Canada Customs Duty On Stamp Purchases?

Hello,

I've been buying stamps internationally for a number of years and have never had to pay duty before BUT my latest international purchase has resulted in duty being charged on my purchase. So my question is...have I been incorrectly charged by Canada Customs or have I been lucky and avoided the tariffs for several years?

P.S. These were Canadian stamps so technically they were Canadian goods returning to Canada. But what if they weren't Canadian stamps?

Is it duty or just GST charged? Plus the $5 Canada Post fee to collect the revenue for the CRA?

Was the company you bought it from also known as a coin comany as that seems to ring more bells at customs than any stamps ever would?

Usually, things sent via regular mail does not get hit........I've received guitars that I was not charged for. But, when sent via Fedex or UPS, you almost always get charged. In some cases, fees and taxes exceed the amount of the item. I am fighting such a case with Fedex who sent me a bill a month later.

Did you buy it from ebay from a seller using the Global Shipping Program (GSP) by chance?

No to all the questions. It was duty and came via regular mail through Canada Post. Sounds like I should challenge the fees.

Best to find out yourself before you challenge the fees.
A good place to start is the Canada Revenue website.
Hope this helps.


http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/t...g.html?=slnk

No "DUTY" on postage stamps

9704.00.0000
Postage or revenue stamps, stamp-postmarks, first-day covers, postal
stationery (stamped paper), and the like, used or unused, other than
those of heading 49.07.

Note: The General Tariff rate that applies to goods of this tariff
item is the Most-Favoured-Nation Tariff rate.

- Free

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-co...ch97-eng.pdf

thanks for finding and sharing that! Looks like I probably got a novice officer who didn't know what they were doing and just decided to charge me duty!

I have been charged GST/HST plus handling charges by Canada Post when the value of the shipment is greater than $20.00. What does the customs invoice state?

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/p...its-eng.html

Under the provisions of the Postal Imports Remission Order, if someone mails you an item worth CAN$20 or less, you don't have to pay duty or taxes on the item. If the item is worth more than CAN$20, you must pay the applicable duty, the GST or HST, and any PST on the item's full value.

Items that do not qualify for the CAN$20 exemption include the following:

tobacco;
books;
periodicals;
magazines;
alcoholic beverages; and
goods ordered through a Canadian post office box or a Canadian intermediary.

Handling costs

To process goods imported as mail that are subject to duty and/or tax, Canada Post charges the recipient CAN$9.95. If the item is duty-free and tax exempt, no amount is charged.

All amounts must be paid at the time of delivery (by cash, certified cheque, VISA, MasterCard or your Canada Post commercial account).

Were any plastic pages (Vario or the like) purchased and shipped in the same order, as these would be subject to a plastics duty charge, if over $20?

It was not HST. It was duty. I was charged $28 duty on an item I won for $25. There were no vario pages but there were a few stock pages which had been ripped from an album.