I was visiting a girl in B.C. like 20 years ago and I smoked cigarettes back then, i was in White Rock so i got a cab to the border, walked across, but 2 cartons at duty free, walked back across, went into the Canadian side office (i had the cartons literally in the sleeves of my jacket while wearing it) he asked me a couple questions and if i had anything to declare, i said nope and he said have a nice day. Then again 20 yrs ago everything was different.
Canada-USA Customs Question
- Thread starter SpyHill
- Start date
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Eh, sometimes it's best to just openly tell them you've got more than the limit. When I returned from Germany and the officer asked about tobacco and alcohol I said "I happen to have about 50 grams more than the limit and I do have an extra 1 L bottle of liquour": he just waved me through.
About 25 years ago, I made a beer run to Belgium from my then-home in Central New Jersey. I was mostly interested in visiting very small breweries and bringing back bottles to culture. I had about a dozen bottles in my carry-on, all without labels (as is/was common at the time), and marked up with a sharpie. I declared them as yeast samples and the customs guy just gave me weird look and waved me through.
Canadian customs is like Russian roulette. I declare everything - sometimes your way over they waive you through. Sometimes your under and they search you.
You never know which customs agent got in a fight with their spouse before work.
The $40 duties are nothing however in comparison to the penalty. I had a friend “fail to declare” they seized the items and he pretty much gets pulled for search every time he comes back. Not great when catching connections.
Honestly I never buy tobacco when I travel it’s easier just to order it on line.
You never know which customs agent got in a fight with their spouse before work.
The $40 duties are nothing however in comparison to the penalty. I had a friend “fail to declare” they seized the items and he pretty much gets pulled for search every time he comes back. Not great when catching connections.
Honestly I never buy tobacco when I travel it’s easier just to order it on line.
I got dinged $70 for 5 ounces after buying online from SP. Trying to avoid that again, although I know smaller orders have better odds of getting through.
Certain retailers seem to have “better luck” at getting shipments through customs than others. I use SP for pipes. But not for tobacco.
I came back from Cuba with well over the customs limit once and told customs it was all personal consumption when they were making accusations that i was brining them back to sell them, which i wasn’t, so i said “look 6 cigars a day, 7 days a week, this is about 3 months of cigars for me. He started to question that i smoked that much and the other customs guy said he smoked 4 cigars a day, they waved me through.
What do you use for tobacco? I've heard from someone else on the forums that they've had better luck with 4noggins.
If I were you, I would just buy tobacco to smoke when you get to the US. Smoke as much as you like there, and then bring back only the permitted amount to Canada. If you get flagged at the border for bringing in too much, you might get stopped every time.
Travel can be stressful enough without getting perp walked by the customs officers. It takes the glow off the joy of getting away for home for a while. I vote for avoiding hassle.
Regardless of anything else, be honest. It’s still hit and miss, regardless of the laws - it’s all about the person asking you the questions.
I’ve been crossing the border multiple times a week for decades.
My only advice, again, be honest.
I’ve been crossing the border multiple times a week for decades.
My only advice, again, be honest.
Not sure if I mentioned them before, but The Country Squire is equal to 4noggins for getting stuff across duty free
Oh man... well, thanks for letting the C BS A know that. Please, people, we're not the only ones reading these forums.
I am not concerned about this. There have been hundreds of posts asking this same question and receiving similar answers over the past decade across various forums, FB, reddit, etc., and it hasn't amounted to any noticeable crackdown. Any competent or driven agent would be able to use a simple Google search to quickly come up with a list of companies to flag. This has not happened.Oh man... well, thanks for letting the C BS A know that. Please, people, we're not the only ones reading these forums.
If the Gov't really wanted to act, they'd be tagging every SP package that crossed the border. As it is, this doesn't happen. In all my experience, I got tagged half the time (I have terrible luck). My buddy has ordered nearly monthly for a few years from them, and only gets hit about 10% of the time. I mean, SP is very clear what they are sending and it is in the name, yet they aren't persecuted extensively.
I don't seek out any company for this reason. Well, I originally did with 4N a few years ago because my orders from SP were continually hit, but then I came to the realization that even with duties I was no further behind then buying in Canada, and I had a better selection while ordering. Besides, I'm literally hundreds of km's from the nearest brick and mortar store.
Anyways, I've ordered more from SP than either TCS or 4N. I use the two latter companies for their house blends, which are excellent. What they choose to label their contents is their business and responsibility, not mine. As I said, it wouldn't matter what they labelled it, as I can't get those house blends anywhere else.