Duty Fee for used parts from Canada to US

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Duty Fee for used parts from Canada to US
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flag fgiraffe
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Posted: Aug 5, 2013 at 20:49 Quote
I saw a few threads on duty fees and issues when going INTO Canada, but didn't see anything about used parts going from Canada to the US.

Searching seems to indicate there is a % tax based on the province of the seller which ranges from 5%-15%.

Am I reading this right?

Does that tax get added to the sales price to the private seller, or does the shipping company collect that on delivery in the US?

Thanks in advance...
flag Cackerman
Posted: Aug 6, 2013 at 12:03 Quote
Trying to make sense of duty/taxes/brokerage is yucky.

Technically speaking due to NAFTA, we do not pay duty on items shipped between the US, Canada and Mexico. But, that is only for items made in those countries. Duty is required when shipping an item made in a non North American country from one North American country to another. I don’t believe used items are excluded from this.

I have purchased many used items from the US and sent many used items to the US, and have never actually been charged duty. Nor have the recipients of stuff I have been sold been charged (that I know of). The issue I think is how does customs know what country the item was made in? It is not a field on the customs form. Race Face carbon fiber cranks are made in Canada. How do customs differentiate RF carbon cranks from any other cranks, or from aluminum RF cranks? I doubt they are opening each package to search for the “made in Canada” sticker. So I think customs should be charging duty for used stuff, but doesn't—probably because it is too hard to verify country of manufacture for personal parcel mail.

Taxes are the sales taxes that are required by the country/state you are receiving the product in. For the most part, they will be charged on the declared value of the item and billed to the receiver of the item when it is picked up. Taxes would be on your end. In Canada, we have a national 5% sales tax, and most provinces have a provincial sales tax on top of that. When we received an item from the US, we have to pay sales tax on it when we pick it up. I don't think the US has a national sales tax, but I assume it is the same if you are shipping into a state with sales tax.

Brokerage is fees charged by the shipping company to the receiver of the item. A brokerage fee is the cost of a shipping company to collect the tax/duty from the receiver and to file that paperwork. I think brokerage is total BS, it should be part of the shipping cost. And the receiver usually only finds out about it when the package is about to be delivered, but UPS holds the package at ransom until brokerage is paid. I don’t believe that brokerage is a big problem receiving packages in the US but it is a massive issue receiving in Canada.

In my experience though, this all seems to be inconsistently applied. Sometimes I don’t get charged taxes for items with declared values well over the $60 minimum. Sometimes I do. I cannot help but feeling it is just up to the customs agent at the time your package crosses the conveyor-belt.

I know this didn't really answer your question definitively though, but it is a nebulous and frustrating area to figure out.
flag fgiraffe
O+
Posted: Aug 6, 2013 at 13:48 Quote
Thanks, I appreciate the reply. It does confirm my impression that it is confusing mess!
But your experiences are encouraging, I just didn't want to open a box of hassles for a $50 used part.
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