package.

Mail Boxes Etc. # 0322
940 HOLT RD WEGMANS PLZ
WEBSTER, NY 14580 - USA
Phone: (585)872-5577

Here is the link to the forum

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/s...6&page=1&pp=15

Good Luck - Hope this helps

[bubbaray]

The PP gave you great info.

I just wanted to add, for those looking for a similar service in WA state, I use Mailboxes International in Blaine, WA. They do a booming business with Canadian customers. They charge $2.00 (I think) per item -- $1.00 for the service, $1.00 to call you when it is in. Also, $10 per year for the service generally. They also have mailboxes, which are a different price. They hold things for a week, after that I think it is $0.50 per day extra charge.


Melissa

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