Canadian Duty Taxes of Mail Orders

[bigjoe]

I just recently decided to try out pipes. To try out a variety of tobaccos without spending a small fortune at the local B&M I mail ordered to Canada. No extra charges on 3-4 clearly labeled tins, either way it would have been no worse than the local shop.

 

[dochudson]

or all the smokers willing to take the chance of breaking the law and not getting caught?

You aren't breaking any law by ordering tobacco online. I agree though, if you get assessed for duty you should pay the bill.

no one said it was illegal to order online.. the comment that the reason your B&Ms would close was because of the taxes. but, in ordering online you are taking business from your locals since a high percentage of tobacco makes it though customs without a problem.

 

[andrew]

Most of the video rental stores in my city closed too, it's because I download movies and see them faster then when they're released officially on DVD. I can download a movie quicker than it would take me to walk to a video store. There's only 2 real B&M's in my city that I know of with over 800,000 people, the thing that keeps them going is cigars. I also haven't bought a cd in over 8 years.

 

[andrew]

Also companies will still ship to Canada, the worst that will happen is they'll require you to pay the duty and taxes up front and then email them a copy of the form that declares you've paid duty, alot of cigar websites are doing this now that ship to Canada.

 

[kanada]

I did go and pay for the packagem, since it worked out no more than what I would pay here. I'm trying different retailers to see what does or doesn't work in terms of duty. I order with expectation of having to pay the duty, and if I don't then it's a bonus.

 

[marpipe]

What province Kanada? Here in BC the duty jacks up the price of 8oz to $140, $40 MORE than what it costs locally.
If you refuse to pay duty on the package, I believe it just gets destroyed, not returned to the sender.

 

[northernneil]

If you refuse to pay duty on the package, I believe it just gets destroyed, not returned to the sender.

It does get returned to the sender, not destroyed. And because of people returning packages companies like Pipes&Cigars will no longer ship to Canada.

Do not order tobacco from the States unless you are willing to pay duty. It is that easy.

 

[pruss]

+1 Neil
-- Pat

 

[jdto]

And because of people returning packages companies like Pipes&Cigars will no longer ship to Canada.

P&C was bought by Cigars International, who only ship in the US (despite having "international" in their name). P&C's shipping policies thus became those of their owners. I doubt they'd stop shipping to Canada over an occasional refused package.

 

[pruss]

@jdto I'll look for the reference later, but if I'm remembering correctly, the halt of sales to Canada by P&C post the CI purchase has been explicitly explained by P&C staff as a result of defaults on purchases by Canadians refusing packages resulting in excess company costs.

 

[jdto]

Oh wow, that's crazy--I stand corrected. Thanks for that, Pat. Will we see you on the 6th?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Umm, I know first hand that the sender has to pay to get the package returned, at least with UPS and FedEx. They called me and wanted more than the initial cost to send the package to get the couple of flakes (mentioned above) returned to me.

 

[pruss]

Oh wow, that's crazy--I stand corrected. Thanks for that, Pat. Will we see you on the 6th?

This totally depends on when our baby arrives.
-- Pat

 

[purplemotoman]

Well you just tell that baby to hang on until after the 6th.

 

[jdto]

This totally depends on when our baby arrives.

I guess that's understandable
I'm looking forward to the event. It should be a good time.

 

[4noggins]

cosmicfolklore, that must be only UPS and/or FedEx. With USPS packages there is no charge to either the sender or receiver. All one needs to do is ask to have the parcel returned to sender.
Also, P&C stopped shipping Internationally just after the buy out. It was the new owners policy that was adopted.
Rich

4noggins.com

 

[kanada]

I had emailed P&C a couple months ago and got the answer that because they are a distributor for many companies they will not ship to Canada
Marpipe-I am in Alberta, the provincial tax for the tobacco was $18/tin which all in worked out to about $45/tin

 

[dnsquare06]

Hello all Canadian pipers,

a question about bulk vs tin tobacco: does ordering bulk tobacco make the package more susceptible to be opened and taxed than ordering tin tobacco? or there's no difference?

Thanks.

 

[jkrug]

I've browsed around on the CBSA website and as far as I can tell neither is subject to more scrutiny than the other. The only reference I can see is weight in grams. No particular packaging is referred to. Not much but I hope that helps?

 

[dnsquare06]

Thanks jkrug,

my first time ordering from the States (200 grams bulk) and CBSA has my package for 4 days now. Of course I am willing to pay all duties and taxes but just getting a bit anxious, on my last pack of cigarettes.