[Bulk] Re: [Elecraft] Import duties on amateur radio items

[Darrell Bellerive]

I can't address this for the EU, but when importing into Canada, the 
Government only charges taxes on the value of the goods, not the shipping and 
handling.

If the invoice does not clearly show the breakdown of the price then the 
government will charge on the total value. That is why it is important for 
exporters to clearly show on the invoice the price of the goods, and the 
price of shipping and handling as separate line items.

The last invoice I have from Elecraft shows that they do this correctly.

Even though there is no duty on amateur radio equipment into Canada, there are 
still charges to pay:
1) Sales taxes. The Federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) at 5% plus any 
provincial sales taxes that are applicable.
2) Brokerage fees. If the package comes across the border via a courier such 
as UPS or Fedex, then they will charge a brokerage fee for importing the 
item. This can be substantial at times. Some couriers have a rate category 
that includes the brokerage fees. Another common practice by the couriers is 
to deliver the package and then bill later for the brokerage fees. A few 
times I thought I had gotten away with no fees, only to get a big bill in the 
mail a month later. A package that comes across via the postal system is only 
charged a flat $5 fee. That is why I now will only us the postal system for 
imports.

Darrell
VA7TO



On Wednesday 09 April 2008 00:21, David Woolley (E.L) wrote:
> > The worst thing is that both duty and taxes are applied to the bottom
> > line of the invoice, the total including both shipping and insurance!
> > Helpful exporters to the EU will bill for those two service items
> > separately, so that duty and VAT are applied only to the true value of
> > the goods. As far as I'm aware, this is a perfectly legal way to
> > minimize the tax liability.
>
> I am pretty sure that that is illegal tax evasion, if they only include
> the goods value on the declaration.  The Revenue and Customs document
> that explains the current rules for postal shipments makes it very
> clear, and cites source legislation, that duty and VAT are based on the
> bottom line price, including shipping and insurance.
>

-- 
Darrell Bellerive
Amateur Radio Stations VA7TO and VE7CLA
Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada