Posted in Customs Law, NEXUS
There is a trend at Montreal
Trudeau International Airport – Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) officers
are asking women who return to Canada with expensive purses (Dior, Prada,
Coach, Channel, etc.) to go to secondary inspection. In the Secondary
Inspection Area, the CBSA officers accuse the woman of purchasing their
purse/handbag on their most recent trip outside Canada.
The woman must
prove on the spot that the purse/handbag was (1) not purchased on the most
recent trip, and (2) was declared if purchased on an earlier trip.
If the
person says they purchased the purse/handbag in Canada, they must produce the
receipt right then and there or the purse/handbag will be seized. When
the purse/handbag is seized, the CBSA officer usually imposes a level 2 penalty
(40% of the value) after they go online to find out the going price for that
purse/handbag or a similar purse/handbag. The penalty is usually over $1000 and
the woman’s NEXUS card is usually confiscated/cancelled.
Most women have the
documentation about the purchase if it occurred in the last 2 years (sometimes
an old visa statement or the store invoice. Sometimes the store will print a
copy of an invoice from their records. If the purse/handbag was previously
imported, the woman has the Casual Goods Accounting Document showing duties
were previously paid.
Sometimes the purse was a gift
from husband or a boyfriend. The woman must get the receipt or prove
that the other person paid all applicable customs duties at the time of
importation. This can be a problem if the woman is no longer on speaking terms
with the giver of the purse/handbag.
If the purse/handbag was
previously declared/reported on a declaration card after a previous trip
outside Canada or by a courier (if the goods were shipped), it is important to
know that the CBSA does not have authority under the Customs Act to seize the purse/handbag.
Section 12(7) of the Customs Actprovides
that the following goods are not subject to seizure:
“Goods described in tariff
item 9813.00.00 or 9814.00.00 in the List of Tariff Provisions set
out in the schedule to the Customs Tariff:
·
that are in the actual possession of a person
arriving in Canada, or that form part of his baggage, where the
person and his baggage are being carried on board the same conveyance,
·
that are not charged with duties, and
·
the importation of which is not prohibited under the Customs Tariff or prohibited controlled or
regulated under any Act of Parliament other than [the Customs Act] or theCustoms Tariff
may not be seized as forfeit
under this Act by reason only that they were not reported under this section.” (Emphasis added)
Tariff Item 9813 relates to
goods originating in Canada, after having been exported therefrom, if the goods
are returned without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by
any process of manufacture or other means, or combined with any other article
abroad.
Tariff Item 9814 relates to
goods, which have once been released and accounted for under section 32 of the Customs Act and have been exported, if the goods
are returned without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by
any process of manufacture of other means, or combined with any other article
abroad.
So, if the purse/handbag was
in Canada prior to the trip abroad and the duties were paid (either because the
purse/handbag was previously declared or the purse/handbag was purchased
in Canada, then the CBSA officer should not have seized the
purse/handbag. Now, it is easy for me to say this. It is difficult
to argue with the CBSA officer during the secondary inspection. These
issues should be resolved by filing a request for redetermination and a NEXUS
appeal.
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