Change in Import Duties from Europe this month (July)?

[fergua3]

a friend of mine ordered a couple of items from Europe (Belgium).    Value including shipping of the package was $385 CAD.   She was expecting to pay around $70-$80 in Customs duties and fees.  Instead she was charged.....zero.  Nothing.

Has there been some change in the threshhold that duties are charged at?.....perhaps a new free trade clause kicked in this month?  Or did she just get lucky?

Anyone know?

[brettjet38]

...just a roll of the dice as to if you will or will not get charged...

...then again the bill could arrive later in a billing.

[fh991586]

We don't know what was the declared value, the content nor the shipping company it went by, so it's pretty difficult for us to say anything relevant to this shipment.

Also could be a lie, simply for bragging fun.

I once had a $400 USD declared musical instrument pass without any taxes due because the declaration was hand written and it looked like 4.00, so luck can definitely happen!

[fergua3]

i 100% belive my friend.  She showed me the tracking.  Package came from Belgium via DHL and was delivered by Canada Post.  Normally when there is a customs charge, the charge appears on CP's site and is payable before they release your package to you.  In this case, there was nothing showing on the website, nothing was owed at the door.  Not a penny.  The package spent less than an hour in Canada Customs.  There wasn't even a Customs evaluation form on it.

I think it may have something to do with CETA.  I have poked around a bit on line and keep seeing this sentence "It removes about 98% of all import duties on goods of EU or Canadian origin— making it easier and cheaper to import and export."  I think this applies to businesses but it may have been expanded to individuals this month?

Anyway, we'll know soon.  My friend said she has another package arriving shortly.  From Germany, shipped DHL being delivered by Canada Post.  It landed today.  We'll see if and how much Customs is charged.  She's expecting around $70 on items totalling about $325.

If this is true, why is ebay still charging taxes on sales to the EU?

[fh991586]

I have never heard before of charges appearing on CP's website! Where did that come from, and has any other buyer here even witnessed that? You know you have something to pay only when the postal worker rings your place, or leave a card to come pick it up at the counter and pay the amount due.

[fergua3]

i don't know when exactly that began but i've seen it myself on a purchase i made a few months ago.  I owed $40 odd in customs fees and it showed on CP's site, when i looked up the tracking number, that it was payable before i could receive the package.  I even had the option of paying online beforehand.

I'm also getting pictures of packages delivered to my door step, by CP, like many courier companies do now.  That is something new to me that started a few months ago as well, so perhaps i'm in a beta test group of new services that are going to be offered by CP.