This is something that has been bothering me for quite some time: When should import duties not be due?
Now, I’m quite aware that if I bought something from, say, a seller in the US who is a registered business and charges local tax on his products, then duty would be due upon arrival to me. This is perfectly sensible.
But what if I were to buy some new or used product off of eBay from Private Joe Citizen, who is not a reseller or in any event did not sell the item under the auspices of his business? Regardless of the value of the item (and assuming it is valued beyond the Canadian exemption rate of $20.00 on the customs form) should there be any duty due upon its arrival?
My understanding is that if the item is being sold in a private capacity – private citizen to private citizen no different than if you were to buy someone’s stuff at their yard sale – and whether it is new or used, then no duty should be charged as it is not a taxable sale. If the seller cannot charge taxes because they are not a business and do not have a registered tax number under which they would remit those taxes to the government, then I should not be charged taxes under any circumstances.
I understand that if there is some ambiguity as to the commercial status of the seller then Canada Customs will err on the side of profit (err, I mean, protecting the national business interest.) But if it is clearly a case of a private sale can customs still go ahead and charge anyway?
And what about the “gift” box on the customs form? I’ve been charged duty even when this has been ticked. Do customs officials routinely ignore this box and assume the sender is lying?
And what about evaluation? Let’s say no value is written on the customs form, or the custom official decides all by his lonesome that there’s no way that iPod or that notebook computer costs $20. How do they then re-evaluate the item? Do they have some massive price database they can look up the value of things in, or do they just guess or roll dice or read tea leaves?
And what recourse do I have if I find I have been wrongly charged duty fees? What do they need for proof? Are any laws being broken when they re-evaluate items or ignore the “gift” box?