Canadian import duties on British shoes?

[FidelCashflow]

Does anyone have a rough idea of what kind of duties there are on British shoes? I'm thinking of buying some JL's but at $1k but I'm worried I'll pay a few hundred bucks at the border.

Any experiences would be appreciated

 

[Avocat]

Fidel, for leather shoes and boots that are made in the EU (incl. the UK) it's 18% duty, plus provincial sales taxes (less for shoes/boots made in Commonwealth countries, but doesn't include the UK for some reason unknown to me). This rate of duty applies no matter where they are imported from (i.e., where made not where bought is what counts). ONLINE Purchases: If buying from i.e. the UK, they'll deduct their own VAT (which is 17.5%), which in turn cancels out the CDN duty. Also, if from the UK, have them ship it by Royal Mail. This, albeit slower, but to avoid UPS/FED ex "brokerage" fees (being a set fee or a percentage of the amount they will on behalf of the government collect, whichever is greater, which fee they'll charge you for basically filling out the customs form and advancing the money to clear the package on your behalf). By contrast, when shipped via mail, the Royal post will hand it off to Canada Post, who will fill out that very same form and deliver your package to you, collecting the duty and taxes from you for a mere $5 bucks. OVERSEAS Purchases: If you're buying them overseas and bringing them in yourself, you'll avoid the "brokerage" etc. fees, but be subject to the VAT (so double taxed). There's a way for you to get that tax refunded (as a non-EU resident) which will require you to file some forms--same as non-residents of Canada get their GST/PST back on filing forms--though I'm not 100% as to how you go about that exactly, other than to direct you to the airport (where you'll no doubt find information about it). Or, you could inquire about the shop shipping it to you in Canada via the post (i.e., so that it arrives at your residence after you return home), enabling them to remove the VAT. Of course, you're also entitled to a certain amount of duty-free purchasing, depending on how long you've been out of country, but it has to be quite a while before it hits $1k (Canada and taxes, eh?

Cheers, Avocat EDIT: after seven (7) days absence, you're allowed a personal exemption for goods worth up to $750.00 in total CDN dollars. Trust this helps.

 

[Nicola]

Used to be UPS/Fedex air both included brokerage fees in the normal shipping price. Maybe it's changed . Ground was the method that screwed people over.

For small high priced items the more expensive air shipment often makes sense. That's why the high end US camera shops stopped using UPS ground /fedex ground to Canada. People would end up paying brokerage fees higher then the small increase in cost that using the express methods would have had.

Just surf over to the UPS or Fedex website and check the info out.

 

[Avocat]

Originally Posted by Nicola

Used to be UPS/Fedex air both included brokerage fees in the normal shipping price. Maybe it's changed . Ground was the method that screwed people over. For small high priced items the more expensive air shipment often makes sense. That's why the high end US camera shops stopped using UPS ground /fedex ground to Canada. People would end up paying brokerage fees higher then the small increase in cost that using the express methods would have had. Just surf over to the UPS or Fedex website and check the info out.
Nicola, I just had a shipment come in via Fedex Air (from the UK) and I was dinged on brokerage. Couldn't believe it myself (just the principle of it alone, especially in light of what I was charged for shipping). Could it be that it depends on what "package" the actual shipper opts for with UPS/Fedex maybe? Definitely worth looking into and asking the shipper as to what-exactly-that shipper has/offers from UPS/Fedex, and then look it up on the website, I agree: otherwise, opt for the post (s'rsly, it's just a simple form! And yeah, hear you re: US ground, too: well said).

 

[Nicola]

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shi...clearance.html That's the UPS brokerage rate card. It's free unless UPS standard. Then there are the other fees

 

[kasper007]

Originally Posted by Nicola

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shi...clearance.html That's the UPS brokerage rate card. It's free unless UPS standard. Then there are the other fees
you can get out of paying the brokerage fee by notifying UPS in advance so they hold your package at the DC (generally only one per city, close to the airport). You can go there and fill out the custom forms yourself and pay appropriate duty, etc. It's a major pain ********** and kind of defeat the purpose of express shipping. Worlwide air is generally massively expensive compare to Air Mail from regular post From my experience though, stuff shipped with regular mail have a pretty good chance of making it through without having to pay any custom / duty. Because of the sheer volume of mail coming in, they only inspect 10-20% of shipments (coming from my dad's friend who's an exec at Canada Post). It obviously helps if the sellers is willing to "mark down" the custom form. I've bought pretty much all my shoes at either Plal or Pediwear and have yet to pay a single cent in custom / duty. I would think JL might not be so accommodating though

 

[Nicola]

Actually I'm trying to point out that you shouldn't be paying brokerage on the more expensive shipping methods. They try and tack on a COD fee to cover them picking up the taxes/duty when they drop off the package but you can avoid this to if you phone in your CC before it clears customs and gets on a truck.

I don't think either FedEx or UPS really inspect things either. They only open things if the label doesn't make sense for some reason.

 

[Raoul Duke]

You best bet is to try to have the retailer falsify the customs documents. A little unethical, but there are lots of companies that are willing to do it.

 

[Marcellionheart]

I've never not paid duty on shoes from Pediwear.

Bad luck I guess. If you're buying them overseas, just wear them on your way to Canada, throw away the boxes and no one will ever know.

 

[FidelCashflow]

Yikes - 18% + gst is too much for me to risk. I was planning on buying it by mail, so I couldn't claim the $750 personal exemption. I doubt john lobb would under declare it because that would also mean it wasn't fully insured. Back to the drawing board I guess.

 

[Marcellionheart]

To be honest, if you were going to buy a pair or two of JL's from Canada, the money you'd save by not paying duties and taxes would probably be enough for you to take a trip to London depending on the time of year; especially if you were going to buy more stuff as well.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

Yikes - 18% + gst is too much for me to risk. I was planning on buying it by mail, so I couldn't claim the $750 personal exemption. I doubt john lobb would under declare it because that would also mean it wasn't fully insured. Back to the drawing board I guess.

Get someone to proxy, pay via PPPP so no chargeback is possible, ship shoes as "used shoes, $50", pray no one steals your shoes in transit.

 

[fwiffo]

And all this time I thought there were benefits to being in the Commonwealth and Empire.

 

[FidelCashflow]

Originally Posted by Raoul Duke

Get someone to proxy, pay via PPPP so no chargeback is possible, ship shoes as "used shoes, $50", pray no one steals your shoes in transit.

Haha, I thought of this. I have a relative in London who could help, but that way I don't get the 17.5% vat discount since they are selling in the uk

 

[Redwoood]

Now would seem like a good time for playing the customs lottery. They must be swamped with Christmas shipments.