Import taxes and fees into Canada?
 

Hey Guys,

I have been looking into picking up a few parts for my 2016 FRS, but wondering how importing car parts work from the states into Canada. I have read so many websites about import charges and some say there are no charges because of NAFTA, but others state automotive parts are charges at 6%, others say you pay Federal tax when imported.

I live in Ontario and i just don't wanna spend thousands of dollars and get charged a large amount of importing tax when it shows up at my door.

Let me know if anyone has experience and can shed some light.

Thanks for you help!

At the very least you'll pay Ontario taxes on anything coming in, and if the product wasn't manufactured in North America, you'll also pay an additional tax on that.

If you want to avoid border issues, just buy from a place in Canada. With the state of our dollar, it's probably better to be shopping up here anyway.

And I would say try and find a place that ships USPS. Places like UPS or DHL Will bend you over on broker fees. But like wparsons said try and find it in canada already then there is no surprise fees.

I have used these guys for a bunch of stuff they are even in Ontario and have had no problems at all https://www.ft86motorsports.com/

So work it out like this. Take the base value+shipping of the item in question. General duties and fees on car parts made in the USA are taxed at 21% (13% Ontario HST+8% duty) so add that. Take that value and factor in exchange rate at 24% right now. Last but not least, if you can't sign the item into the country yourself, expect to pay $50 or ~5% brokerage fee, whichever is more.

This is how I paid $1300CAD on my $800USD brake kit.

Either buy in Canada or bend over.

Actually, either way expect to bend over...

It ain't going away. :cry:

I thought NAFTA applies for North American made products. Most parts are from Asia though.

NAFTA applies to businesses and governments, not Joe citizen, as far as I know.

Pretty surw it means no tariffs or duties for goods made in North America sold from NAFTA partner country to another. For example I sell steel to the US, made in Canada which is exempt. You can buy a car in the US brand new if it was North American made and pay only sales tax and registration costs importing to Canada. A new BRZ for example would have an additional tax, something like 6.5% ON TOP of 13% HST.

I have purchased a lot of American made parts online and I have never been charged for duty. HST is always charged. Brokerage or handling fees are always charged if duty or taxes were calculated.

When buying american made parts I always buy direct from the manufacturer's website if available (i.e. buy Radium only from radiumauto.com, Nameless only from namelessperformance.com). I like to support the manufacturer directly.

Always ask the company to write "made in USA" on the shipping box and documents. The brokers/customs agents will know how to classify the items. Some companies have boxes and/or stickers with "made in USA" printed on them.

When the package arrives and you are asked to pay tax/duty, always review the invoice. Only HST should be charged. Duty should be zero. Duty and tax are calculated based on the value of the goods being shipped. Some companies will declare full retail value, some will only declare cost of materials, some will declare a totally random number. Check the FAQ section or ask the company what their policy is if you are curious.

Brokerage/handling is always charged for calculating duty and tax. The few receipts I can find show that UPS charged $10 and Canada Post $9.95. UPS brokerage fees depends on the declared value of the goods. I have had parts arrive by FedEx but I don't have any receipts saved.

Enjoy your American made parts.

Ship it to CBI across the border and pick it up. Just pay 13% hst

Thats the way to get free shipping within US and I guess if you are clever you might have brought goods over undeclared at some point *cough* as some small items like a replacement HKSsupercharger and $400 bottle of traction oil fit in the tool kit as spares.

I bought some parts from the US and had them shipped to Ogdensburg (small town on US side). Declared them at the border and was waved through; paid $0.

I go to school over the boarder often so its a quick stop :) never questioned yet

lol, why would you tell the whole innernet this?