Having imported a bunch of stuff I've bought on eBay, I've found:
CANADIAN CUSTOMS RULES:
- up to $20 Cdn (~13 US), no duty/taxes charged
- up to $60 Cdn, no duty/taxes charged if a gift from a non-resident
of Canada
- over $60 - GST (Federal sales tax) gets charged at 7% with PST (~8%)
sometimes, or HST at 15%(federal-provincial "harmonised" sales tax)
- up to $1200 Cdn, Simple declaration of contents,
- over $1200, need invoices and customs classifications
- no duty on most US produced goods, small duty on stuff produced
outside US, especially small on goods not locally produced, e.g.
cameras, lenses (Tho' Leicas are/were made in Midland, Ontario...)
CANADA POST PRACTICE for imports from US
- Most stuff, even up to $100 or more just gets delivered with no
customs or GST
- stuff subject to GST has a $5 processing fee, plus GST/HST/PST, no
duty
UPS practice.
- All stuff subject to GST/HST/PST gets $26.75 brokerage fee plus
GST/HST/PST
- others arrive free of extra charges
Standard LETTER PACKAGE AIRMAIL is cheapest to 4 lbs, but insurance is
only available with registration, about $7 more.
Over 4 lbs, AIR PARCEL POST is pretty cheap, starting at $7, and can be
insured.
Over 20 lbs, consider other services.
I have had no lost Post Office parcels, among some 20+ shipments.
Tom
> Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 09:50:43 -0700
> From: Jan Steinman <jans@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [OM] Customs Duties-Another question
>
> >From: "Arnab Kumar Banerjee" <arnabkb@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> >
> >Having never ordered any photo equipment in the mail before, I am not
> >sure how these things work... Arnab. ON, Canada.
>
> How it is SUPPOSED to work between the US and Canada under NAFTA is that
> there are no national customs import duties on almost everything in either
> direction. Period.
...
> Bottom line: ship standard international post for the best deal.
>
> : Jan Steinman <mailto:jans@xxxxxxxxxxx>
------------------
From: Tom Trottier, President, ACT Productions Inc.
infoanim@xxxxxx http://www.act.ca
+1 613 594-4829 fax +1 613 594-8944
199 Holmwood Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 2P3
"Make it as simple as possible, but no simpler" - Einstein
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