CBSA and duty free claims
 

Question for those cheap Sons-of-b$&&@s we have on board. Err I mean financially savvy.

Does anyone know if it’s possible (and or legal) to claim your $800 duty free amount (outside for 48hrs) on items you’ve shipped from out of country?

Reason I ask, I spend a lot of time outside the country. Contemplating purchasing a vehicle which will require a lot of Parts shipped from the US. It would be very handy to use my duty free allowances for these parts. Especially if I could stack them. Ideas, suggestions, insults?

Try to get all the parts and chuck them in the car when you import it.

Edit: sorry, I misunderstood. Your allowance is per trip

Yes. What I’m wondering is let’s say... I go to errr China. I do not bring anything back. I thought I read somewhere you claim you sent something in the mail. It will arrive at a later date. CBSA gives you some form for when the item arrives that allows to to import it duty free up to a declared value of $800.

What I’m wondering is a) how to do this b) is it legal to order items from somewhere else besides the country you came. Like I went to China, claimed nothing but ordered parts from the USA for my car.

Not 100% but I think you have to bring it back with you from the country you were last in. But if I'm wrong that's some nice info to know about

Yes you can ship goods back to Canada while abroad and declare those goods as part of your $800 exemption. There's a form you fill out when you arrive back in Canada. No you can't stack your duty free exemptions. I am not 100% sure but fairly certain the goods have to be acquired by you while on your trip (i.e. you can't take a trip to China and ship goods from the USA). Keep all your paperwork, receipts etc since the burden of proof is on you to ensure you don't pay any duty once your goods arrive.

Yes and no. Because you can't have things mailed to you for 48hrs.

The exemption goes as follow:

<24hrs: nada
>24hrs: $200 but cannot go over. Else it's counted as 0 exemption.
>48hrs: $800, and if over, only the portion over $800 is subject to tax. BUT no mail goods/good to follow
>7days: same as the 48hrs BUT now good can follow after.

The way I do it is to claim the purchases (usually from US and shipped to my mailbox) at entry to Canada. They will send you to the booth to see one of the agents (assuming at YVR), then they will have you fill out a form of the items that will be mailed to you and its value. You pay tax on any amount over $800 or nothing if not... then you'd get a copy of that sheet with stamps and everything.

I then go to pick the item, declare it at border and give the agent the sheet showing that its tax has already been cleared. The agent takes the sheet and away you go.

It's called a "Goods to Follow" form. Did it on a trip where the goods from a conference were legitimately being shipped later. We flew back from Florida to Toronto, did the form at Pearson Airport, picked up the stuff in Blaine 4 weeks later.

Goods have to be acquired by you on your trip, in the country you visited. CBSA Officer will ask for receipt.

But yes there is a form you fill out, there's a big Canada flag on it and is super easy to fill. Oftentimes the Officer will just do it for you lol.

Hmm. So ordering something online while out of the country doesn’t count?

Have you tried calling the CBSA to find out? After a quick glance at the rules on "unaccompanied goods" on the CBSA website, it was still unclear whether this would count. I would assume the exemption rule only covers goods you have purchased and picked up in the country you are originating from as these are technically "accompanying" you from the country you are arriving from.

Reference:

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicat...sf192-eng.html

2 - $800 exemption (tariff item no. 9804.20.00)

After an absence from Canada of at least 7 consecutive days (see note (B) for details on how to determine the 7-day absence), you can claim free importation of personal goods, up to a value of $800. You can include alcoholic beverages and tobacco products in this exemption, subject to the conditions outlined in notes (C) and (D) below. Goods, other than alcohol and tobacco products, do not have to accompany you on arrival. However, unaccompanied goods must be declared on form E24 at the time you arrive

As long as you order the items, WHILE, out of the country, it would qualify as an exemption, PROVIDING you have receipt that you ordered it while out of the country.
You can't order it in Canada, and then travel out of the country, and return with unaccompanied goods.

Wait just a hot minute there! Nowhere in the text you cited does it specify what hud 91gt is asking. "Unaccompanied goods" could specifically mean only those goods you bought in the country you were visiting and decided to ship them back home instead of travelling with them. Hence, why I suggested he call CBSA to clarify this with them.
Moreover, none of the notes A/B/C/D clarify this either.

I don't know how you came to that conclusion based on the text you cited!?

Not sure where you guys are getting the "had to be purchased during trip" from.

All CBSA is interested in the value of item and description of item. By being outside of Canada for more than 7 days, CBSA grants you the ability to import "personal goods" up to $800 tax/duty free either with you or shipped.

It can be goods that you have owned stored abroad or something bought... but it's irrelevant in the eye of CBSA.

My apologies, the last section was not part of the reference. I should have noted, it was from a friend who works at CBSA that I asked.

But call CBSA anyways, because sometimes you get an answer that is totally different from what another officer states.