crossing the border with used goods

[Blowfish]

can anybody chime in, if i buy a used skimmer from the states and drive it back would i have to pay taxes and duties???

[freddy]

It all depends how long you are down for,I know from the border near creston here that if you are down for over 24hrs you are allowed to bring back so much,plus it all depends on the border guard if he is in a good mood or not.

[TVR]

My experience: NO
I bought one big airconditioning unit(commercial one) - And drove back (like a week end trip) - and said "from a friend" - The guy laugh and didnt give me any sh...t "

[fencer]

Yes....officially

[pterfloth]

I do it all the time. All you have to pay is PST and GST.

[Blowfish]

hmm i wonder how they determine declared value since its bought used, maybe i'll have to get a receipt from the guy

[Dolf]

After having bought a few vehicles in the U.S and a bunch of other crap and driving them across I can tell you to just declare it. A vehicle they need a receipt for (I can't tell you that you need to fill out the actual amount- but don't buy it for $25 and expect them to smile and wave you through.) If you buy the skimmer for $100 then just pay the $5 and don't screw around. Yup- you could tell them it is from a friend- then they can tell you to call that friend. Then they may ask that friend if he gave it to you. When the answer is “no” you really don't want to be there- right down to a vehicle seizure if they are in a bad mood.

The long and the short of it is that you will pay GST- it is not worth the risk to play with the customs officials. (yup- do as I say not as I do- I brought fireworks across the boarder when I was younger and stupid...)

Oh, and you should not need a receipt- they will likely believe you if you tell them you paid $100 for a dirty, smelly, foam filled tube of coraline encrusted plastic...

Good luck.

[hillegom]

I agree with Dolf and the others, declare what you actually paid and pay your gst and pst. I have never had to pay duties.
I know of a guy, 25 yrs ago, that bought 4 new tires in the states, mounted them there and smuggled them across. Unfortunately, he bragged about them to his friends. I guess he talked once too often, and someone else must have overheard. They came to his house, and then he HAD to pay. More than he would have paid to buy the tires in Can.

[fkshiu]

Correct. Payable duties and taxes are based on the VALUE of the item upon importation so tell them what you paid for it and the very most you'll pay on it is PST and GST. It doesn't hurt to have the seller write up a little receipt or have a copy of the sale ad with you.

Make it part of a road trip to get into the exemption zones and you won't have to pay anything at all.

The advice about leaving it dirty and smelly and coralline encrusted is good - less shiny = less value.

[Norstar]

Be honest and declare. If it was manufactured in North America - all the better. Most of the the time, if it's under $100, it's not worth their time