Q:It’s holiday season, and I am loading up my family and the trailer and heading down to the United States. I expect my wife and kids will be shopping there. What are the limits for bringing back goods to Canada?
A:Within reason, there aren’t any real limits to consumer goods you can bring back. What you’re really asking about is how much you can bring back home without paying anything for it.
Goods brought into Canada from another country are subject to a duty.
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Basically, paying this duty is the general rule, to which there are exceptions. The first thing to remember is that you are going to pay duty, unless you can fit within one of the exceptions that allow you to get away without paying it.
These exceptions are called “personal exemptions” by Canada’s border officials. These personal exemptions let you bring goods back into Canada from the United States without having to pay the regular duty assessable on those items, provided they are equal to or less than a certain set value.
The value of goods you can bring back depends in part on the type of goods and the amount of time you have spent in the U.S. Those goods, under those limits, are referred to as “duty free.”
Note that there are some types of tobacco products that attract a minimum amount of duty. You are legally obligated to declare these items at the border and pay the duty on them.
There are also some types of items that cannot be brought into Canada, no matter what. It’s not a question of paying a fee, they just can’t be taken across the border. Prohibited goods include some types of weapons and obscene material such as child pornography.
You cannot bring in foreign money of a value greater than $10,000 Cdn. Strangely, there is a specific provision against importing used or second-hand mattresses. A used mattress must have a certificate of fumigation. Also, food items are restricted and you should check before trying to bring back certain types of food.
You can check on whether you are allowed to bring in certain items on the federal government website.
If you try to bring back food items and don’t declare them, they can penalize you up to $400, confiscate the stuff, and even charge you with a criminal offence.
Pets and animals are also subject to restrictions. You can bring them here but only after rigorous veterinary testing has been done. There may also be a period of quarantine.
The next consideration is one of timing. How long you’ve spent in the U.S. will dictate how much you can bring back duty-free.
If you’re gone for more than 24 hours, your limit is $50.
On this exemption, if the goods are worth more, the duty is to be paid on the entire amount. So if you bring back $60 worth of stuff, you pay duty on the whole $60 not just the $10 excess. Also, this cannot include any alcohol or tobacco products.
If you’re out of Canada in excess of 48 hours, you may claim up to $400 of goods duty-free. This includes some tobacco and alcohol. If you are absent from Canada in excess of seven days, you may claim up to $750 worth of goods duty-free, including some alcohol and tobacco. All values are in Canadian dollars.
The duty is not much, and it’s clearly better to declare all you have instead of cheating and not reporting what you purchased. Fines and penalties can be stern.
If you fail to declare goods or do so falsely, the border agency can seize them. To get them returned to you, you may have to pay penalties ranging from 25 to 80 percent of the value of seized goods.
Border guards can also seize any vehicle used to import goods illegally. A record is kept of your problems, and you may face issues at the border in the future.
When crossing the border, honesty is always the best policy.
Before you go
Go to www.inspection.gc.ca/english/imp/airse . shtml# or call 1-800-461-9999 from within Canada, or 204-983-3500 outside Canada, to check whether an item may be imported.
Rick Danyliuk is a lawyer with McDougall Gauley LLP in Saskatoon.
