Canadian Import Advice Help - Tax was 200%!

[00fil00]

Hello all,

I haven't ever smoked a pipe before so decided to give the hobby a try by ordering a selection of pipe tobacco from the USA (just the top brands for each type to give them a try - aromatics, English etc.) along with 1 estate pipe. It was roughly $300 CAD for the tobacco and $100 for the pipe.

I have been eagerly awaiting my shipment and thought the duty taxes would be like $50-$100. Oh my God I was wrong. They are trying to charge me $600. In what world is the tax 200% more than the product? The breakdown is:

$188 duties
$30 GST
$385 PST
$9.95 handling

My question is, have any other Canadians experienced this? This is absolutely insane. Is this correct? I live in Alberta where we don't even have PST but the lady on the phone explained it's some other tobacco tax they put in that slot for Alberta anyway.

Now I have to refuse my goods and lose my estate pipe and basically give up the hobby. Just thought I'd ask here as I remember Canadians on here recommending 4Noggins before so clearly some people do import... how?!? why?!? 200%??

 

[kcghost]

You are getting rattled. You need to call the customs office and ask for an explanation these charges. Don't take anything as true until they carefully explain what they did and why. I know import taxes from the U.S. into Canada can be expensive.

 

[AroEnglish]

Welcome from a fellow Canadian.

Maybe @briarblues or @sasquatch can speak to your experience more directly but from what I've read you're at the mercy of the agent who opens your box. And it seems like people can no longer bank on 4noggins writing "hobby supplies" or whatever they wrote in the past. Seems like CBSA or whoever does the checking has figured that trick out.

 

[Hillcrest]

This is absolutely insane

10/20/25; If you know, you know.

 

[warren]

Now I have to refuse my goods and lose my estate pipe and basically give up the hobby. Just thought I'd ask here as I remember Canadians on here recommending 4Noggins before so clearly some people do import... how?!? why?!? 200%??

Perhaps you should have done a bit of due diligence before jumping into pipe smoking. There are all sorts of horror story threads on this site. Some are full of facts. Many are filled with angst. You may think of smoking as a hobby but, governments see it as revenue producing. Society in general frowns on the use of tobacco.

Do a bit of research here and other places on the Web. You might find some solid advice and suggestions amongst all the drivel.

 

[Briarcutter]

We all make mistakes. Being as new as you are in the hobby, how would you know the gooberment would wallup you so hard? Now you know and can search this forum for others in your country and acquire some prudent information. Good luck and never give up!

 

[mortonbriar]

Well the cheapest thing to do would be to quit now before all your money is up in smoke!

1724 was a good year to start smoking a pipe, 1824 was a great year to start smoking a pipe, 1924 was a particularly good time to start smoking a pipe...2024? I am so not convinced.

If you are set on it, I would consider home grown it is really fun.

 

[Haggard]

Ask for a reassessment.

Often, it will come back lower.

Be sure to remind them to weigh just the tobacco, and not the packaging, which sometimes happens.

They're sometimes lazy, jerks, don't care, or don't know. Pick one.

I try to default to 'don't know' and like to think of them as intelligent, kind hearted people who are simply doing their best. Yes, that means YOU. You're good people! Just weigh the tobacco... thanks.

Also... other countries have a policy to destroy or immediately return tobacco without notifying you first and giving the option to pay. So it can get worse.

Despite the encouragement from other forum members that usually chime in about your democratic rights... don't bother voting... there's no vote left for it.

The decision was made long (and many governments) ago. Best you can do is find ways to wiggle around it.

Or quit, if you can't stand to bend a rule in your favour.

Nobody in any current or future position of power is on your side. That's the cold truth of it.

 

[briarblues]

Welcome to the "wonderful" world of CDN Fed duty, Fed Tax, and Provincial tax ........

Sorry, but buying tobacco online and getting it into Canada is costly. Do take note that the PST is the most costly portion. Something you might wish to bring up with your local MLA. Not that they will listen, but voicing your opposition is about all you / we can do.

On the upside .... think of our friends in Australia. They pay 140.00 Aussie $ for a 50 gram tin. Aussie $ and CDN $ are almost at par........

 

[tobakenist]

I hope someone in Canada can help you, good luck.

 

[MattRVA]

Sorry for your troubles. If I were you I would look into whole leaf tobacco or never start. I could never afford what some countries charge and you all have my sympathy. Tobacco isn’t healthy but it’s wonderful for lifting the spirits. I wish you all the luck in the world.

 

[geoffs]

The good news is if you refuse the package, depending on where you ordered from, you should get your money back, less a "restocking fee".
I've seen customs assessments successfully challenged. I've never done it. It's a lottery and they don't seem to follow the rules consistently.
Get to know Cigar Chief and Dip Kings.

 

[00fil00]

Perhaps you should have done a bit of due diligence before jumping into pipe smoking. There are all sorts of horror story threads on this site. Some are full of facts. Many are filled with angst. You may think of smoking as a hobby but, governments see it as revenue producing. Society in general frowns on the use of tobacco.

Do a bit of research here and other places on the Web. You might find some solid advice and suggestions amongst all the drivel.

Completely fair, it's just not something that I thought required lots of research - you're buying simple leaves that are as old as the human race. No moving parts, no mixing, no instructions.

Sure I was willing to pay a bit of duty and tax, just like I do when ordering other things from the states, but you have to admit this is outside the realms of reality. How can the tax be MORE than the product? That's like you working a job making $60k a year but the tax on your payslip is $120k. It doesn't add up. A tax is meant to be a percentage of the product's value.

 

[00fil00]

The good news is if you refuse the package, depending on where you ordered from, you should get your money back, less a "restocking fee".
I've seen customs assessments successfully challenged. I've never done it. It's a lottery and they don't seem to follow the rules consistently.
Get to know Cigar Chief and Dip Kings.

Thank you - this gives me hope. What worries me is the site's policy, specifically the first line:

"International Returns Marked "Refused" or "Unclaimed": If you refuse to pay your local duty or tax, and the carrier bills Smokingpipes.com for the unpaid charges, we will subtract this amount and any return shipping fee from your return credit once the order is back. No refunds will be given for items that are seized at your local customs office or abandoned. There will likewise be no refund for damaged products on return orders that are marked "Refused" or "Unclaimed." We reserve the right to charge a 10% restocking fee for any international order that is returned to us because it was refused or unclaimed. The original shipping fee is non-refundable."

 

[00fil00]

Welcome to the "wonderful" world of CDN Fed duty, Fed Tax, and Provincial tax ........

Sorry, but buying tobacco online and getting it into Canada is costly. Do take note that the PST is the most costly portion. Something you might wish to bring up with your local MLA. Not that they will listen, but voicing your opposition is about all you / we can do.

On the upside .... think of our friends in Australia. They pay 140.00 Aussie $ for a 50 gram tin. Aussie $ and CDN $ are almost at par........

Thanks for the inspiration. Alberta doesn't pay PST so that's why I'm upset at this shock.

 

[00fil00]

We all make mistakes. Being as new as you are in the hobby, how would you know the gooberment would wallup you so hard? Now you know and can search this forum for others in your country and acquire some prudent information. Good luck and never give up!

Hey thank you, I like your comment. I appreciate you.

 

[00fil00]

Thanks for the welcome guys - bad note to meet on but I enjoyed reading your variety of comments.

 

[fireground_piper]

Completely fair, it's just not something that I thought required lots of research - you're buying simple leaves that are as old as the human race. No moving parts, no mixing, no instructions.

Welcome to the world of tobacco.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Ask for a reassessment.

Often, it will come back lower.

Be sure to remind them to weigh just the tobacco, and not the packaging, which sometimes happens.

They're sometimes lazy, jerks, don't care, or don't know. Pick one.

I try to default to 'don't know' and like to think of them as intelligent, kind hearted people who are simply doing their best. Yes, that means YOU. You're good people! Just weigh the tobacco... thanks.

Also... other countries have a policy to destroy or immediately return tobacco without notifying you first and giving the option to pay. So it can get worse.

Despite the encouragement from other forum members that usually chime in about your democratic rights... don't bother voting... there's no vote left for it.

The decision was made long (and many governments) ago. Best you can do is find ways to wiggle around it.

Or quit, if you can't stand to bend a rule in your favour.

Nobody in any current or future position of power is on your side. That's the cold truth of it.

And this is what would happen in Finland,where they (Customs officials)will just dump and burn Your tobacco if they find out it is commercial or merchandise sent by licensed tobacconist from overseas,even within EU countries !, though, gifts and personal parcels are exclusion to this very ruling,but somehow I would think later they(Customs)shall give back our legal right to pay import fees once again which ,per se are no less than those applyed by Canadian Customs officials

 

[Sigmund]

Id call because there are also mistakes made. My local business license this year was assessed at ten times its normal rate. We called and it was indeed an accounting error. Im glad I didnt pay it.