Official worldwide thread - Tips/Advice for customs, VAT, etc...
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Hi all,
I just cleared Canadian customs this evening importing my Chanel WOC (from Rue Cambon!!) and as I have spent weeks researching the new customs implications with Canadian European Free Trade Agreement (2017) etc., I wanted to share my knowledge (and sources) as I noticed there was a lot of misinformation and lack of information and I don't want anyone paying more tax or duty than necessary.
First, I will disclaim that information changes on this all the time and I don't keep up and probably won't update this thread and so please do your own research, add developments here, and check my sources for yourself
! Also, I completely understand it's tempting to not declare (I was tempted too) but I don't recommend it as if the officers catch you, there are serious consequences; even beyond seizing your beloved items!
Okay, so let's start with the biggest misconceptions:
1) DO NOT PAY DUTY ON YOUR BAGS. Only pay consumption tax on the amount above your personal exemption (personal exemption is based on the amount of time you spent out of country).
4) THE CBSA TAX CALCULATOR IS INACCURATE AND OUT OF DATE - DOES NOT INCLUDE CETA (don't let them reference this tax calculator - it's obviously out of date) https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/dte-acl/est-cal-eng.html
*** Extra tip: Do not buy your bags in the States and expect CETA to apply - the EU manufactured items have to also be imported directly from the EU. Horror story from another PF thread is here: https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/chanel-prices-shopping-in-canada.105592/page-540 A girl bought a mini and had to pay duty and tax on her purchase.
More about my situation: In total, I spent 4 hours in customs educating the staff with their own CBSA resources about how they should tax me and in the end, I paid the fair amount of tax that I owed my beloved country. Yes, I do feel exasperated and annoyed that officers are not up to date on their information and have obviously been overcharging us for decades but I am glad I did end up only paying exactly what I owed and that I have the opportunity to share all this information with you all! For what it's worth, though the environment was intimidating, the officers were all very kind and fair. In fact, my officer said, as a rule of thumb, they give everyone an extra $300 on a tax free allowance (so long as it's not on tobacco or alcohol) so that saved me an extra ~$40 in taxes. Also, they let me go get my one checked bag from the carousel (I was worried it would go missing since I was in the customs area for ~2.5 hours) and they were fine to have me walk out, get my bag, and bring it right back in by myself (one man offered to take me which was nice but I fared fine). The officer I was dealing with was open-minded about the fact that I might have more info than her and obliged me the time to show her all the proper information and did also spend 4 hours trying to make sure she didn't overcharge me. I'm sure less patient folks would have just charged me what they felt was right and moved on. And her co-workers were very kind as well. I know some girls here have been let through without tax and I was not so lucky but I felt I was treated well given despite the hours it took for me. Good luck everyone!!!
P.S. I think Ireland is the cheapest place to get bags from Europe due to the higher VAT refund. The VAT in Ireland is higher than France (even though everyone seems to think it's best to buy Chanel in France etc.). VAT refund was 13% at Rue Cambon Chanel. I could have rec'd 16% in Ireland. PLUS Ireland does not require you to get a customs stamp on any individual purchases of 2,000 euros for a VAT refund. The Dublin airport actually presents these receipts to customs on your behalf! My WOC was exactly 2000 euros (I bought in France and then exited from Ireland) and so I needed a customs officer to give me a stamp but it was so easy, he was really nice, and didn't even ask to see my bag (which was great because it would have been a shame to unbox it in an airport).
I just cleared Canadian customs this evening importing my Chanel WOC (from Rue Cambon!!) and as I have spent weeks researching the new customs implications with Canadian European Free Trade Agreement (2017) etc., I wanted to share my knowledge (and sources) as I noticed there was a lot of misinformation and lack of information and I don't want anyone paying more tax or duty than necessary.
First, I will disclaim that information changes on this all the time and I don't keep up and probably won't update this thread and so please do your own research, add developments here, and check my sources for yourself
! Also, I completely understand it's tempting to not declare (I was tempted too) but I don't recommend it as if the officers catch you, there are serious consequences; even beyond seizing your beloved items!Okay, so let's start with the biggest misconceptions:
1) DO NOT PAY DUTY ON YOUR BAGS. Only pay consumption tax on the amount above your personal exemption (personal exemption is based on the amount of time you spent out of country).
There is now no duty on goods made in the EU imported directly from the EU because of CETA. You will have to pay GST/PST/HST when you come back to Canada depending on your province of residence but do NOT allow them to charge you duty. There is a new Canadian European Free Trade Agreement (CETA) that has eliminated duty on EU purchases of EU manufactured products. My officer this evening AND ALL HER COWORKERS AND SUPERVISORS did not realize there was a new tax code in her computer tax form for CETA and she kept trying to charge my items under "Most-Favoured-Nation Tariff" when she was supposed to use the "Canadian European Trade Tariff' (I can't remember exactly but it's like option 13 or something very far down the list). Do not let them do this. The "Most-Favoured-Nation Tariff code" she wanted to use would have caused me to incur a 10.5% duty charge on top of my 13% HST (I live in Ontario). I explained to her that there must be some way to acknowledge the trade agreement as I had heard about other girls paying only HST when they returned and if they are all processing on the same computer software system, there must be a way. To her credit, she did let me see her screen and we spent some time toggling different fields to find the right tariff code and it immediately pulled duty on my "purse" to 0%. I was very insistent because I had actually called CBSA's hotline 2x to verify there was no duty due to CETA (which is in effect). There are NO good online resources on CETA (they all have to do with commercial goods but it DOES apply to personal goods) so I have nothing to link you to but please call CBSA and I assure you, I saw her CBSA software program recalculate the duty before my own eyes (it's an automated system that takes into account the category of item you are purchasing). CBSA are very quick to pick up the phone as long as you catch them during operating hours. Call toll free in Canada: 1-800-461-9999 or outside Canada at either: 1-204-983-3500 or 1-506-636-5064 (no idea why there are two numbers). Contact page link is here: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/contact/bis-sif-eng.html
2) YOU DO NOT PAY GST/PST/HST ON FOREIGN TAX.
This is by far the number one myth!!! I called CBSA and they insisted that you do but I FINALLY found the website on CBSA where they definitively say you do not pay HST on the VAT refund you're due to get or have already received. Intuitively, it never made sense why I would pay tax on tax and this page says it plainly: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/declare-eng.html (go to the value for duty section). Excerpt from the CBSA website is below:
3) APPEAL A CBSA DECISION. If you've been overcharged, you have the right to appeal and please do! The more employees at the CBSA who know all this the better. PLUS luxury is expensive, these duties and taxes are worth a lot of money. See forms and information about appealing here: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/recourse-recours/menu-eng.htmlValue for duty and foreign sales tax
You must declare the "value for duty" of the goods you are importing. Generally, this is the amount you pay for the goods, including any foreign tax assessment. However, any foreign tax already refunded, or to be refunded by a foreign government, does not have to be included in your value for duty declaration.
I referenced this website and the officer was genuinely surprised because she agreed that I should not be charged tax on tax based on the CBSA's own website. I also asked her if she would charge me not based on the refund amount but on the amount of my WOC less all the French taxes (given a service agency ate into my tax refund and that is technically a fee they are charging out of my entitled tax refund). She agreed that made sense given the interpretation of the language (she had her whole team and supervisor review it) and this ended up reducing my taxable amount by another 100 euros.You must declare the "value for duty" of the goods you are importing. Generally, this is the amount you pay for the goods, including any foreign tax assessment. However, any foreign tax already refunded, or to be refunded by a foreign government, does not have to be included in your value for duty declaration.
4) THE CBSA TAX CALCULATOR IS INACCURATE AND OUT OF DATE - DOES NOT INCLUDE CETA (don't let them reference this tax calculator - it's obviously out of date) https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/dte-acl/est-cal-eng.html
*** Extra tip: Do not buy your bags in the States and expect CETA to apply - the EU manufactured items have to also be imported directly from the EU. Horror story from another PF thread is here: https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/chanel-prices-shopping-in-canada.105592/page-540 A girl bought a mini and had to pay duty and tax on her purchase.
More about my situation: In total, I spent 4 hours in customs educating the staff with their own CBSA resources about how they should tax me and in the end, I paid the fair amount of tax that I owed my beloved country. Yes, I do feel exasperated and annoyed that officers are not up to date on their information and have obviously been overcharging us for decades but I am glad I did end up only paying exactly what I owed and that I have the opportunity to share all this information with you all! For what it's worth, though the environment was intimidating, the officers were all very kind and fair. In fact, my officer said, as a rule of thumb, they give everyone an extra $300 on a tax free allowance (so long as it's not on tobacco or alcohol) so that saved me an extra ~$40 in taxes. Also, they let me go get my one checked bag from the carousel (I was worried it would go missing since I was in the customs area for ~2.5 hours) and they were fine to have me walk out, get my bag, and bring it right back in by myself (one man offered to take me which was nice but I fared fine). The officer I was dealing with was open-minded about the fact that I might have more info than her and obliged me the time to show her all the proper information and did also spend 4 hours trying to make sure she didn't overcharge me. I'm sure less patient folks would have just charged me what they felt was right and moved on. And her co-workers were very kind as well. I know some girls here have been let through without tax and I was not so lucky but I felt I was treated well given despite the hours it took for me. Good luck everyone!!!
P.S. I think Ireland is the cheapest place to get bags from Europe due to the higher VAT refund. The VAT in Ireland is higher than France (even though everyone seems to think it's best to buy Chanel in France etc.). VAT refund was 13% at Rue Cambon Chanel. I could have rec'd 16% in Ireland. PLUS Ireland does not require you to get a customs stamp on any individual purchases of 2,000 euros for a VAT refund. The Dublin airport actually presents these receipts to customs on your behalf! My WOC was exactly 2000 euros (I bought in France and then exited from Ireland) and so I needed a customs officer to give me a stamp but it was so easy, he was really nice, and didn't even ask to see my bag (which was great because it would have been a shame to unbox it in an airport).
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I recently placed an order on Mytheresa , it was a YSL bag and I got charged duty and my tariff treatment code was 2 which I did research and it was Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) . I placed a first order from them which was a CHLOE bag and I did not get charged duty, the code was 13. It is super annoying on how they seem to charge duty and tax based on their mood or knowledge. I looked at the dispute process and i seems to be long and painful. I don't know if I should submit the dispute online or not . This really scares me from buying anything from MYTHERESA in the future. DHL was the carrier.
Anyone from Canada ordered items from Europe and returned them back? When you get charged on duty and tax , do you guys submit CBSA for tax refund form? Any success?
Thanks for posting about your experience with MyTheresa. I’ve been contemplating ordering from them but was too scared of being ding with duty and HST upon arrival of the goods since they ship from Germany. I guess I will not order from them then...
Thank you so much @acey1491 for posting this very detailed and informative thread. I’ve always wondered what you ladies do when arriving back home with your new purchases and this post will really help me and many other Canadian fellows.
Hello all,
I have a silly question regarding customs based on my purchase from the UK company, 8K Flexwarm (they sell jackets that have a warming unit embedded in them). Back in February, I purchased 3 jackets during their sale at 30% off - 2 adult versions at 160 GBP each and 1 kid version at 75 GBP so the total was 395 GBP ($512.50 USD) with free shipping to the US. The current retail price for all 3 is 547 GBP (approximately $709 USD).
I received a bill from DHL in late April and they charged me a 28.2% duty based on an item value of $850.37 (approx. 652 GBP). When I contacted 8K, they stated that the prices were previously that high, that they recently lowered them but the customs info was entered into the computer automatically and had no control over it. When I disagreed and pushed back, they agreed to do a partial refund based on the taxes I would've paid if it was at 547 but still not at 395 GBP.
However, regardless of what the retail is going for, I should only be charged duty based on what I paid right? I tried looking up the info on US Customs and Border Protection site and it said, "The value on a commercial invoice should be the price the buyer in the US paid for the goods, not the amount the goods will be sold for in the US..."
I just wanted to make sure I'm not wrong before I respond. Thank you in advance!
I have a silly question regarding customs based on my purchase from the UK company, 8K Flexwarm (they sell jackets that have a warming unit embedded in them). Back in February, I purchased 3 jackets during their sale at 30% off - 2 adult versions at 160 GBP each and 1 kid version at 75 GBP so the total was 395 GBP ($512.50 USD) with free shipping to the US. The current retail price for all 3 is 547 GBP (approximately $709 USD).
I received a bill from DHL in late April and they charged me a 28.2% duty based on an item value of $850.37 (approx. 652 GBP). When I contacted 8K, they stated that the prices were previously that high, that they recently lowered them but the customs info was entered into the computer automatically and had no control over it. When I disagreed and pushed back, they agreed to do a partial refund based on the taxes I would've paid if it was at 547 but still not at 395 GBP.
However, regardless of what the retail is going for, I should only be charged duty based on what I paid right? I tried looking up the info on US Customs and Border Protection site and it said, "The value on a commercial invoice should be the price the buyer in the US paid for the goods, not the amount the goods will be sold for in the US..."
I just wanted to make sure I'm not wrong before I respond. Thank you in advance!
This is a really good question! I would like to know that too. I know some people will buy it after security so in that way the VAT is not included in the price.
Similar to a question above, has anyone in the US bought items from Europe online and returned them? Is there a way to avoid being dinged with customs twice?
The invoice is value. So had you brought them into US you would have paid based on the receipt. Thru mail the store fill in the value. They screwed up,
Customs does not care if you use it as long as you pay. Only VAT refunds requires it be “new” when you claim refund.
Thank you for the reply. I ended up finding the US Customs website that stated, "The value on a commercial invoice should be the price the buyer in the US paid for the goods, not for the value the goods would have been sold for in the US." I didn't back down and the company ended up refunding me the difference directly since they refused to resubmit the paperwork to DHL. Needless to say, I'll be wary from ordering from them again or using companies that only use courier services like DHL in the future!