Confused - what can i bring into Canada

machuroberts · Jul 29, 2015

Hey Guys,
I know this topic has been talked about...but i cannot find anything concrete.
I travel to the US for business often, and was hoping to grab some tin tobacco to bring back...under 200g at a time..so a few tins.
the rules seem to be that this will be within my personal allowance, BUT that a special duty will be applied on top of that if the tobacco doesn't have the "duty paid in Canada" sticker.
Anyone have the experience where they say "yes, i have tobacco" and they pull you aside coming into Canada...or its "yes, i have less than 200g" and you walk through...
Experiences welcome!

ben88 · Jul 29, 2015

Yes, I have 200g.

repoman · Jul 29, 2015

From experience 200 grams is what you can bring back, tobacco in the usa won't have the duty paid in Canada sticker.

zitotczito · Jul 29, 2015

Hope this helps:
http://travel.gc.ca/returning/customs/what-you-can-bring-home-to-canada#tobacco

drezz01 · Jul 29, 2015

It helps to have it readily available as well. Anytime I have come across the border with 200g I have just shown them the 4 tins - they barely glance at them - then I head on my way.

jkrug · Jul 29, 2015

Up to 200 grams after 48 hours away...claim it, have the tobacco and the receipt available to show the nice officer. Go on your merry way. : puffy

:

davet · Jul 29, 2015

I thought it was four ounces after forty eight hours? I'll have a look and try and find it.

davet · Jul 29, 2015

<br />

frozenchurchwarden · Jul 29, 2015

I know it's a little off topic, but has anyone tried bringing 50 Churchill Cigars across?
That's at least twice as much by volume, I don't think Cigars were quite the same when the laws were written.

davet · Jul 29, 2015

My Mail Lady told me of someone ordering $700 worth of cigars and were hit with $2000 in taxes and duty. Might have been a good idea to do some homework first, lol

frozenchurchwarden · Jul 29, 2015

Even more tantilizing:

you are allowed to bring in all of the following amounts of tobacco

It sounds to me like you can bring in both the Cigars and Pipe Tobacco at the same time, and other stuff if one so desired, but the critical thing is it may be possible to bring somewhere in the neighbourhood of 1Kg across duty free in one trip.

Combine that with a non-smoking friend and at the pace I go it would only take a trip every other year to keep stocked up.
I wish G.L. Pease would start making Cigars loaded with Westminster and Quiet Nights.

kanada · Jul 30, 2015

Yes, you can bring 200 cigs, 50 cigars and 200g of tobacco back all at once. I am going to Georgia next week and will combine with my girlfriend's limits to bring back 400g of pipe tobacco and roughly 60 cigars

drezz01 · Jul 30, 2015

and will combine with my girlfriend's limits to bring back 400g of pipe tobacco and roughly 60 cigars

Girlfriends' are great aren't they? Besides the obvious reasons that is, mine goes to school in Montana and somehow I convince her to bring me back 200g of tobacco every time she journeys home. I'd like to try to push my luck with a bottle of scotch but unfortunately her father has dibs on her alcohol allowance...

He uses it for cheap rum... such a shame.
Have a great trip to Georgia!

northernneil · Jul 30, 2015

Yes, you can bring 200 cigs, 50 cigars and 200g of tobacco back all at once.

You can bring 200 cigs OR 50 cigars OR 200g of loose tobacco per person. You cannot bring all of them across together duty free. Also, you need to be out of the country for over 48 hours to claim duty free tobacco and alcohol.

drezz01 · Jul 30, 2015

You can bring 200 cigs OR 50 cigars OR 200g of loose tobacco per person

So the CBSA isn't known for their consistancy, but from their website:

fmgee · Jul 30, 2015

Anyone know what special duty actually means? The way I read it is at worst you have to pay federal duty on that 200 grams per adult? $6.50ish a tin? Or is special duty provincial... or both?

northernneil · Jul 30, 2015

So the CBSA isn't known for their consistancy, but from their website

I agree it is very confusing. To my knowledge, the only was to "legally" bring more than the listed limits, individually and not combined, is to look into whole leaf tobacco and process it yourself. The governments whole leaf tobacco tax is much more reasonable than the processed tobacco tax.

drezz01 · Jul 30, 2015

Anyone know what special duty actually means?

Later on that same form the CBSA states under the heading of Special Duty:

After each trip outside Canada of 48 hours or longer, you are entitled to a special duty rate of 7% ... The rate does not apply to tobacco products or alcoholic beverages.

It's almost like they are being intentionally oblique when they are writing these things. I had a package of 200g of tobacco which was hit up for $374 of duty and taxes, after I navigated their draconian re-evaluation system and their methodology for applying duties and taxes I had assumed it would come back with ~$80 owing; it came back with ~$35 owing. I swear they just picked a number out of their :laughat: :worship:

ben88 · Jul 30, 2015

Was it mail order? I got hit on 2 50g tons for $5 in taxes and $10 in some other fee

wolfe64 · Jul 30, 2015

That some other fee must have been our government's FU2 tax.
Just curious, were those two tins over $20 in total before shipping ?
Mark

Confused - what can i bring into Canada

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Lurker

Lifer

Lurker

Lifer

Can't Leave

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Can't Leave

Lifer

Can't Leave

Part of the Furniture Now

Lifer

Can't Leave

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed