importing an expensive toy into Canada: duty/tariff question

[Crimmsy]

As a Canadian living in Canada, if I go to a bike shop in the US and buy a bike for US$2000, what duties/tariffs/fees would I be responsible for when I brought the bike back into Canada? I expect I’d be charged GST, but what other fees would I incur?

From this DEPARTMENTAL CONSOLIDATION of the CUSTOMS TARIFF 2005 site, section 87, “Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof”, it seems bicycles are subject to a 13% MFN tariff, as well as various “preferential tariffs”. I don’t know what any of the abbreviations mean, and my search of the Canada Border Services Agency website for the definitions has been fruitless.

Can anyone help me?

[wolfstu]

I can’t find a lot more in that government site. I did find this, though:

Canadians already bear the highest bicycle tariffs in the world. The proposed 30% surtax would be applied in addition to two existing protections - a 13% customs tariff that is applied to every bicycle imported into Canada irrespective of origin and special antidumping duties ranging from 5-50% that have been imposed on bicycles from Taiwan and China for well over a decade
. . .
The effect of this 30% surtax will be to increase the cost of import bicycles at price-points that are occupied by commuter bicycles and high quality entry level bicycles used by youths.

The statement from the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on this can be found here.

A poster on another message board asked a similar question, and was told

I wanted to purchase a new bicycle from a U.S. company and because the bike was assembled in Taiwan I was informed that the bike would be subject to a 13% duty. If the bike had been assembled in the U.S. there would no duty.

It’s also mentioned that you have to pay GST and PST.

The campus paper at the University of Manitoba says:

Currently, all imported cycles are subject to the 13 per cent tariff, as well as anti-dumping tariffs that prevent large quantities of bicycle parts from being brought into the country to avoid taxation.

So, I haven’t found an official word, but between the Border Servics document and several news stroies about the (proposed) new tariff lisitng the existing tariffs, it looks like 13% is all you’d pay. Plus, of course, GST and PST. It looks like a bike valued at $US 2000 would be above the price affected by the new 30% tariff, by the way:

Woodcock explained that the new surtax is intended to impact low quality and low technology imports, which generally retail for less than $100. But, he says, in including all cycles priced under $700, the majority of bicycle sales will be impacted