Okay so I received my Clifton and Park Avenue shoes today which I bought from the Allen Edmonds shoe bank. Both of course made in USA but I got charged by customs for around $75. Wouldn't these shoes be covered under NAFTA?
Charged duty on Allen Edmonds shoes?
- Thread starter cluelessdude
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It's "free trade ... except for all the exceptions". But "NAFTEFATEA" doesn't really roll off the tongue, so we call it Nafta.
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- #3
lol oh I see, any idea though what the exception(s) might be in this case?
Were you charged duties or were you charged taxes? Tax is still collected even if the item falls under NAFTA.
I ordered some items from AE a year or so ago and it came with no duties/taxes.. but it came by a method which had those all included in the shipping price (I want to say it was UPS Worldwide Saver). When I made a recent order from AE I noticed they had shipped a different method and I was hit with tax but no duties as they were US made items.
Does that help any?
I ordered some items from AE a year or so ago and it came with no duties/taxes.. but it came by a method which had those all included in the shipping price (I want to say it was UPS Worldwide Saver). When I made a recent order from AE I noticed they had shipped a different method and I was hit with tax but no duties as they were US made items.
Does that help any?
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- #5
Oh okay yeah I just noticed on the slip that the charge was for tax (13%) and then of course the $10 handling costs. They used USPS for my shipment. Was it because my package was over $500 that I got charged for the first time or is it just random?
All depends how the customs forms were filled out. While I don't have an issue paying the HST (I live on Ontario) I do have a big issue paying a tariff, I think around 18-20% to protect an industry (men's dress shoes) that has disappeared from Canadian landscape.
It SHOULDN'T be random when you get charged tax but to be honest.. it sometimes is. In all my time ordering packages and having them come through Canada Post (USPS origin or foreign origin) this has been 'the norm' for me when it comes to tax/duties:
If a package is around $75 or under it skims through without a second look 9 times out of 10.
If a package is between $75-$150 I get charged tax maybe 4 out of 10 times.
Above $150 and I'll get charged tax 9 out of 10 times, though I did have a 350 dollar package come through once without any duties.
My favourite is when I get items from England and the value is marked in USD (the company chooses to mark it that instead of British Pounds sometimes) and I get charged Tax/Duties on the value as if it were in British pounds, ie 450 USD value calculated as 450 British Pound value. I loooove waiting the 8-10 weeks to get my appropriate refund from Canada Customs because they didn't read the correct value and just assumed.
I've also had to challenge NAFTA items a few times. Morale of the story really is if you think the item is covered, fill out the back of the customs form and challenge the fees. It takes a long time to get your refund but I have always received money back if my challenge was valid.
Aaahh, that makes sense.
The last time I imported shoes from the US, it was "Peal" shoes from Brooks Bros., and those are made in England ... the duties were 'don't-do-this-again-inducingly' steep.
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