IMPORT FEES?

[liapatric-0]

I recently bought several products from china, all under 5$. They're all being shipped to my house and I was wondering if I have to pay import fees and if so is there a way to find out how much i need to pay? Thanks!

[afantiques · Accepted solution]

It is extremely unlikely. Even if they were all from the same seller, and added up to more than $20, and were sent combined with an accurate combined declared value (which is unlikely with a Chinese seller) it seems Canadian customs are ignoring postal items under $100 or so.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@liapatric-0 wrote:

I recently bought several products from china, all under 5$. They're all being shipped to my house and I was wondering if I have to pay import fees and if so is there a way to find out how much i need to pay? Thanks!

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The import mail amount for free is $20. Over that amount you could be charged duty, sales tax and a handling fee ($9.95 if via Canada Post).

-..-

[2011limey1]

I've never had to pay duty. The $20.00limit is ridiculous. But sometimes I explain my situation and ask, like I do all sellers to put no more than $20.00 on the Customs Declaration and then I try to make them feel sorry for me (bring out the violins) saying it's just awful with the Cdn $ being so low compared to US.  Seems to work, I usually get say a $30.00 item shown as $4 to $6 and sometimes shown as "gift".  Hey you gotta do what you gotta do when times are tough!  But there's a watch from New York which I cannot get here and I want it SO bad - .  I haven't the nerve to ask them to do this on a $200.00 Item - might sail through Customs, but you never know........but I'm tempted - there's only one left - I'm a watch nut.

[pierrelebel]

" Seems to work, I usually get say a $30.00 item shown as $4 to $6 and sometimes shown as "gift"."

You may not be aware of this but asking a seller outside Canada to fill a Customs Declaration with an undervalued value or as "gift" is against Canadian laws.

The limit for tax free imports by mail is Cdn$ 20.00 (some exceptions apply).  It is not that different than the tax-free limits in the United Kingdom and most countries in Europe. (USA and Australia have huge limits)

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/courier/menu-eng.html

[00nevermind00]

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@2011limey1 wrote:

But sometimes I explain my situation and ask, like I do all sellers to put no more than $20.00 on the Customs Declaration and then I try to make them feel sorry for me (bring out the violins) saying it's just awful with the Cdn $ being so low compared to US.  Seems to work

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You should spend some time on the Seller Central board on eBay.com. It shouldn't take you too long to see how poorly sellers think of buyers who do this. Prior to the advent of the GSP, it was probably the most heated topic related to international transactions.

Besides, customs agents are no fools. They know all the tricks in the book, much better than any of us do. If they think that a customs declaration is unlikely to match the package's contents, they will open the package to check. If needed, they will reassess the package and bill the recipient accordingly.

[marnotom!]

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@00nevermind00 wrote:

Besides, customs agents are no fools. They know all the tricks in the book, much better than any of us do. If they think that a customs declaration is unlikely to match the package's contents, they will open the package to check. If needed, they will reassess the package and bill the recipient accordingly.

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They may not even have to go as far as opening the package.

In our early days of eBaying, my wife purchased an item from the United States for me.  Even though the item was declared as "merchandise" and the transaction (sales) value was noted as the item's declared value on the customs form, somebody at CBSA took it upon themselves to assign "market value" as the items declared value and assessed and charged taxes based on that value.

The item was a vintage pocket watch, if I recall correctly.

[reallynicestamps]

All of the above are true.

And, yes, some of them contradict others.

If you bought all your items from the same seller and they are sent together and they total more than $20 CDN (~$15-16 USD) and are bulky, they might be assessed. But probably not.

If you are, most of the import fees will be sales taxes. The carrier (Canada Post) will charge you the appropriate amount , plus a $9.95 service fee, on your doorstep or at the PO counter.

But probably not.

[afantiques]

But sometimes I explain my situation and ask, like I do all sellers to put no more than $20.00 on the Customs Declaration and then I try to make them feel sorry for me

This seems to convince some US sellers that you are a villian of the darkest hue, probably have fried babies for breakfast, and if they do it, black helicopters will descend on them and take them away to some Federal jail forever. THis is usually coupled with a claim that they never, ever, lie about anything, which must make them intolerable to live with. It is truly amazing how virulent some posts can be on this subject.

This has amused me for years.

In my selling days my invariable practice was to 'value' stuff as the equivalent of 'not worth stealing' and to describe it as near as feasible to 'boring rubbish'.

Never a single problem in 40,000+ sales.

[patken123]

The self righteous part of me tells me to condemn what you do to avoid paying custom fees only because it costs me nothing to say that but boy, does it ever sound good,it gives the feeling of instant moral superiority.
But,,, I live in a real world and know better,so I'll give you two thumbs up for your honesty and saying it like it is.

[pierrelebel]

" instant moral superiority."

????

To me it is a question of fairness.  I pay taxes.  Over the years I have paid a lot of taxes and whenever someone avoids paying taxes someone else has to make up for it.

I cannot see myself applauding anyone in any situation where I end up paying taxes for someone else. 

That's me, an old cranky man.

[nojusticenopeace]

I smoke a pipe.  I recently purchased some raw leaf tobacco from the US.  I paid $40 USD for 4 pounds of tobacco, plus $30 USD for shipping.  After UPS had gouged me for $25 in brokerage fees and I paid the $30 in taxes and duty, it cost me less than $150 for 4 pounds of tobacco.  Because of absolutely ridiculous, punitive, and extortionate sin taxes, this same amount of tobacco purchased in tins here in Ontario would have cost me more than $3000.  According to CBSA, the raw leaf tobacco escapes their extortionate taxes because it's an agricultural product until the moment it's cut up for smoking.  At that point, the CBSA agent informed me, I am required by law to contact the CBSA and pay them several thousand dollars in duty and taxes.  When I burst into laughter the agent was highly offended and I realized incredulously that he was serious.

Guess what?  I'm going to cut up my tobacco, stuff it in my pipe, and smoke it without sending off the price of a used car to the government.  Have I picked your pocket?  Have I made you pay higher taxes because I avoided paying $80 for the same tin of tobacco I could get a half-mile away in Detroit for $8?  My feeling is, if the government is trying to screw me in the ear, I have a perfect moral and ethical right to do what I can to protect myself.

[afantiques]

That must be the origin of the old expression, 'You can put that in your pipe and smoke it'.

[sylviebee]

I've made a number of purchases where Americans have inflated the cost of the item.

The only reason I can think of for doing that is for insurance purposes.   Now that's annoying when you end up paying inflated import fees because of it.

2011limey1 :  If you are on record for asking that the value of an item be reduced, and that item is involved in a case of some kind, that could lead to your losing the case.

Be careful what you ask for.  (especially since it probably won't get dinged anyway)

[00nevermind00]

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@sylviebee wrote:

I've made a number of purchases where Americans have inflated the cost of the item.

The only reason I can think of for doing that is for insurance purposes.   Now that's annoying when you end up paying inflated import fees because of it.

 

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I'm both amused and irritated by all the self-righteous posters on the .com boards who are always so quick to jump on any seller who admits to lowering values on customs forms, and any buyer who asks, yet they remain strangely silent when the topic is overvaluing. I guess the goose and the gander no longer have the same needs...

If you get dinged for extra taxes because the value of your purchase was inflated, you can claim the extra amount back from customs. You'll need to prove the price you paid, which can be done easily with a printout of the listing page. I've had to do it only once and it was years ago, but the process was painless and my refund came quickly.

You can also send a nice email to the seller, reminding him/her that the customs form is just that: a customs form. There's a reason why it's not called an insurance form. You can also remind the seller that any claim on the insurance will have to be backed by a document proving the item's selling price, such as the listing page. Which means that overvaluing for insurance purposes, apart from alienating buyers, serves no useful purpose with regards to insurance claims.

[afantiques]

Many things sellers do serve nouseful purpose, but reasoning with them is about as useful as pointing out to a Seventh Day Adventist that it is already about day Million and nothing seems to have happened yet.