Does anyone know if you have to pay GST/PST on vehicles which are bought either privately or from a dealer in another province, say Alberta, when you go to register them in BC?

Thanks in advance.

Depends on how long you have owned it, or if a new purchase if were you resident in that province at the time of the purchase (if you can show an out of province license). If you are a BC resident buying outside of the province you will have to pay PST when you register the vehicle. Private sales do not attract GST, purchases from a dealer do, in every province, you only have to pay this once and you pay it through the dealer.

Someone I know went to the US to buy a car. They bought it in Oregon so paid no sales tax. When they got to the border they declared they were importing the car. They had all the documents in order and the customs officer collected GST on the purchase price.

He took the car to Canadian Tire for the modifications then went to an Autoplan broker to register, license and insure it. He was surprised when the broker did not charge him PST. When he queried it the broker said they only collect PST when there is a change of ownership, and as the vehicle was already in his name (albeit in Oregon) they were not going to collect any PST from him.

He insured the car, drove it home, and waited for ICBC or the Ministry of Finance to send him a bill. They never did.

In theory, I suppose he should self-assess the PST and remit it to the Government. I expect he will forget to do that.