Academic

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...red-goods.html

Pays to be honest.

RCyyz

The story link says that the lady bought $125K of jewellery in SIN but didn't declare it on return. So it was confiscated. She then paid $56K to have it returned and is now being fined more than $23K for not declaring in the first place.

I guess if she had declared it she would have paid GST on entry so by trying to scam $7500 or so, she ended up paying more than 10x that. And presumably she won't be able to get NEXUS for a while if ever.

Silly. Just silly.

Azreal

I've been lucky to declare the truth when importing ribs in Memphis.

Went to secondary inspection upon my arrival into YYZ. I was initially told that the ribs are restricted item.. When they looked up ribs from Memphis in the database, I was free to go. Apparently, cooked ribs from Memphis are okay!

Tax Dude

What's the duty rate on jewelry? I suspect she would have owed more than just $7,500. It's possible that the $56,000 figure mentioned was the original duty and taxes in which case it's only a 40% penalty.

mkjr

duty on diamonds...hmm..anyone know what the D-memo says? got to be some strict rules around that stuff to make sure they do not come from certain countries etc.

john_doe123123

I believe it's a complicated formula to calculate duties. Watches, for example, are assessed on where its made, the type of metal (gold, steel, platinum, etc) and the type of complications (basic, chronograph, date functions, etc). I imagine jewelery is the same.

djjaguar64

I always declare my chocolates and Havaiana's that I buy.

hazcaddy

Jewellery is in the highest bracket. I got a professional award once which resulted in a bronze figurine being shipped from the US but mistakenly declared as "jewellery". The figurine was probably worth $150 and the postie that brought it to my door wanted over $100 in duty.

(I told him to send it back).

mballb

I am travelling overseas in February 2012 and wanted to get and expensive watch for my Mrs. I called Canada Customs, explained what I was buying, where it was made and where I would be buying it.

The first agent said 5% duty plus GST (I live in Alberta so no sales tax). She hedged and I asked to speak to a supervisor.

Supervisor affirmed that all watches were 5% plus GST.

Not complicated at all.

HerpaYvr

Yaaaaa Must be in that 1%....... if you can afford that much in jewelery than you can afford to pay the price of the jelwery.

Boy some customs agent sure made their quota for the year!


Just watched the broadcast on CTV news ottawa.

Leora

I had a situation that seemed a bit complicated early this month (but I wasn't bringing much back into the country). Related to this story, so I'd be curious for others' comments:

Coming back from Vienna, I had a 26 hour stopover in Toronto before flying onward to Seattle, then drove back up to Vancouver. When I arrived at YYZ, I went through customs and declared everything. The following crossing from Washington in BC, the officer asked me about where I was coming from (I said Toronto). He asked for clarification on the origin of the journey since flying to Seattle from Toronto only to drive onward to Canada seems a bit weird.

I actually had to re-declare all the goods I brought from Europe, which seemed kind of weird. The officer seemed a bit confused too. The value of my goods exceeded the 24 hour limit and included alcohol, but I did not have to pay any duties. Still, I could have seen it going the other way. The customs officer didn't seem to know what to do..

Has anybody ever encountered a similar situation?

RCyyz

I think you'd need a lawyer to get a proper answer on that one! As a layman, it would appear to me that you did "export" the goods then "import" them again.

mapleg

Some intreresting comments on her business and professional background in some of the CBC comments.

In any case, fully agree, I vote her "Least likely to get approved for Nexus Card, 2012"

KenHamer

As I once previously asked, if that's the case does it mean every time I drive down to Blaine I'm exporting and reimporting my car? What about my shoes? Or belly button lint?

Shareholder

You only have to do that into Canada if you exceed your duty free limit. Chocolates and other such sweets do not fall under the "dairy product" specifics of the Canadian customs form and thus are not considered a suspect foods to be checked by customs/ag officers, unlike entering the US where all edible foodstuffs must be declared on the customs form. I know a lot of people who just have chocolates or the like who check this box on the Canadian form and get sent to secondary only to be dismissed by the officer when they tell him/her what they've got...and waste a good half hour! (Still, good to know those Brazilian chocolates I have waiting back in Toronto have been officially imported!)