Dumb question regarding duty and taxes

[puzzums]

I was recently on an RCCL cruise and was told, numerous times, by the ship's Shopping Guide as well as staff in the on-board jewelry shop, that purchases in places like St Kitts and St Maarten, and purchases on board in international waters, were duty and tax free and I would therefore not need to pay any duty on said purchases at customs on my arrival back in Canada. I did quite a bit of shopping in St Maarten and was dismayed when, going thru Canadian customs, was told the info given on the ship was incorrect and duty and taxes do get applied as Canada does not have any duty-free agreements with Caribbean countries. Is this not information the ship's Shopping Guide should know? He was well aware we are Canadians. The Cdn government website isn't overly clear on it either.

Can someone explain in layman terms what "duty and tax free" in other countries means for Canadians? Are these meaningless words for us and we should just expect to be hit hard if we go over our $800 allowance?

[tinkertwo]

Canadian here. I believe what they are saying is you don't pay duty or taxes on the product in the country you purchased it from. You do however need to pay duty and taxes to Canada once you go over the $800 pp amount you are allowed.

 

So, if you buy a watch for $900 in a country that is tax and duty free, the store you purchase it from will not charge you tax there. Also, the product would be less the duty fees so in theory that $900 watch would cost you $1000 or so if purchased in Canada because of duty applied to the product when it walked in our door.

 

You do indeed get to claim your $800 and pay no tax or duty but anything over and above would be taxed and duty to be paid when it comes into Canada. When we were onboard the Oasis I felt it was explained properly however we have been to these countries numerous times and already know the ins and outs. Sorry you didn't get a better explaination, that sucks.

[FL Cruise Guy]

This is a huge misconception in travel. You did not pay any tax or import duty to the places you traveled to. When returning to Canada, if you went over your exemption, you would still pay any applicable tax/duty to Canada. Dealing with customs in your home country really has nothing to do with the "tax and duty free" that cruise lines refer to. If they implied or expressed otherwise they were at best misinformed.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Forums mobile app

[Biker19]

Are these meaningless words for us and we should just expect to be hit hard if we go over our $800 allowance?

 

Yes.

[lucymorgan]

It is similar in Australia. We have to pay duty if we bring new items back into the country worth more than $900 per person - although a family or group travelling together can pool this allowance to buy more expensive items.

 

Personally I have never bothered with duty free purchases overseas expecting to save money (unless it is something unique that I would really like to have).

I do buy things that are significantly cheaper than in Australia though.

 

Australia has the Tourist Refund Scheme which allows Australian residents (and visitors) to buy items up to 60 days before departure from Australia and claim back the Goods and Services Tax (10%). This means you can search for the best deal in any store in Australia and still claim the value 'duty free'.

 

This is a great scheme and a lot of people don't seem to know about it. https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Ente/Tour/Are-you-a-traveller

 

Edit: Your original question is definitely not dumb :)

Edited January 3, 2017 by lucymorgan

[trev71]

•You can claim goods worth up to CAN$800.

•You may include alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, within the prescribed limits. Refer to sections Tobacco Products and Alcoholic Beverages.

•Goods must be in your possession and reported at time of entry to Canada.

•If the value of the goods you are bringing back exceeds CAN$800, duties and taxes are applicable only on amount of the imported goods that exceeds CAN$800.

 

Liquor is 1 liter of hard liquor per person and not sure about what about other types of drinks

 

Always research before you travel the people on the ship don't realize the Canadian rules and regulations

[chengkp75]

Tax and duty free refers to the mechanism and cost to bring the item into the store, whether that store is onboard or on an island, which is why a "duty free shop" in an airport has better prices than anywhere outside the airport. What is not "tax and duty free" is where you bring that item for end use, i.e. to your home country. Most countries allow their returning citizens a duty free allowance, but purchases over this allowance must pay the duty.

[A&L_Ont]

OP, here is a link to the Canada Border Services Agency info page for residents returning to Canada. There is a section there about Duty and Taxes that you might want to read up about for your next cruise.

 

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/ifcrc-rpcrc-eng.html

 

As for the people on the ship and port stores knowing what a Canadian's limits are, that is not their responsibility. Their job is to sell their goods. It is your responsibility to know your allowable limits, that is if you don't want to pay any duty. Depending on the goods over your limits, there are different rates of the duty charged. An example- leather goods such as a purse are less than jewelry.

 

It is unfortunate that you went over your limits this cruise, but at least you know for the next one.:)

Edited January 3, 2017 by A&L_Ont

[Fouremco]

Liquor is 1 liter of hard liquor per person and not sure about what about other types of drinks

Current limits:

 

Wine - 1.5 litres (53 fluid ounces)

Alcoholic beverages - 1.14 litres (40 fluid ounces)

Beer or ale - 8.5 litres (287 fluid ounces)

[mollyeilis]

As for the people on the ship and port stores knowing what a Canadian's limits are, that is not their responsibility. Their job is to sell their goods. It is your responsibility to know your allowable limits, that is if you don't want to pay any duty.

 

 

 

If the op is referring to the port shopping guides who give the talks, I disagree completely. They are (and actually I'm going to include the stores onboard and in port here) deliberately NOT "using all their words" as my Montessori teacher used to say.

 

If they wanted to be clear they would explain it just like it was done here. "The shops dine charge tax or duty but your country might; check with your specific allowances".

 

But they are being sneaky so they don't. Especially the guides that run the talks.

 

The "Irish" guide (whose accent kept slipping) the other week on Adventure "engaged" to the other guide (yeah sure they're engaged) kept saying that about it being tax and duty free without further explanation and I kept making a "what?" squinty face each time. He noticed and wasn't all that pleased with me lol.

[Fouremco]

If the op is referring to the port shopping guides who give the talks, I disagree completely. They are (and actually I'm going to include the stores onboard and in port here) deliberately NOT "using all their words" as my Montessori teacher used to say.

 

If they wanted to be clear they would explain it just like it was done here. "The shops dine charge tax or duty but your country might; check with your specific allowances".

 

But they are being sneaky so they don't. Especially the guides that run the talks.

 

The "Irish" guide (whose accent kept slipping) the other week on Adventure "engaged" to the other guide (yeah sure they're engaged) kept saying that about it being tax and duty free without further explanation and I kept making a "what?" squinty face each time. He noticed and wasn't all that pleased with me lol.

I have to agree with A&L_Ont on this, it simply not the guides' responsibility. It's not a question of them being "sneaky" but of trying to sell the benefits of shopping in the establishments they represent. Let's face it, they are little more than modern day carnie barkers, paid to try to convince you to shop at these wonderful tax- and duty-free locations. Their pitch is being made to adults who normally are well aware of their countries' tax and duty regulations. It's unfortunate when someone like the OP isn't aware, but it's hardly the guides' responsibility to educate them.

Edited January 3, 2017 by Fouremco

[trev71]

Current limits:

 

Wine - 1.5 litres (53 fluid ounces)

Alcoholic beverages - 1.14 litres (40 fluid ounces)

Beer or ale - 8.5 litres (287 fluid ounces)

 

Thanks I don't drink beer or wine so that is why I didn't know that one :)

its always good to know these things

[A&L_Ont]

If the op is referring to the port shopping guides who give the talks, I disagree completely. They are (and actually I'm going to include the stores onboard and in port here) deliberately NOT "using all their words" as my Montessori teacher used to say.

 

If they wanted to be clear they would explain it just like it was done here. "The shops dine charge tax or duty but your country might; check with your specific allowances".

 

But they are being sneaky so they don't. Especially the guides that run the talks.

 

The "Irish" guide (whose accent kept slipping) the other week on Adventure "engaged" to the other guide (yeah sure they're engaged) kept saying that about it being tax and duty free without further explanation and I kept making a "what?" squinty face each time. He noticed and wasn't all that pleased with me lol.

 

No matter the approach of any sales person the buyer needs to know their own Duty Free limitations and home country's laws. It is Duty Free to purchase and often at a discounted rate.

 

Buyer beware and be knowledgeable. Is it a better price than home, is it better quality than what I can buy at home, what about warranty, is it over my allowable duty free expenses, do I like it enough to buy? These are all questions that one needs to ask themselves before spontaneous purchases not in your home country.

 

Once you hit you max limitations it is your own responsibility to pay the Duty unless one breaks the law and refuses to declare their purchases. Duty in Canada is not a new thing. In fact the exemptions were increased a few years ago, almost doubled.

 

I'm not a fan of how the ship's onboard port and shopping guides promote sales, but it is their job. As I stated earlier it is an individual's responsibility to know their Duty free limitations are. This is not new and nor is it hard to find the information. To reconfirm what I said earlier I'm sympathetic to what happened to the OP so hopefully this experience will help to guide them with any future purchases while out of Canada.

[Fouremco]

The other surprise for some shoppers is that the warranty on many electronic goods and watches purchased on a Caribbean cruise is only valid in the country in which the product was purchased. That watch or notebook that stopped functioning might have to be sent back to Sint Maarten or Aruba or wherever the purchase was made. Again, not something the guides are going to tell you.

[puzzums]

Thanks everyone! When I left Canada it was my understanding that anything over my $800 exemption would be subject to duty and taxes. However, the Shopping Guide's port-shopping chat confused us. We even specifically asked him if what he said meant we would pay duty or not even if we were over our exemption and he specifically said we would not. I do agree we should have known our country's rules before leaving and thought we did, but like I said, the port shopping chat had us second guessing ourselves. Sadly, all our purchases were jewelry, so we got hit hard at customs, lol! The good news is we definitely got way better prices on the items we bought than what we would pay for the same thing in Canada, so it's all good in the end. But now I know for sure how our Canadian rules work and will be better prepared next time. :)

[Fouremco]

Thanks everyone! When I left Canada it was my understanding that anything over my $800 exemption would be subject to duty and taxes. However, the Shopping Guide's port-shopping chat confused us. We even specifically asked him if what he said meant we would pay duty or not even if we were over our exemption and he specifically said we would not. I do agree we should have known our country's rules before leaving and thought we did, but like I said, the port shopping chat had us second guessing ourselves. Sadly, all our purchases were jewelry, so we got hit hard at customs, lol! The good news is we definitely got way better prices on the items we bought than what we would pay for the same thing in Canada, so it's all good in the end. But now I know for sure how our Canadian rules work and will be better prepared next time. :)

Love your attitude! Do enjoy the jewelry!!! :)

[A&L_Ont]

Thanks everyone! When I left Canada it was my understanding that anything over my $800 exemption would be subject to duty and taxes. However, the Shopping Guide's port-shopping chat confused us. We even specifically asked him if what he said meant we would pay duty or not even if we were over our exemption and he specifically said we would not. I do agree we should have known our country's rules before leaving and thought we did, but like I said, the port shopping chat had us second guessing ourselves. Sadly, all our purchases were jewelry, so we got hit hard at customs, lol! The good news is we definitely got way better prices on the items we bought than what we would pay for the same thing in Canada, so it's all good in the end. But now I know for sure how our Canadian rules work and will be better prepared next time. :)

 

I'm glad to that in the end that it worked out, even with the regretful surprise at the end.:)