Customs Advice & Experience on getting a Canadian Customs refund?

Advice and Experience on Canada Customs

Original post for this was trying to get refunds on packages I've received in the duration of this hobby. Now I'm turning this thread into an informational thread about mine and others trials in gaining refunds. You're more than welcome to add to the experiences, so others may learn from them.

Unfortunately for Canadians, only Gifts sent with a value below $60.00 won't get charged fees. "A gift card or tag is needed to avoid misunderstandings." (Notice by CBSA) And charges are only calculated for the full value minus the $60.00, so long as the package is actually a "gift".

CBSA website (http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/) says:

Found at: http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/courier/postal-postale/ind_duty_free-eng.html

Read post 5 for a reply emailed received from CBSA for more information on this and about warranties.

The warranty information isn't so helpful for us, as we don't have warranties on our dolls. It's the reply they gave me in the instance of "an item sent out for fixing that was already owned by me"... so, if you send a head out for faceups, that's what it would fall under.

Others have put in their suggestions and experienced warnings about dealing with customs, and I thank them all for it.

These aren't ways to try to beat the system, so much as some may have tried, but these are ways to find something that would be safe and lessen those customs fees in an already expensive hobby. Canada customs charges taxes + a handling fee, which helps the Canadian economy... I'm guessing. So just think of it as doing our part for the Country!

Even with that,
Any advice or experience on the matter is appreciated.

 

Could you research this, OpheliaB? Can you send an email to that University post office, and ask them if that was the case? Knowing this may help others research their own.

I'm sure ways to beat the system would be appreciated by many.

I mean, who really wants to pay more for an already expensive hobby? Finding ways to save are always valued.

 

A gift sent by a friend or family member abroad to a person in Canada
is exempt from duties and taxes as long as the gift is worth $60 or
less. Alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and advertising material do not
qualify for the gift exemption.

The declaration should clearly identify the goods as a gift and should
include a gift card or tag to avoid any misunderstanding. For gifts
worth more than $60, you have to pay duties and taxes on the amount over
the $60 exemption.

For example, if you receive a gift from overseas worth $100, only $60
of the gift's value qualifies for the gift exemption. You will have to
pay duties and taxes on the remaining portion of the value, in this case
$40.

Non-commercial goods that were bought in Canada and replaced under a
warranty outside of Canada with no charges will not be charged goods and
services tax (GST), harmonized sales tax (HST), or excise taxes on
re-entry into Canada. However, customs duties apply on the value of the
replacement/substitute goods based on their classification and tariff
treatment.

Non-commercial goods that were previously duty-paid in Canada and were
replaced under a warranty outside of Canada with no charges other than
shipping and handling will not be charged customs duties, GST/HST, or
excise taxes on re-entry into Canada.

To qualify for a warranty replacement tax exemption,
- the goods must be non-commercial,
- the goods must have been properly entered into Canada (full duty and
taxes were paid upon entry),
- the goods must be clearly identified as being replaced under
warranty,
- the total amount of customs duties and excise taxes cannot exceed
CAN$50,
- the goods must be re-imported within six months of the destruction or
exportation of the goods they are replacing, and
- no remission, refund, or drawback of customs duties or excise tax can
have been granted in respect of the non-commercial imported goods that
they are replacing.

For more information, please consult Memorandum D8-2-3, Non-Commercial
Importations Remission Order, on the Canada Border Services Agency
(CBSA) Web site at the following address:
http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d8/d8-2-3-eng.html

Also, please note that each importation is evaluated on a case-by-case
basis.

For all other questions about this issue, we recommend that you contact
the Border Information Service (BIS) for assistance. You can access
the BIS line free of charge throughout Canada by calling 1-800-461-9999.
If you are calling from outside Canada, you can access the BIS line by
calling 204-983-3500 or 506-636-5064 (long-distance charges will
apply). If you call during regular business hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
local time, Monday to Friday, except holidays), you can speak directly to
an agent by pressing "0" at any time.

 

So best way to not get these fees, is to ask sellers/businesses to mark EMS/any packages under $60.00 and mark as Gift.

Also... describing it as "Used" or "Free Gift" may help as well. Else as them to include a gift card or tag to prove it's a gift.

Otherwise, I believe it's always a gamble with the system... Sometimes packages are caught, which is why a gift card or tag would be wise to include.

I recently got charged Customs fees for a Luts package marked Gift at $41.00. Argh. $13.02 was their charge for it, which was taxes including the Canada Post fee for handling an EMS package. Ah well...

 

Completely understood. I accepted it after I understood it better. Now the information is here for others to understand it.

Also the information is here to make that charge less, so long as people are willing to have a package marked down from its true value.

Thanks so much~!

 

You're right about that, pipercat99. There is that chance as well. But that's all it is... a chance, and we pray and hope for the best that it doesn't happen.

Elysion gear, all the best to you! If they allow it, you'll post here to let us know? Though I don't have that Registered Indian status, I'm sure there will be others with the same status who'd like to know.