Anyone had Canada Customs probs?

[Yzma and Kronk]

Originally posted by minnie56
I just checked out what the U.S residents are allowed. $800 USD unlimited and $200 even on a day trip with no limits. We are only allowed $50 AFTER 24 hrs! US residents can even come accross just to buy duty free!

Wow! I didn't know that!

Gee......I knew there was a reason why we moved down here!

 

[minnie56]

I have enlightened you!
Shop till you drop!

You are 'trusted' to be responsible unlike us poor Canadian's!

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

Originally posted by minnie56
I have enlightened you!
Shop till you drop!

You are 'trusted' to be responsible unlike us poor Canadian's!

And I've even gotten the GST back a couple of times too......

 

[robsawatsky]

Originally posted by minnie56
I have enlightened you!
Shop till you drop!

You are 'trusted' to be responsible unlike us poor Canadian's!

What does "responsibility" have to do with how and how much goods you are allowed to bring across without duty and taxes?

If you want a customs and political union with the US like the EU won't don't you just say so instead of complaining about the little things that signify Canada and US are still separate countries? Come on, it is about bringing GOODS across the border not what services and goods were consumed while in the other country.

In all my border crossings, I've been polite and accurate in my declarations, had all my documentation ready (usually not even checked on the way back into Canada) and never had any sort of problem.

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

Originally posted by robsawatsky
What does "responsibility" have to do with how and how much goods you are allowed to bring across without duty and taxes?

I'll chime in here.........I think minnie56 mean't it as tonge-in-cheek as to how much Canadians are allowed to bring back duty free. Most people can spead $400 CDN in the US (especially at Disney) in about 1/2 hour!

If I get $800 USD in Canada - I'd be shopping for at least 3 hours!

 

[bunnyfoo]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience minnie56. I have a couple of family friends who have had the same thing happen to them. Thanks for posting about it though... I will definitely keep that in mind on my next trip. I usually just estimate my purchases as well.

Originally posted by grover
How in the heck would they know if you had a haircut or a manicure??
Grover in Winnipeg

I wondered about that too ... A lot of people I know usually get a haircut before they go on vacation. I can't imagine a haircut growing out after a week or two

 

[minnie56]

Someone is a little touchy!

I just think it is time to review the allowance that is all!

It is true...my last WDW trip was 9 days and I spent $5,200 just on accomodation and food! I already had annual passes too.

Perhaps many of us wouldn't use a higher limit but those of us that may want to would appreciate not being penalized for it.Brian Mulrroney owns a million dollar home in Florida. Is that not spending money out of the country without penalty? He won't pay any taxes on it here...ever.

 

[Amberle3]

The issue isn't how much you spend in another country, it's how much you bring back. Canada has restrictions because of the kinds of subsidies and agreements with the various industries. For instance did you know that you can only bring back $20 worth of dairy goods? May sound silly to have that kind of restriction, but it's because of agreements with the dairy industry to deter Canadians from spending money out of the country when our industries need it to be spent here. Same holds for the beef industry, there's limits on how much you can bring back for the same reason.

It has nothing to do with trusting our citizens, or allowing them freedoms and responsibilities. The Canadian government would just prefer that you spend your hard earned Canadian dollars in Canada. You can spend as much as you want in the US, you can bring back as much as you want, you'll just get hit with duty and taxes if you go over your limit.

BTW the limits were raised a couple of years ago, it used to be $500 for a 7 day trip and you could only claim that once a year. Now it's $750 and you can claim it multiple times during a year. And you can now bring back 2 750ml bottles of wine.

As for anyone paying taxes in Canada for real estate owned outside the country, why would they? They pay taxes in that country for the property. If they have revenue property in the US then guess what, they get to report that income twice - once to the Canadian government and once to the US.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

Originally posted by SRUAlmn
Like he had the power to block my family out of the entire country!

He did (and still does) have the power to block your family out of the entire country. Just as Canadians have no right to enter the US and can be arrested if they attempt a re-entry after being denied entry, Americans have no right of entry into Canada.
I just returned from a trip to Germany and (for the first time) kept a running tab of all purchases I was bringing home with me. The exact amount (slightly rounded off to an even dollar number instead of listing cents) was listed on my arrivals card. All purchases imported were in my carry-on luggage and available for inspection should I be pulled over for secondary inspection. I'm not afraid of Canada Customs -- I know the laws and respect them. The $750 limit is more than enough for a week-long trip.
As for shipping goods back -- those goods are subject to duty, GST, PST, HST etc. just as are the goods accompanying you. The arrivals forms asks about such goods. One is allowed to mail back gifts valued at no more than $40 CDN., but you can't really send yourself a gift.

 

[Scratch42]

Originally posted by RoyalCanadian
The $750 limit is more than enough for a week-long trip.

Spoken like a true Male!



Scratch

 

[Amberle3]

Originally posted by Scratch42
Spoken like a true Male!

I think it really depends on the individual. There have been times when I've been across for a weekend and could easily have spent more than $750!

The last 2 times I was down for a week I was nowhere near the limit. Time before last I was at something like $450, and this last time I'm sure I didn't even have $100 worth. Bought 1 shirt, 1 jacket, some chocolates (have to get See's chocolates when I'm in the area), and I think that was about it. That was a week split between DL and Las Vegas.

 

[lisaes]

With all this planning, I never even considered this stuff. Is everyone in your party allowed $750.00? I am flying into Toronto from Orlando, where do I go through customs. Could I be late for my connecting flight as I only have 1 hour to get to it (different terminal). Out of the 4 of us only my DM has a passport, would it be a better idea for all of us to get one? Although they are good for 5 years, the change of us travelling out of the country within that time is very low but if it is going to make things a little easier I will splurge the almost $300 (that I could be spending in the park).

 

[Nagle]

Here's a link to the Customs web site.

John

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4044/rc4044-e.html#P274_18115

 

[MommaBear]

I travelled quite a bit to S. Carolina and Kingsport, Tenn. for business several years ago.

One particular time I was 5 months pregnant with my 2nd child, just starting to show and decided I would like to be comfortable during the flight (I also had a layover in Cinn.) so I wore a tracksuit and running shoes. I would be arriving in the early evening and would not need to go into the office until the next morning.

The Customs agent wanted to know where I was going and when I told him I was travelling on business he leaned over the desk and looked me up and down. His gaze rested on my belly and I immediately thought "he thinks I'm carrying something'. Anyway he asked me the strangest questions and the one that really threw me was he wanted to know what my husband did for a living and the name of the company he worked for!

Why this had anything to do with my air travel I will never know but unfortunately some of them have a GOD COMPLEX and so I answered his dumb questions and merrily went on my way!

 

[Amberle3]

The seemingly unrelated questions have to do with testing you basically. They're just trying to see if there's any unusual hesitation, or unusual answers, that would seem suspicious.

Even before 9/11 they were cautious, nowadays even more so.

And there's quit a difference (in general) in how US Customs and Canadian Customs go about it isn't there? I've found that in general US customs is much more abrupt, almost scornful of travellers. The odd time I've had an agent that was pleasant and ONCE I had one that actually smiled at me! I'm sure he didn't last long. Canada Customs tends to be a little more matter-of-fact, almost bored. Unless they're in suspect mode, in which case all bets are off.

And what about the security screeners at the airports? Since 9/11 the worse screenings in terms of actual security that I've had to go through have been in US airports. I was in Las Vegas in November '01 and thought that security would be brutal - it was a joke. I walked through the scanner and it was fine, but they decided I needed a secondary hand-scanning anyway. I was told to go "over there" but there was no obvious place to go. I moved a little in that direction and just kinda stood there, and after about a minute an older gentleman with a hand wand came over, pointed it at me, and THAT WAS IT. He didn't even actually scan, just pointed it. I was on the one hand amazed, and on the other hand disgusted that THIS was their "heightened security".

 

[minnie56]

Royal Canadian...

I can mail myself a 'gift'. I travel with a girlfriend that does that all the time.She sends her purchases to her Mom...writes Happy Birthday on the package and end of story! A gift is a gift!

I took my jewellry that I purchased last trip to be appraised yesterdayat a Gemologist and he says half of his customers buy goods in the islands all the time. My mistake? Paper trail...

He recommends cash only...throw the bill...wear the item.Canada Customs are not in the business of knowing how to appraise items and cannot prove or disprove what is new and what is old.

If Canada didn't stick 29% tax on our jewellry items here maybe things would change? Anyway, as said above...I don't care for the 'God Complex' either!

 

[Amberle3]

Originally posted by minnie56
He recommends cash only...throw the bill...wear the item.Canada Customs are not in the business of knowing how to appraise items and cannot prove or disprove what is new and what is old.

Your jeweler is, of course, free to give any advice that he wants. As a travel agent I cannot recommend that people try to sneak goods into the country illegally.

And remember, Canada Customs doesn't HAVE to prove the status of the ring - that's up to you. It's just like going into court, you have the burden of proof. If they question the item you must be able to show that you owned it before leaving the country. That's why you're supposed to register expensive items before you leave, so that you have proof. If you don't have that, they can slap fines and duties on you even without the receipts.

And you're right, they're not in the business of appraising items. So if you're in the situation where they do have to assess a value to an item because you've "misplaced" the bill, you very well could be paying a lot more than you would have if you'd been honest in the first place.

Oh, and the 29% duty that you had to pay is NOT the regular rate that's paid for overage. That's the rate that's charged either when the special overage rate has been exhausted (ie you have way too much stuff to be covered by the special rate) or you don't qualify for the special rate (ie they've discovered that you've made a false claim and are therefore free to hit you with the highest rates they have).

 

[bunnyfoo]

Originally posted by Amberle3
Oh, and the 29% duty that you had to pay is NOT the regular rate that's paid for overage. That's the rate that's charged either when the special overage rate has been exhausted (ie you have way too much stuff to be covered by the special rate) or you don't qualify for the special rate (ie they've discovered that you've made a false claim and are therefore free to hit you with the highest rates they have).

Out of curiosity ... what is the duty/taxes that are suppose to be charged on jewellery? I was thinking of buying a ring in the US which I know would put me over the $750 exemption. I checked out the link that Nagle posted and it seems that I would only the difference between the exemption and the cost of the ring. So does that mean if the ring costs $800, I would only be taxed on $50? I just want to see if it's going to be a worthwhile purchase

 

[Amberle3]

From my experience, you would only be charged on what's over your exemption limit. So if you bring back $800 of goods and your exemption is $750, you get charged on $50. If you bring back $900 you get charged on $150.

You'll pay GST, PST, and the overage duty which is about 4%.

That's what I've experienced every single time I've been over my limit and had to pay. YMMV. Also keep in mind that there's a very good possibility that if you're only a little over the limit they might not make you pay at all. It all depends on the mood of your customs officer.

 

[bunnyfoo]

Thanks for your help Amberle3 Do you know if those taxes apply to goods made in North America? I was just curious since I saw there was a section about NAFTA goods in the link...