Canadian Duty Taxes of Mail Orders
- Thread starter andrew
- Start date
- Status
Never use UPS, I've seen them try to charge $60 agency fee for $12 worth of light bulbs to cross the border, I really don't trust any of the couriers when USPS and Canada Post do just as good a job for a fraction of the price.
B&M prices here are around $40-45 for a 50g tin which is about the same as it is shipped with duty/taxes, except I've been lucky and never been charged duty...
@dnsquare06... I've had orders listed in customs while they were already sitting in my mail box!
B&M prices here are around $40-45 for a 50g tin which is about the same as it is shipped with duty/taxes, except I've been lucky and never been charged duty...
@dnsquare06... I've had orders listed in customs while they were already sitting in my mail box!
I just got dinged at customs... sigh. I ordered 200 grams a few months ago no problem. This last order got hit. I bough 200 grams for about 35 bucks, (you yanks have nothing to complain about lol), locally would be about $120 here in socialist communist Canada. Customs hit me with $44 in taxes. so lets do the math... math is hard.
35 bucks for the baccy, (unbelievable!)
16 shipping
44 towards Harper's solid gold hammer and sickle
So 95$ I think? So I still saved 20-25 bucks. Still cheaper even with the shipping. I guess in my province it is an extra 11 bucks/50g. I think even if it was gifted I still pay 11$/50g. I am going to call customs tomorrow and ask them how it works. If that's the case I might start buying larger orders to cover the cost of shipping.
...and for the record, ALWAYS USE POST!!! Never use a courier for any type of purchase cross boarder. Talking from experience.
35 bucks for the baccy, (unbelievable!)
16 shipping
44 towards Harper's solid gold hammer and sickle
So 95$ I think? So I still saved 20-25 bucks. Still cheaper even with the shipping. I guess in my province it is an extra 11 bucks/50g. I think even if it was gifted I still pay 11$/50g. I am going to call customs tomorrow and ask them how it works. If that's the case I might start buying larger orders to cover the cost of shipping.
...and for the record, ALWAYS USE POST!!! Never use a courier for any type of purchase cross boarder. Talking from experience.
If I were you I would stick with 200g. Some will get dinged, but in my experience most will not. If you go larger, it is far more likely you will get hit with duty.
I have called customs a couple of times and try and figure it out. Every time I get a very different answer. It depends on all sorts of things like what province it crosses the border, where the tobacco was made, etc. I give them the same information and they give me very different ideas of what customs would be.
All I can say is that $44 extra for 200g is way lower than every quote I have gotten on the phone.
All I can say is that $44 extra for 200g is way lower than every quote I have gotten on the phone.
Good point. I was thinking the same thing.
...that's because it's gouging. There is no concrete system. I had similar experiences importing into Canada. Music gear, electronics, electronic components. Try importing clothes into Canada! Good times there! The declaration form is an absolute mess. I ordered 2x50g tins and a 100g tin. They only hit me on 2 tins. :roll:
Even if I get hit on every order, It's still cheaper.
Holy smokes! I thought tobacco in the States was expensive. I'm sure we're going to get there though, with all the "free" healthcare we're giving everyone now.
Cheaper and a much better selection (for most of us I would think). My local B&M only carries the peterson tobacco line and maybe a handful of others. I just had to go out and buy more mason jars because I have a quaint collection of over two dozen different blends now. I would love nothing more than to have an excellent B&M to support - even if I had to pay more for it (though I realize this is sort of a chicken-and-egg dilemma).
I can't really remember who was the first to say it on these forums, but the best strategy is to expect to pay customs every time. Budget for it and then it is a thrilling -I just got away with a bank robbery type- surprise when you don't get dinged.
All-in-all, besides the weather, we should be happy we aren't in Australia. A reddit user (I tried a reverse image search to give him proper credit but unfortunately couldn't find from whom I stole the image) was hit for $133.68 on a 200g order -- apparently this was his second time in two orders.
I can't really remember who was the first to say it on these forums, but the best strategy is to expect to pay customs every time. Budget for it and then it is a thrilling -I just got away with a bank robbery type- surprise when you don't get dinged.
All-in-all, besides the weather, we should be happy we aren't in Australia. A reddit user (I tried a reverse image search to give him proper credit but unfortunately couldn't find from whom I stole the image) was hit for $133.68 on a 200g order -- apparently this was his second time in two orders.
Keep in mind that as the importer / buyer, the responsibility is yours to pay any duty / customs charges that have been missed. So, if you receive a package of tobacco, and customs did not charge the required import fees, you are supposed to contact them and arrange for payment after the fact.
:
drezz01
I've made several orders from american-based companies in the past and the rare time that I was hit with additional duty/taxes I took it as a fair tax against to savings that ordering online can offer.
I ordered from my favourite vendor (who shall not be named as I don't believe it is their fault -- though I've yet to check the parcel description, typically they have been fair and honest with their labeling, i've kept my orders to 200g and they have arrived with no issue) a 50g tin of Solani Aged Burley Flake, a 50g tin of Dunhill Flake and, the component I was most looking forward to, 2 - 50g tins of Wessex Campaign Dark Flake; a 200g order like all the rest. The Wessex was priced well so the whole order cost $55 USD or ~$70 CAD. A steal for what would usually cost ~$110-120 CAD IF EVEN i had access to such blends here in Saskatchewan.
Well, unfortunately I'll have to mark this parcel Return To Sender and take the $70 on the chin: an idiot tax if you will. It's painful, I was waiting for this order with bated breath -- and it's sooooo close to being in my possession. Why am I sending it back then? See the duties owing (on $70CAD worth of 200g of tobacco) below.
:crying:
Well... I should have taken my own advice, but frankly, I couldn't have imagined this....
I've made several orders from american-based companies in the past and the rare time that I was hit with additional duty/taxes I took it as a fair tax against to savings that ordering online can offer.
I ordered from my favourite vendor (who shall not be named as I don't believe it is their fault -- though I've yet to check the parcel description, typically they have been fair and honest with their labeling, i've kept my orders to 200g and they have arrived with no issue) a 50g tin of Solani Aged Burley Flake, a 50g tin of Dunhill Flake and, the component I was most looking forward to, 2 - 50g tins of Wessex Campaign Dark Flake; a 200g order like all the rest. The Wessex was priced well so the whole order cost $55 USD or ~$70 CAD. A steal for what would usually cost ~$110-120 CAD IF EVEN i had access to such blends here in Saskatchewan.
Well, unfortunately I'll have to mark this parcel Return To Sender and take the $70 on the chin: an idiot tax if you will. It's painful, I was waiting for this order with bated breath -- and it's sooooo close to being in my possession. Why am I sending it back then? See the duties owing (on $70CAD worth of 200g of tobacco) below.
:crying:
That's got to be a mistake, duties and taxes can't be that high. I got hit with one for $82.00, that's inline with what it would cost in the store. At the border I declared two tins and was charged $25.00. Border Guards/tax collectors said there are so many different rates most don't know what to charge. They agreed that the charges can't be more than you would pay at a store.
Send it back to get reassessed. They made a mistake when calculating you duty. Davet's price above is more in line with what you should be paying.
It's based on declared value, duty 6.57 percent, GST/PST & provincial tobacco tax. Neil's right, just get it reassessed.
Drezz that's a shock. In Alberta the combined (provinvial and federal) taxes are approx a little less than $25 a tin. I googled "alberta tobacco tax" a while back and was able to find the applicable provincial taxes for all types of tobacco. You could try that for Sask to get an idea what the tax on your order should be.
- Status