rivingtonpike

You probably all know but:
If you order stuff from Amazon.co.uk and have it shipped over here, they usually/always take off the VAT. I looked into a box set of DVDs, bought directly from Amazon. They were about £24 I think. When I punched in my home address in BC they automatically took off the VAT. The postage was only £3ish, so I was quids-in buying from the UK. It was cheaper to buy direct than to use my Dad's address then him forward it on. Cheaper than him to buy it for himself in the UK!!

This, however, does seem to depend on who's shipping it and the cost of the goods. If the goods come direct from Amazon the postage is pretty cheap. As long as you keep under the radar in terms of value for Canada customs duty, it seems like a great wheeze to me!

foreigngirl

What IS the value for Canada customs in terms of duty?
Don't you have to pay GST?

Oink

Naff em.

cbrown89

Wow 20% of 24 quid is 4.80.....

MarkG

There is no lower limit for tax on imports to Canada, is there?

I ordered a DVD from Amazon UK recently, they sent it by courier even though I only paid for the slow boat, and I ended up being charged $13 by the courier to collect $3 in tax. Or maybe it was $1 in tax? The courier got about 10x as much as the government did, anyway.

rivingtonpike

I think you have to be careful it is actually being bought from Amazon - not just a company that uses their site to sell stuff. I've had numerous DVDs etc sent by "Amazon" themselves and never been charged anything.

balUK

Is there any informatioin available on what is charged under customs in Canada? I remember back in the UK you didn't have to pay any customs if the order value was less than £20 (or similar amount, can't remember now).

Edo

I usually just buy my DVDs from China Town or from the guy that pops in to the hairdresser's with a bag full while I am having my haircut

Novocastrian

Nah, shouldn't think so.

Former Lancastrian

Nobody thought to use the CBSA website
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...f5092-eng.html

Basically items under $20 not subject to taxes however if the order is over $20 then applicable duties and taxes (PST,GST/HST) can be collected.
If sent by regular mail then there is also a Canada Post handling fee.
Duties are assessed on where items are made so clothing, fabric and shoes attract around 17% duty so be warned it can get expensive.

JGK

I've bought from amazon.co.uk in the past, and quite often, if the order was large enough, got free shipping. they seem to use UPS for the bulk of their deliveries.

They deduct the 20% VAT then, technically, UPS are supposed to retrieve the GST on delivery. Normally, I was at work when they turned up and they just left the package abut 80% of the time. If they left a "could not deliver" notice I normally paid the GST to reclaim the item

Dashie

I got stung on a couple of DVDs a few years ago from amazon.co.uk, ended up costing triple

We get it sent to a relative it he UK now, and they either forward stuff or just bring it with them next visit.

Aviator

We shop from Amazon UK a lot, the saving on sales tax is greater than shipping. Tax is prepaid and there is no additional cost, any extra tax or duty they pay and less you get a refund. Bought books and art supplies. We get it in 3-4 days as opposed to 7-10 days from Amazon.ca

MarkG

So why do I have to pay tax on things they ship me?

That's how amazon.com works. It doesn't seem to be how amazon.co.uk works.

Dashie

I didn't think there was any vat to remove on books?