notshipman

Can I ask if you live in BC can you hop across the border and do your weekly shop in a walmart or trader joes then bring it back duty free? Granted this excludes alcohol as part of your weekly shop. I just mean the normal things fruit veg meat etc

Former Lancastrian

While some items will be duty free some of these items will attract PST and GST.
Basically if you normally pay PST/GST on those goods in Canada they can charge you on these items when entering Canada.

scrubbedexpat091

I know a friend who does just that, and so far he has never been charged duty on anything, but obviously it will all depend on the mood of the officer your dealing with.

I've never been stopped to pay duty on any cross border shopping, but I know some have been, so from what I can see there is no consistency and all comes down to the officer your dealing with.

For my friend who is a math wizz, even if charged taxes on everything, its still cheaper to buy in the US since he has figured out the exact price difference of everything he buys.

He buys virtually nothing in Canada, even crosses for gas.

notshipman

Do you show the goods you bought at the border or the receipts? What is general limit before they get interested?

Steve_

Yes, obviously if you're not Canadian or American you have to use ESTA or get a visa depending on your nationality.

Loads of Canadians do this, why do you think there is a gas station just on the other side of Pacific Hwy and Peace Arch and a Cost Cutter just around the corner from Pacific Hwy?

Most food is exempt from duty under NAFTA, anything from Mexico/US/Canada. Stuff that is subject to GST/PST in BC will have to have tax paid on it, which includes things like candy, cakes, etc.

Note that many food items you would not be allowed to bring in from elsewhere you can bring in from the US, such as milk and eggs (for personal use in reasonable amounts, the exact amounts are on the CBSA website).

scrubbedexpat091

I've never had them look through anything, I always have the receipts to hand over though if asked, sometimes the officer asks, sometimes they don't.

As to an amount where they get interested in charging you, no clue.

Aviator

Whether you get stopped or not is dependent on the individual, the officer and the value of the goods coming in. Last week I came across and CBSA had a Dodge Ram stripped down and hooked up to a to truck. I often have to pay tax, sometimes duty with high value items.

You cannot bring fruit and veg into Canada from the US without USDA/CFIA paperwork, not worth the grief. Some meat products can also be a problem. Also the US has different regulations for what chemicals and drugs can be used in farmed products.

Steve_

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/fpa-apa/regs-eng.html

You can bring in fruit and veg that you might actually want to bring in such as tropical fruits and canned stuff. I remember sitting in secondary once and they made a big stink about some bagged lettuce they found in someone's RV. Which is exactly the same stuff grown in California you can buy in supermarkets on either side of the border. Doesn't have to make sense... but with stuff like lettuce I don't think I'd make the effort anyway.

I think the key points are: declare everything, not worth being fined over and you can usually but not always bring in things from the US you can't bring in from elsewhere.

The one that got me was that you can only bring in "shelf stable" meats from outside of Canada - except the US.

I've used this website in the past which tells you for certain: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/i.../1300127627409 - bit fiddly to use though.

Aviator

Because the products brought into Canada through commercial channels have been inspected by USDA and certified as free from pests and diseases that may be harmful to Canadian Agriculture. Ag Canada have then given a release to let them into Canada if accompanied by the correct paperwork.

If the paperwork is out even a smidgen, it won't get in. We have had this happen several times.

Anyone can bring in most fruit and veg, so long as they have it inspected and get the import permit and phyto to go with it. Cheaper to buy it in Canada unless you want a lot of it.

bats

I heard recently that you can only bring in pet food if the animal that is going to eat the food is with you. What's that all about then? Whiskas dealing!

colchar

There are limits to what you can bring in and those limits depend on length of stay in the US. Jumping across the border and coming back a couple of hours later wouldn't qualify (unless things have changed recently).

Steve_

Because it's "personal" use I suppose and clearly you personally aren't going to eat it, your pet will. But yeah, a bit stupid. Especially if you live in south Surrey and you're going to the Cost Cutter in Blaine.

I suppose in retaliation you can get your dog to shit all over Peace Arch park on the US side.

http://inspection.gc.ca/animals/terr.../1321129556426

Steve_

Yeah but the standard exemptions aren't really relevant for most stuff you would buy at a supermarket because there's no GST or PST on them and they're US-source (mostly) so exempt from duty under NAFTA.

I suppose the simplest way to figure it out is go shopping in BC, see what gets taxed on your receipt and then only buy the stuff in the US that has no tax (minus fresh fruit and veg). Bearing in mind though you still come out ahead if you pay the tax, but do you want to hang around in secondary. Get a NEXUS card and use the TDC: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-vo...tions-eng.html

bats

I suppose they don't get many travelling cats, hamsters, goldfish.

Former Lancastrian

From the CFIA website
Personal Imports
Travellers may bring into Canada a personal import of pet food (limit of 20 kg), if the import meets all of the following requirements:

The pet food or product must be of United States origin and be commercially packaged.
The pet food or product must be in the possession of the traveller at the time of entry from the U.S.
The animal that will eat the imported product must accompany the traveller at the time of entry.
The imported product is fed only to the animal that accompanied the traveller into Canada.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/.../1321129556426