Canadian Import Advice Help - Tax was 200%!

[sparker69]

Came across an amazing tool from the Ottawa Pipe Club that you all might appreciate (@StPatrickPiper) - an excel sheet that gives you the calculation according to your province. Heads up to @rokerdepipe for allowing me to share it. Good job!
TTAX (Canadian Tobacco Tax Calculator) - https://ottawapipeclub.ca/ttax-canadian-tobacco-tax-calculator/

 

[briarblues]

I have a close friend ( a pipe smoker ) that works for the Canada Border Agency. He sent me the following. Look at it closely! The duty, and Fed tax are the same across Canada. The ONLY difference is the provincial tax.

All info is based on importing 1 x 50g tin of pipe tobacco valued at 10.00 USD.

BC:

Provincial Tobacco Tax: 650$/1 kg
Excise duty: 9.90 $
GST: 1.18 $
Provincial Tobacco Tax: 32.50 $ (1 20th of 650 $)

Total: 43.58

Alberta:
Provincial Tobacco Tax: 0.00 $
Excise duty: 9.90 $
GST: 1.18 $

Total: 11.08 $

For those that do not speak metric ... I kg = 2.2 lbs .... aprox. So the BC provincial TAX is just shy of $300.00 CDN for one pound. 454 grams per lb. Of NOTE ----- the Alberta provincial tobacco tax is ...... nadda .... zero .....

 

[AJL67]

Cognitive Disonance is so entertaining.

God damn it now i have to google things

 

[AroEnglish]

I found this info. I wonder if this applies also to US Citizens. I would not mind bringing a tin along the next time I visit the Maritimes. I will be careful however, as my brother and I spent around 2.5 hours at customs and border patrol driving into NB once after making a joke about having an avocado in the vehicle, which was then set aside and completely unpacked, cleared and searched while we both sat in separate rooms...Nice fellows, but not to be messed with. It seems like staying under 200 grams will go a long way. Do First Nations get any sort of break on traditional use grounds?

Stamped Tobacco Products – Personal exemption amounts​

If you wish to import cigarettes, manufactured tobacco and tobacco sticks duty free as part of your personal exemption, the packages must be stamped "duty paid Canada droit acquitté". You will find tobacco products sold at duty-free stores marked this way.

If you have been away from Canada for 48 hours or more, you may import all of the following amounts of cigars and stamped tobacco into Canada free of duty and taxes.

Product	Amount
Cigarettes	200 cigarettes
Cigars	50 cigars
Tobacco	200 grams (7 ounces) of manufactured tobacco
Tobacco sticks	200 tobacco sticks

Do they limit how big the cigars are or can you bring fifty 8x80 cigars along with your paltry amount of pipe tobacco? And what are Tobacco Sticks that aren't cigarettes or cigars?

 

[BayouGhost]

Do they limit how big the cigars are or can you bring fifty 8x80 cigars along with your paltry amount of pipe tobacco? And what are Tobacco Sticks that aren't cigarettes or cigars?

No clue. I’m sure its in print somewhere.

 

[woodsroad]

Do they limit how big the cigars are or can you bring fifty 8x80 cigars along with your paltry amount of pipe tobacco? And what are Tobacco Sticks that aren't cigarettes or cigars?

A dumb Google search will give you the andwers.

 

[augiebd]

Interesting spreadsheet but I believe the statement that Alberta’s provincial tax on pipe tobacco is zero is incorrect. Easy enough to correct.

 

[sasquatch]

I have a close friend ( a pipe smoker ) that works for the Canada Border Agency. He sent me the following. Look at it closely! The duty, and Fed tax are the same across Canada. The ONLY difference is the provincial tax.

All info is based on importing 1 x 50g tin of pipe tobacco valued at 10.00 USD.

BC:

Provincial Tobacco Tax: 650$/1 kg
Excise duty: 9.90 $
GST: 1.18 $
Provincial Tobacco Tax: 32.50 $ (1 20th of 650 $)

Total: 43.58

Alberta:
Provincial Tobacco Tax: 0.00 $
Excise duty: 9.90 $
GST: 1.18 $

Total: 11.08 $

For those that do not speak metric ... I kg = 2.2 lbs .... aprox. So the BC provincial TAX is just shy of $300.00 CDN for one pound. 454 grams per lb. Of NOTE ----- the Alberta provincial tobacco tax is ...... nadda .... zero .....

Nah, there's prov tax here too:

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/62ddc605-0e0e-41bb-a12d-4284ea906acb/resource/b6d453ed-d6e6-4ef1-8700-1b97c284c013/download/tbf-tobacco-tax-special-notice-vol-3-no-21.pdf

 

[woodsroad]

Is there a difference between Canadian pipe smokers and American pipe smokers?

Some live in Canada, some in the US.
And Canadian pipe smokers are poorer.

 

[rokerdepipe]

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%??

Greetings from Ottawa! Please see the thread link below (in case you missed it) that mentions and points to the Canadian Tobacco Tax Calculator my late pipe smoking mentor and I devised. This spreadsheet helps us to know what we could expect when ordering tobacco.

I would be curious for you to plug in your numbers to see if they match up closely or not.

Post in thread 'Canadian Import Advice Help - Tax was 200%!'
Canadian Import Advice Help - Tax was 200%! :: General Pipe Smoking Discussion - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/canadian-import-advice-help-tax-was-200.104250/post-37017123

Eric

 

[crowbait]

Im in Alberta, and I purchase through 4noggins every now and again. The 48hr limit of tobacco to take across the border per person is 200 grams (7 oz). I keep my purchases to this limit and haven't had an issue. The first time I ordered from the USA is was over that limit and I was hit with duties. I end up paying more in shipping because orders are more frequent but the overall cost is lower than getting dinged at the border. It's anecdotal and I'm no border expert but thats been my experience.

 

[ClassicKehler]

Im in Alberta, and I purchase through 4noggins every now and again. The 48hr limit of tobacco to take across the border per person is 200 grams (7 oz). I keep my purchases to this limit and haven't had an issue. The first time I ordered from the USA is was over that limit and I was hit with duties. I end up paying more in shipping because orders are more frequent but the overall cost is lower than getting dinged at the border. It's anecdotal and I'm no border expert but thats been my experience.

When did you last order from 4 noggin and what was your experience then?

 

[super88piper]

I haven't ordered online for quite awhile but I did use 4 noggins and smokingpipes.com several times in the past. I would usually just order 4 or 6 tins and most of the time they came through no problem but once in awhile they'd get nailed with customs. I put in an order for 6 tins from 4noggins and smokingpipes recently and so far...took 3 weeks to get and $260 in customs charges for 6 tins...from smoking pipes. Still waiting for the 4noggins to come through. That'll be it for me, can't afford that...200% roughly...

 

[ClassicKehler]

It seems to me like customs is always more strict around the holidays. Or maybe I'm missing some info.

 

[elvishrunes]

It seems to me like customs is always more strict around the holidays. Or maybe I'm missing some info.

I’m in Ontario and haven’t had a break with the taxman since late 2022, it has sadly gone from an inexpensive hobby to an expensive one in no time, a real bummer.

But if you google how to get a reassessment with customs, there is a form you fill and return it. I find and from others it comes back at around 30$ Canadian per tin extra, so a tax of 100% double, not 200 or even 300%, which is much better.

But you do wait another month or more for the reassessment, so in other words we pay more money for worse service,, waiting months instead of days, #winning

 

[woodrow]

Hi to a fellow Canuck. We’ve all had these “surprises” Many Canadian pipers order from whole leaf and make their own. You learn to cut, and mix and so forth. Do you have a friend in the states? That helps. Start a network. Sometimes it’s “I know a guy, who knows a guy”

 

[GreatWhiteNorthPiper]

I personally feel that the border customs agents have no idea what they are doing. Sometimes the duty I pay is huge, other times, it's like $25, no matter what I order. There seems to be no logic to the duties that are imposed. And it's a huge pain to question it, which is why feel they simply don't care.

 

[super88piper]

I don't order very much, very often, but for whatever reason, I felt like getting a few new tins after the holidays. I got a package with 4 tins, was charged $24. I got a package with 8 tins, no charges, last package was 6 tins, $260...no logic what sort ever...

 

[Pirate55]

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%??

Hello fellow Canadian
Thought I would try and save a buck and ordered 1tin at a time not to cause any flags wrong!
1st 1.5oz tin 50 $ duty and taxes
2nd 60$
3 order2x2oz bulk 120$
Unfortunately with the strike I didn’t receive them until after the strike was over . I returned them all.So
I buy a little bulk from the local tobacconist ,wife and kids know what I want for birthday and Christmas and friends travelling a good source ,so don’t let the man get in your way of the new hobby
Just my 2 cents worth !
Sean Vancouver BC

 

[RNg.Mulligan]

I’m in Ontario and haven’t had a break with the taxman since late 2022, it has sadly gone from an inexpensive hobby to an expensive one in no time, a real bummer.

But if you google how to get a reassessment with customs, there is a form you fill and return it. I find and from others it comes back at around 30$ Canadian per tin extra, so a tax of 100% double, not 200 or even 300%, which is much better.

But you do wait another month or more for the reassessment, so in other words we pay more money for worse service,, waiting months instead of days, #winning

Do you pay the duties first and then complete the reassessment? Or do you let the package sit at the post office until CBSA responds?