US to Canada for repair and back again - customs considerations

[Geraghty]

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?

[Bill N]

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!

[PaddyLosty]

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. 

 

 

[Bill N]

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

[PaddyLosty]

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.