Importing to Canada

[TonyA]

Does anyone have any experience of importing a yacht from the UK to Canada ?

 

[Trevethan]

No experience of importing yachts.

However, Customs Canada are real sharks.

My wife is Canadian and we got married over there. I mailed over a few bits and pieces that would be needed for the wedding that I just wasn't able to carry.

Despite marking the the packages as gifts/personal; property, Canadian customslevied a duty on them based on what they thougt the stuff was worth.

The postal people refused to release the package unless I paid the duty, and so was forced to shell out about $250 to get my own property.

I spent a number of hours on the phone with them, both while there and back over here. They rey told me to get the tax back I had to prove that I had re-exported the goods and not left them in Canada.

Got quite irate and started haranguing them. Calling them pirates, telling them how they all but ruined my wedding, that new bride was so upset etc etc etc, And eventually I was sent a cheque, in Canadian dollars. For most of the amount. Then had to pay to convert to pounds etc, so still cost me a fair bit.

Anyway be warned, Canadians are generally lovely people, but the bureaucrats are generally weasels.

 

[RacePassage]

Tony. As a canadian and ex Brit I can sympathise with you. Some years ago I wanted to buy a nicholson 303 in Washington State and import into British Columbia. As the boat had not been built in the USA or Canada the Canadian customs wanted something like a 30% import duty.
What with NAFTA I do not think that there is any duties on an American built boat but in addition to any duty there would be 7% federal tax and in addition a provincial tax. For B.C. its 7.5% but for Alberta Nil. Is this any help?