[bechsgaard]

Hey guys, i was wondering afew things. What is the percentage duty AND tax on importing complete bikes from England to Canada. IS there any way to avoid it, ie marking it as a gift, or whatever. Is there any teqniques to minimize the chance of having to pay these duties?

Thanks

 

[spsoon]

Just use the postal service, and avoid couriers like UPS, FedEx, etc. Sometimes I get charged GST + $8, sometimes they don't even bother collecting. Have never been charged duty on bike parts.

 

[bechsgaard]

Sorry I'm talking about complete bikes

 

[cerebroside]

- Complete bikes are 13% duty, parts have no duty (IIRC apart from wheels at 6%.) You can apparently avoid duty by shipping the bike in parts. No reputable store will mark a package as a gift.
- You will get charged whatever sale tax in your province is on top of this, no matter what you buy (i.e. 13% HST in B.C.).
- As stated, do not use UPS or FedEx. Anything that does final stage by Canada Post is good (i.e. USPS, whatever CRC uses). DHL is much better than UPS or FedEx, but more than Canada Post.
- Here is a good calculator, fees should be the same coming from the UK: The Final Cost

Edit: Check with your LBS, as you may find you save little to nothing buying online on a lot of stuff.
Edit2: Frames are apparently 5%, wheels 6.5%.

 

[bechsgaard]

We have hst here in Ontario but I heard there is some sort of reduced tax for bikes

 

[Slash5]

We have hst here in Ontario but I heard there is some sort of reduced tax for bikes

I was told that disappeared with the HST.

Only way to beat it is to have a US bike shipped to a border address like Buffalo or Niagara Falls. Then pick it up and try to bluff your way across. Even better stay the weekend and you're golden.
I bought a bike while on holidays in the US and claimed it when crossing. They didn't even blink, didn't seem to care about the value.

 

[bechsgaard]

so its 26% duty and tax??

 

[bechsgaard]

is that 13% duty also for english imports?

 

[rockyuphill]

A nice summary of the duty rates and tariff item #'s

Importing Bikes and Parts to Canada - Vancruisers.ca - Vancouver Cruiser Bike Club! Cruiser Calendar, Vancouver Cruiser Rides

 

[bechsgaard]

so is the cost the exact same from england????

 

[Slash5]

Yes, UK is the same.

 

[bechsgaard]

Do they always charge the duty, is it a common thing?

 

[Slash5]

Most of my purchases are bike parts so I don't get duty. I've bought a lot of frames and a couple sets of wheels and they have come as bike parts too so no duty - they should have been charged.
I had one package marked bicycle in error and got nailed with duty - which was stupid cause it was a small box of misc stuff and not expensive.
I find that under $100 I usually don't get charged taxes and fee, over that and I usually am charged. However I've had frames and wheels come without taxes and small packages get charged.
You should assume you will be charged when you are deciding to buy and hope you won't.

I really wanted to get some winter shoes when CRC had them on sale but with a potential 18% duty, plus taxes, plus $8 fee, it was too rich for me.

 

[Gundam168]

I think the OP should stop posting and start to actually buy a bike.

This just in:

Bikes in Canada could get more expensive under new federal budget | Calgary Herald

Just get that Hardrock Disc Sport in your LBS and stop overanalyzing your choices.

 

[raymsl]

Why would there be duty on wheels? The rule is if its essential to the bike, there is no PST. only, GST.

 

[Finch Platte]

Hopefully, Picard will chime in to this moldy thread, as he is (supposedly) Canadian, and has a lot of good advice to offer.

I mean, lots.