Need help from Canadian Cruisers!

[ckrobyn]

I have a question about Customs limits...

We are going to be out of Canada for 15 days - we are doing a B2B cruise. Does this mean I can bring back double because we are gone for 2 weeks?

Does anyone know what the Canada Customs limits are for 15 days?

All help appreciated! :)

[IamCdn]

There is a limit for 7 days or more (it doesn't increase in increments if you stay say 14 days). If you Google "I Declare" it will bring up the document with the regulations. It is a long document but I have included the main points.

 

One thing to note: You do not have to bring the goods with you (except alcohol and cigs). For example, if you buy art on ship to be sent to you later, you can declare the amount of the art and when it arrives you will not have to pay GST, Duty, Provincial tax - they give you a form at customs when you arrive back in Canada.

 

 

After each absence of 7 days or more

You can claim up to CAN$750 worth of goods without paying any duties. Although you can include some tobacco products and alcoholic beverages, only a partial exemption will apply to cigarettes, tobacco products, or manufactured tobacco. See the section "Alcohol and tobacco" for more details. With the exception of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages, you do not need to have the goods with you when you arrive.

 

Alcoholic beverages

You are allowed to import only one of the following amounts of alcohol free of duty and taxes:

• 1.5 litres (53 imperial ounces) of wine;
  
• 1.14 litres (40 ounces) of liquor;
  
• a total of 1.14 litres (40 ounces) of wine and liquor; or
  
• 24 x 355 millilitre (12 ounces) cans or bottles (maximum of 8.5 litres) of beer or ale.

Tobacco products

You are allowed to bring in all of the following amounts of tobacco into Canada without paying duty:

• 200 cigarettes;
  
• 50 cigars or cigarillos;
  
• 200 grams (7 ounces) of manufactured tobacco; and
  
• 200 tobacco sticks.

[ckrobyn]

Wow! Thanks for the information. You saved me from having to search all of that myself :)

 

I still feel the limit should be higher if we are out of Canada for 14 days or longer! :rolleyes:

[SeaBaby]

You can bring back more than your $750 exemption - you just have to pay some duty on the excess. It really isn't that expensive, much less than paying sales tax and GST here.

 

DH and I used to panic if we were a little over our exemption, but then discovered it is better to be truthful. Sometimes the customs agent won't bother to charge you if it is just slightly over. Another one was very helpful informing us that certain items made in the USA or Mexico were exempt from duty under NAFTA, and checked all the labels so we wouldn't pay more duty than necessary.

 

Go ahead and shop, I say!

 

Suzanne

[JanineM]

A friend just came back from Seattle. She spent $2300 on clothes for herself and her son. She claimed every penny, and it cost her about $100 for duty ... that was it. She was stunned! The duty was, in essence, the GST (she lives in Alberta - so no PST). Duty was a touch higher on children's clothing than it was on ladies' clothing

 

When I think back to how much I used to sweat before heading back across the line, terrified that I would be thrown in jail for spending even $75 over the limit ... I could have just kept on shopping! :D

[Ephraim]

I still feel the limit should be higher if we are out of Canada for 14 days or longer! :rolleyes:

 

That's nice. Now get elected and we have one vote in parliament for it :)

 

Actually, the rules are very convoluted and it always depends on what you bring in and from where and what province you are entering.

 

For example, you can usually bring groceries if you are arriving from the US and they were purchased in the US (just remember that you must wash American produce with soap and water, since it isn't always cleaned of pesticides). There are limitations on this, but it's normal family groceries, for example, only one turkey is allowed.

 

You are allowed to bring through the gasoline in your car without declaring it.

 

You are legally supposed to declare services that you purchased in the US but are going to use in Canada, for example, a haircut that you got on a day trip. I'd like to see them actually get someone stupid enough to declare. And I want to see the customs agent stupid enough to actually charge the GST on it.

 

Now, here's the tricky part. A lot of goods are actually rated at zero duty. Especially if they are made in the US. Now, you need to pay the GST and the PST for them if you are bringing them in and they are above your limit. BUT... they only collect the PST if you are arriving in your home province, usually. So, if you are going through customs in Toronto but actually live in Quebec, they will only collect GST, because as a non-resident of Ontario, you aren't subject to Ontario's PST.

 

Also in Quebec, remember that there is no PST on books, just GST.

 

One other thing, that most people don't know.... duty free cigarettes in Canada aren't really. The packet of cigarettes must be marked as "CANADA DUTY-PAID ● DROIT ACQUITTÉ." If they are not marked in this way, you still legally have to pay that duty.

 

A copy of "I Declare" is listed at http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4044/rc4044-e.html

 

Incidentally, this is a vast improvement made by the previous Liberal government. The previous Tory government had a limit of $500 (and then increased to $750,) once every three months on an absence of 7 days. If not, the limit was a measly $100 (and then increased to $250).

 

We also used to have a hidden excise tax of 13.5% on everything at the manufacturer's level, which is what the GST replaced.

[Ephraim]

The customs agents sometimes say things like "you can't go over the limit." Which isn't technically correct. The limit is simply a limit of what is tax-free. You can just pay the tax on anything you are bringing over that limit.

 

When you do, make sure that they calculate your highest DUTY value items, first. Use that as your duty-free declaration items.

 

Go through the list with them and make sure they are checking the labels. Items made in the US, Mexico, Chile and Israel are duty-free (GST/PST still applies). Be careful to ask what rates and what the item was classified under. Sometimes they like to use a "general" category with a special rate for those who are over the limit. Only use this if it is to your advantage.

 

For example, many years ago I was bringing through a radio I had purchased. There were three different rates for Radio, Cassette Player/Radio and Radio with Shortwave. Shortwave won, with a very very small duty rate.

 

I regularly go through customs and declare exactly what I have and pay the tax on it. They usually won't bother to collect if it's under $10 in tax to collect. And do they hate it when I declare $200 for a day trip and then show them my grocery bill which is all tax-free!

 

I have lots of stories about crossing the border. Including a man who fell dead right in front of us on the first day of the GST. And the customs agent who took apart my parent's car only to find that they weren't lying when they said that all they bought was a colouring book and crayons. He refused to put the car back together again and my mother refused to not pay the tax on the colouring book and crayons, so that his supervisor would have to see the paperwork. For some silly reason, they decided it was easier to volonteer to put the car back together again than to write up the paperwork on 59c worth of colouring book and crayons from Woolworth's in the US. How do you explain collecting 3c of taxes for a children's toy to your boss?

[celle]

I still feel the limit should be higher if we are out of Canada for 14 days or longer! :rolleyes:

 

I'm going to be away for 7 weeks. Can I bring back 7 times as much? ;)