Canadian Import Advice Help - Tax was 200%!

[stanwellman]

They're sometimes lazy, jerks, don't care, or don't know. Pick one.
Hmmm, that would apply to just about any employee in any occupation…. What makes a government worker’s position worse are the constant policy changes at a level beyond the employee’s control….l just my 2 cents of an opinion.

 

[sparker69]

There are plenty of us Canadians around who either willing to gamble on online orders or trade between ourselves. The forum is full of us!

It’s also still way cheaper than cigars!

So true - still smoke cigars and I have a decent selection of Cubans that I can no longer afford, so for sure pipe tobacco prices are nothing compared. I could drop $35 here for just one cigar!

 

[elvishrunes]

They're sometimes lazy, jerks, don't care, or don't know. Pick one.
Hmmm, that would apply to just about any employee in any occupation…. What makes a government worker’s position worse are the constant policy changes at a level beyond the employee’s control….l just my 2 cents of an opinion.

Yup! Although by the book there’s a set amount they can charge, there are so many different categories; duty, different tax, handling fee, opening fee, hmm, I thought opening was handling?, that’s always different.

i truly believe they don’t know the full regs sometimes either or are just in a bad mood. The guy at the post looked at my package once and said I haven’t seen that charge before, lol

 

[shikano53]

Hi there, I live in Red Deer, Alberta and I’ve been Experiencing the Canadian import tax dilemma for a number of years now. I have kept all my import paper work from over the years.
the largest hit I took on 24oz coming in was $654.00. I sent it back. Here’s a few comments from my perspective over the last ten or so years.
lots of Canadian government clout from people who hate any form of tobacco.
import taxation percentages that seem to be totally random.
Canadian customs employees who also hate tobacco in any form.
The mindset that anyone who uses tobacco will be put into a sled that goes straight to hell no passing go, no redemption.
i started consistently ordering 24oz each time I placed an order to record the import duties and the the tax was never consistent. It always varied.
my personal feeling as to the reason is that it all depends on the actual official who processed the tobacco.
I genuinely believe that certain Canadian officials, use their position to be vindictive and malicious, charging whatever they want. If they didn’t get laid the night before and they are in a grumpy mood; some poor sods incoming tobacco purchase is a perfect target to focus their angst on.
next point. There is not an honest person in the entire Canadian customs system.
They are vengeful . AKA: diaper wearing crybabies who hide behind the anonymity of their keyboards. Again, cowards.
I have found that, as a Canadian pipe smoker, that the only place to purchase the variety of tobacco’s on the market today are in the USA.
Tobacco availability in Canada is appallingly limited to just a few brands.
&60.00 or seventy dollars per 50 gram tin.
Solution(s) quit smoking which is what the governments end game is.
Find a kind hearted American pipe smoker who will mail you art supplies.
last, bite the bullet and pay the pogey bait tax.
You might be surprised to realize that paying the tax is still cheaper than buying it in Canada.
My two cents worth.
Chris in Red Deer, AB

 

[sparker69]

My question is a couple declared tins crossing the border, declared: are they going to go through the hassle of bringing you in to pay the duty or is it such a small amount that they'll just let it through?

 

[GreatWhiteNorthPiper]

Hi there, I live in Red Deer, Alberta and I’ve been Experiencing the Canadian import tax dilemma for a number of years now. I have kept all my import paper work from over the years.
the largest hit I took on 24oz coming in was $654.00. I sent it back. Here’s a few comments from my perspective over the last ten or so years.
lots of Canadian government clout from people who hate any form of tobacco.
import taxation percentages that seem to be totally random.
Canadian customs employees who also hate tobacco in any form.
The mindset that anyone who uses tobacco will be put into a sled that goes straight to hell no passing go, no redemption.
i started consistently ordering 24oz each time I placed an order to record the import duties and the the tax was never consistent. It always varied.
my personal feeling as to the reason is that it all depends on the actual official who processed the tobacco.
I genuinely believe that certain Canadian officials, use their position to be vindictive and malicious, charging whatever they want. If they didn’t get laid the night before and they are in a grumpy mood; some poor sods incoming tobacco purchase is a perfect target to focus their angst on.
next point. There is not an honest person in the entire Canadian customs system.
They are vengeful . AKA: diaper wearing crybabies who hide behind the anonymity of their keyboards. Again, cowards.
I have found that, as a Canadian pipe smoker, that the only place to purchase the variety of tobacco’s on the market today are in the USA.
Tobacco availability in Canada is appallingly limited to just a few brands.
&60.00 or seventy dollars per 50 gram tin.
Solution(s) quit smoking which is what the governments end game is.
Find a kind hearted American pipe smoker who will mail you art supplies.
last, bite the bullet and pay the pogey bait tax.
You might be surprised to realize that paying the tax is still cheaper than buying it in Canada.
My two cents worth.
Chris in Red Deer, AB

100% agree with this. They have way too much power to do as they please and there literally is no rhyme or reason for how they apply duty. It seems totally unregulated, which is the ultimate irony, since they are supposed to be regulating tobacco products and enforcing the law as written. This kind of thing is what makes the general public lose faith in their governments and start to become cynical. I know I have.

 

[geoffs]

My question is a couple declared tins crossing the border, declared: are they going to go through the hassle of bringing you in to pay the duty or is it such a small amount that they'll just let it through?

My father always used to stock up on cigarettes and booze when he traveled. Consistently exceed the maximums. Told me that he was always totally honest with the customs agent, and they always waved him through, never charging him.
First time I tried it, they pulled me aside and charged me the extra duty. I guess he was far more charming than me.

 

[Duane Cartmill]

Hi there, I live in Red Deer, Alberta and I’ve been Experiencing the Canadian import tax dilemma for a number of years now. I have kept all my import paper work from over the years.
the largest hit I took on 24oz coming in was $654.00. I sent it back. Here’s a few comments from my perspective over the last ten or so years.
lots of Canadian government clout from people who hate any form of tobacco.
import taxation percentages that seem to be totally random.
Canadian customs employees who also hate tobacco in any form.
The mindset that anyone who uses tobacco will be put into a sled that goes straight to hell no passing go, no redemption.
i started consistently ordering 24oz each time I placed an order to record the import duties and the the tax was never consistent. It always varied.
my personal feeling as to the reason is that it all depends on the actual official who processed the tobacco.
I genuinely believe that certain Canadian officials, use their position to be vindictive and malicious, charging whatever they want. If they didn’t get laid the night before and they are in a grumpy mood; some poor sods incoming tobacco purchase is a perfect target to focus their angst on.
next point. There is not an honest person in the entire Canadian customs system.
They are vengeful . AKA: diaper wearing crybabies who hide behind the anonymity of their keyboards. Again, cowards.
I have found that, as a Canadian pipe smoker, that the only place to purchase the variety of tobacco’s on the market today are in the USA.
Tobacco availability in Canada is appallingly limited to just a few brands.
&60.00 or seventy dollars per 50 gram tin.
Solution(s) quit smoking which is what the governments end game is.
Find a kind hearted American pipe smoker who will mail you art supplies.
last, bite the bullet and pay the pogey bait tax.
You might be surprised to realize that paying the tax is still cheaper than buying it in Canada.
My two cents worth.
Chris in Red Deer, AB

Ive had a lb get dinged for $59.00ca. And 50g dinged for $357.00ca. There is no rhyme, there is no reason. Just had two orders this week get assessed: shipment a) was 14oz, duty was $11.00ca, taxes were$54.00ca, even, plus the $9.95 handling fee = $79.95. Shipment b) was 14oz, duty $113.47, taxes $126.78,handling f$*#ing fee = $250.20. I find if it goes through cbsa in Montreal, the outcome is usually lower/more fair, Mississauga is a crap-shoot. AND, everything is getting hit, long lost are the days of Rich Gottlieb's 4noggins and orders slipping past. Talking to Canada Post delivery men and women, it's not just tobacco, pretty much everything is getting hit. People ordering $5-20 products, it can be any product, getting smoked with bizarre tax rates, plus the beloved handling fee, people are sending stuff back left and right because they're paying more in duties and handling fees than they are for the products and shipping. Even christmas gifts were ravaged by cbsa, apparently. Plus, their "piece of paper glue-sticked to the parcel" results in most claim forms being lost in transit, how convenient. I don't know how it works, but your assertion, from my experience, sounds pretty damn likely.

 

[gord]

This is an old thread and you may or may not know all of this now, but I'm afraid you're hooped, screwed, blued and tattooed. You are now on the Canada Customs Data Base. Anytime you order from the US or Europe, your package will be scanned and you'll be nailed with our insane duties if the package is from ANY tobacco retail source anywhere. Only Australia is worse. I've brought this subject up many many times on the forum to the point where guys are sick of hearing about it. Or don't believe it. Well, believe it because I'm loathe to repeat it ever again,

I was in 7th heaven at the start because I was dealing with a firm who shipped the products out as fishing tackle. Foolishly I tried another source because they had a sale on, and I was charged tobacco duty not on just the tobacco, but on a $250 pipe calculated on the weight of $250 worth of tobacco. I'm still fighting this with Revenue Canada and customs. I'm on a fixed pension so I now have to go a different route.

Hate to tell you this but most of the respondents do not know the situation and you are now on radar. PERIOD.

You have to take the route that I've gone.

1. Buy only a few tins of tobacco from the US at a time, and keep this to your coveted few blends, suck up the duty and pay $85 a tin. I have three blends that I do this with.

2. Shop locally for a few packets a month, pay the $59 to $75 a pack or tin to keep these poor souls in business.

3. Buy from native sources, the best one being CigarChief.com in Ontario. ONLY NATIVE SOURCES ARE ALLOWED INTER-PROVINCIAL SHIPPING so don't bother to order from other Canuck sources because they can't ship. CigarChiefs sells Smokers' Pride 12oz packets for $70 Can plus shipping, God Bless 'em, but they're out of stock most of the time (go figure lol!) so you have to access their website regularly and grab as you can. And packaged tobacco is cheaper, but ranges for $25 - $60 bucks depending on their access to the product.

Oh yeah, BC is the worst of all . . . Alberta the most reasonable. But theyr'e still way more expensive than Native sources.

Good luck and hope you're still with us.

 

[OzPiper]

So true - still smoke cigars and I have a decent selection of Cubans that I can no longer afford, so for sure pipe tobacco prices are nothing compared. I could drop $35 here for just one cigar!

Sorry to read of your pain In Canada.

A stick of Partagas D4 (using this as a yardstick as this is one of the more popular Habanos) costs AUD$120 in Sydney, Oz
The tobacco excise tax in Oz increases by 5% annually from Sept 2023 (down from the previous 12.5%)

 

[elvishrunes]

Sorry to read of your pain In Canada.

A stick of Partagas D4 (using this as a yardstick as this is one of the more popular Habanos) costs AUD$120 in Sydney, Oz
The tobacco excise tax in Oz increases by 5% annually from Sept 2023 (down from the previous 12.5%)

That‘s like the price in prison, yes there’s a reference to Australian history there

 

[Dr.Jimmy]

So true - still smoke cigars and I have a decent selection of Cubans that I can no longer afford, so for sure pipe tobacco prices are nothing compared. I could drop $35 here for just one cigar!

If you didn't like the price of Cubans before, your really going to hate them starting Feb3rd. All Cubans are going up 4-10% in Canada. Coronas running about $22-$30....Robustos $35-$50.....Churchills $75+.

 

[shikano53]

I was ordering some cigars from the US a few years back and the online retailer sent me a breakdown of the provincial duty taxes. Alberta is highest, BC is next while Ontario and Quebec are quite a bit lower. So you get *ucked up the ass over the hood of your truck worse at the provincial level than the federal level.
And yes, this thread is decades old. New Canadian pipe smoker joins the forum and asks the same question. And the wheels on the bus go round and round.

 

[shikano53]

I don’t smoke Cuban cigars. They are wayyyyy over rated.

 

[woodsroad]

In the late 70’s to early 2000’s, visited Canada fairly frequently. First because I had a GF in T.O., then later on for canoe tripping and hiking. Only once was I stopped by the border collies, and that was resolved quickly, without consequences. I always looked forward to stopping in T.O. for Cubans, a trip to Canadian Tire to buy real winter gear, and a stop in at Timmy Horton’s to steal a coffee mug. I loved that country and it’s people. I revered them for their kindness and pragmatism.

I was last there around 2003 for a two week trip to the Boundary Waters. Customs had set up shop at the top of a big lake between the US and Canada, across from Ely, Minnesota. They grilled me on the way in, were rude and indifferent. Searched my pack, despite the fact that I arrived in a canoe, in head to foot polypropylene and gore-tex, had maps with my trip outlined, and wouldn’t see another human for two weeks after that. They threatened me that if I didn’t check in on my way out, they’d issue an arrest warrant for me.

Well, I never did check back in, and have no plans to ever go back to the country I once loved.

 

[gord]

In the late 70’s to early 2000’s, visited Canada fairly frequently. First because I had a GF in T.O., then later on for canoe tripping and hiking. Only once was I stopped by the border collies, and that was resolved quickly, without consequences. I always looked forward to stopping in T.O. for Cubans, a trip to Canadian Tire to buy real winter gear, and a stop in at Timmy Horton’s to steal a coffee mug. I loved that country and it’s people. I revered them for their kindness and pragmatism.

I was last there around 2003 for a two week trip to the Boundary Waters. Customs had set up shop at the top of a big lake between the US and Canada, across from Ely, Minnesota. They grilled me on the way in, were rude and indifferent. Searched my pack, despite the fact that I arrived in a canoe, in head to foot polypropylene and gore-tex, had maps with my trip outlined, and wouldn’t see another human for two weeks after that. They threatened me that if I didn’t check in on my way out, they’d issue an arrest warrant for me.

Well, I never did check back in, and have no plans to ever go back to the country I once loved.

Wait'll you check out our gun laws, pending confiscations, and regulations.


I'm smallbore director of the Prince George Rod and Gun Club, and am now in the thick of things; the hoops we are now having to jump through to "fix up" our range to bring it up to "safe" levels, is even infecting airgun bays. It will probably break us trying to comply.

 

[sparker69]

This is an old thread and you may or may not know all of this now, but I'm afraid you're hooped, screwed, blued and tattooed. You are now on the Canada Customs Data Base. Anytime you order from the US or Europe, your package will be scanned and you'll be nailed with our insane duties if the package is from ANY tobacco retail source anywhere. Only Australia is worse. I've brought this subject up many many times on the forum to the point where guys are sick of hearing about it. Or don't believe it. Well, believe it because I'm loathe to repeat it ever again,

I was in 7th heaven at the start because I was dealing with a firm who shipped the products out as fishing tackle. Foolishly I tried another source because they had a sale on, and I was charged tobacco duty not on just the tobacco, but on a $250 pipe calculated on the weight of $250 worth of tobacco. I'm still fighting this with Revenue Canada and customs. I'm on a fixed pension so I now have to go a different route.

Hate to tell you this but most of the respondents do not know the situation and you are now on radar. PERIOD.

You have to take the route that I've gone.

1. Buy only a few tins of tobacco from the US at a time, and keep this to your coveted few blends, suck up the duty and pay $85 a tin. I have three blends that I do this with.

2. Shop locally for a few packets a month, pay the $59 to $75 a pack or tin to keep these poor souls in business.

3. Buy from native sources, the best one being CigarChief.com in Ontario. ONLY NATIVE SOURCES ARE ALLOWED INTER-PROVINCIAL SHIPPING so don't bother to order from other Canuck sources because they can't ship. CigarChiefs sells Smokers' Pride 12oz packets for $70 Can plus shipping, God Bless 'em, but they're out of stock most of the time (go figure lol!) so you have to access their website regularly and grab as you can. And packaged tobacco is cheaper, but ranges for $25 - $60 bucks depending on their access to the product.

Oh yeah, BC is the worst of all . . . Alberta the most reasonable. But theyr'e still way more expensive than Native sources.

Good luck and hope you're still with us.

Yeah - I knew I was on the database - but I only get charged duty by mail about 1/2 of the time - actually only once in my last three orders.

 

[sparker69]

If you didn't like the price of Cubans before, your really going to hate them starting Feb3rd. All Cubans are going up 4-10% in Canada. Coronas running about $22-$30....Robustos $35-$50.....Churchills $75+.

Oh - I'm good for the Cubans - I have a good five to ten years of stock to go at my speed. And I've moved on anyway - Nicaragua is the way to go so far, (and I have at least 10 years of Italian cigars).

 

[gord]

Just scanned the rest of the threads on the pages I didn't have time for it this afternoon. Final comment - if you've been snagged, you're on the database. Yeah, you might get lucky but . . .

Didn't respond or comment on most of the postings, because they were are much of the same voice.

I've been fortunate a few times myself, but have adopted the program I outlined above to avoid the angst.

Yeah, you might get through without your package being scrutinized . . . . we are, after all, dealing with snivel servants who are inherently lazy. At least the ones I know are. But if you fight it, you enter another layer of bureaucracy that is a bit more insidious than the drones who stack and scan packages.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Good Lord.

I've read some down right depressing stuff here.

It's all outrageous... Just a damn shame.