Canadian shoppers are crossing the border in increasing numbers to take advantage of U.S. mail outlets offering parcel pick-up service.
Many U.S.-based online shopping websites don鈥檛 ship to Canada, and those that do often charge a hefty premium to send parcels north of the 49th parallel, says Samantha Wallace with TSB Shipping Plus in Point Roberts, Washington.
Located just a few blocks south of the Point Roberts border crossing, TSB Shipping Plus has close to 50,000 Canadians in their customer database.
With the increase in popularity of online shopping, so too has cross-border business increased at the U.S. mail outlet.
鈥淎bout 85 per cent of our business is Canadians coming down to pick up parcels they鈥檝e ordered, usually from online,鈥� Wallace says.
Canadians still have to pay tax and duty on purchases made online and picked up in the U.S., she adds, but while there are no personal exemptions for stays of less than 24 hours, often the amount of duty and taxes charged is so small it鈥檚 not worth the paperwork for border officials.
鈥淵ou have to declare what you bring back, but they usually don鈥檛 charge you tax if it鈥檚 something small,鈥� says Wallace.
However, those who don鈥檛 declare their mailed goods could face hefty fines, and even criminal prosecution.
鈥淚f you do not declare goods, or if you falsely declare them, border services officers may seize the goods,鈥� says Canadian Border Services Agency spokesperson Maria Ivancic.
鈥淪muggling, undervaluation and other Customs Act offenses may lead to seizure and/or prosecution in a court of law.鈥�
If goods are seized, you may lose the goods permanently or the CBSA may impose a penalty that ranges from 25 to 80 per cent of the value of the seized goods.
The Customs Act also gives border services officers the authority to seize all vehicles that were used to import goods unlawfully.
鈥� The CBSA website has a duty and taxes estimator which allows you to determine the amount of duty and taxes you may have to pay on your imported goods: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/dte-acl/est-cal-eng.html.
Story by Robert Mangelsdorf, Black Press
