Geraghty Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Hi all, I am planning on sending a concertina from the US to Canada for repair and then have it sent back again. Is there any kind of paperwork I can file to prevent having to pay two lots of customs fees, considering it's only taking a vacation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill N Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 I have successfully sent concertinas in the other direction for repair, and did 2 things: *indicated on the customs form that the item was being shipped for repair, and *used the Harmonized Tariff Code (HTS) 92005.90.1800 This code lets US/Canada customs know that the contents are from a classification for which no duty is payable. I also use the Canadian/US Postal service rather than a private courier company. Although concertinas are duty-free, the private companies will still sometimes levy a customs brokerage fee. Having said that, I recently sent a concertina to someone in the US via our respective Postal Services, and it took 42 days to arrive! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyLosty Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Hey Bill! What do you do for insurance value? I've sent instruments across the border Canada to USA and back and had to pay the HST % on the declared insurance value. It was a pretty insignificant amount so I just paid it and avoided the hassle, but I'll be sending another instrument that I'll want to insure for a bit more. It would suck to pay taxes on both directions, even though I can avoid duties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill N Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 (edited) I've never paid HST on insurance value when I've sent/received something for repair. Both I and the repairer were careful to note on the customs declaration form the nature of the shipment. No way around HST on a purchase coming into Canada though*. I think it's state-by-state in the US, depending on each state's sales tax situation. ** edited to add: I always ask vendors to use USPS/Can Post if possible. Often, especially with lower value packages, they don't bother collecting the HST upon delivery. Never had that happen with a courier. Edited February 2, 2021 by Bill N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyLosty Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Ah yes I've used UPS for the last few, next time I'll go with Canada Post/USPS. Normally, when the border is open, I just toodle across to Minnesota and visit the nice USPS lady. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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