T&T: Canadian Customs

[Terrence Neill]

SNIP
>   I know the permitted limit per
> person, but what happens when the limit is exceeded?  Go to jail?   
> Pay a
> tax?  Toss the stuff overboard?  If it is a matter of paying an  
> import tax,
> is it better to take very little with us and buy everything in Canada?
SNIP

 From the website
  http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4161/rc4161-e.html#P007
  'Information for Visitors to Canada'
quote-" You can bring in more than the free allowance of alcohol  
except in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. However, the  
quantities must be within the limit set by the province or territory  
where you will enter Canada. If the value of the goods is more than  
the free allowance, you will have to pay both customs and provincial  
or territorial assessments. For more information, check with the  
appropriate provincial or territorial liquor control authority before  
coming to Canada." Unquote.

The BC Liquor Distribution Act states that a Customs Officer (Canada  
- federal) must seize the booze you have declared which is in excess  
of the allowed federal limit, and then may sell it back to you at  
some unspecified price. I haven't yet found that price, but as Steve  
says, it'll be high. And time-consuming.

I've always found it more worry-free to stay exactly within the  
stipulated federal limit and patronize the provincial liquor store  
and/or beer store. Beer and wine cost almost double what we pay in  
the highly taxed State of Washington; but think of it as a 'beauty tax'.

Terry
Tamarack