AnimeSuki Forums

BaronNoir · 2014-02-27, 17:26

Several months ago, an ''To Love'' artbook I ordered from Japan was intercepted by the Canadian Customs, which led me to a panic attack thinking I could get busted for importing obscene materials.

Today, I again got the wrath of the customs, but for something even worse.

A huge fan of the series ''Noir'', I ordered the Blu-Ray from AMI-AMI. 330 $.

The package got intercepted. Now, as anime goes, Noir is extremely tame and even the most paranoid customs officers could not find something obscene

What is obscene is the 90$ extra custom fee tags.

***relentlessflame*** · 2014-02-27, 23:22

Welcome to the world of importing, more or less. Many jurisdictions apply tax and duty, and whether they charge and how much they decide to charge can be somewhat random.

That being said, I would look over the invoice to make sure they charged the correct rate. Particularly, look and see how they classified the goods. In some cases, if the goods were misclassified, additional tariffs can apply above and beyond the appropriate rate. (For example, I had once a case where they misclassified something as clothing, and it was subject to an additional 18% tax that doesn't apply to Blu-Rays/DVDs.) In such cases, you can submit the proper documentation and apply for a refund, and the procedure should be outlined.

Trying to figure out the appropriate tax/tariffs can be rather complicated (of course it literally is a full-time job for customs brokers), but eventually in time you can research and figure most of it out. That still doesn't mean it'll always be applied in a consistent way, because there are so many different variations in the process.

0utf0xZer0 · 2014-02-28, 01:39

I don't know about for your province, but for BC Canada Custom's duties and taxes estimator gives and estimate of $65.47 for $330 (12% sales taxes plus 7% duty calculated on the after tax amount).

However, some couriers will charge a custom brokerage fee to bring your stuff into Canada. UPS is particularly notorious for this because of how high their rates are (ie. $19.45 on a $50 item).
This fee:
a) Will usually not be included in the shipping quote given when you order.
b) May be lumped together with the actual duties and takes on the bill they give you cash on delivery.

2014-02-27, 17:26	Link #1
BaronNoir Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005	My further dealings with Canadian Customs Several months ago, an ''To Love'' artbook I ordered from Japan was intercepted by the Canadian Customs, which led me to a panic attack thinking I could get busted for importing obscene materials. Today, I again got the wrath of the customs, but for something even worse. A huge fan of the series ''Noir'', I ordered the Blu-Ray from AMI-AMI. 330 $. The package got intercepted. Now, as anime goes, Noir is extremely tame and even the most paranoid customs officers could not find something obscene What is obscene is the 90$ extra custom fee tags.

2014-02-27, 23:22	Link #2
*relentlessflame* 　 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2003 Age: 41	Welcome to the world of importing, more or less. Many jurisdictions apply tax and duty, and whether they charge and how much they decide to charge can be somewhat random. That being said, I would look over the invoice to make sure they charged the correct rate. Particularly, look and see how they classified the goods. In some cases, if the goods were misclassified, additional tariffs can apply above and beyond the appropriate rate. (For example, I had once a case where they misclassified something as clothing, and it was subject to an additional 18% tax that doesn't apply to Blu-Rays/DVDs.) In such cases, you can submit the proper documentation and apply for a refund, and the procedure should be outlined. Trying to figure out the appropriate tax/tariffs can be rather complicated (of course it literally is a full-time job for customs brokers), but eventually in time you can research and figure most of it out. That still doesn't mean it'll always be applied in a consistent way, because there are so many different variations in the process. __________________ [...]

2014-02-28, 01:39	Link #3
0utf0xZer0 Pretentious moe scholar Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vancouver, Canada Age: 37	I don't know about for your province, but for BC Canada Custom's duties and taxes estimator gives and estimate of $65.47 for $330 (12% sales taxes plus 7% duty calculated on the after tax amount). However, some couriers will charge a custom brokerage fee to bring your stuff into Canada. UPS is particularly notorious for this because of how high their rates are (ie. $19.45 on a $50 item). This fee: a) Will usually not be included in the shipping quote given when you order. b) May be lumped together with the actual duties and takes on the bill they give you cash on delivery. __________________ Signature courtesy of Ganbaru.