Canadian Tax, Duty, and Brokerage Fees

When you buy something from the United States, you are responsible for 'importing' that product into Canada. There are fees to pay for the privilege of importing.

What are these fees?

Tax:
Canada Customs assesses taxes (GST and/or PST) on goods valued at $20 CAD or more.

• GST (Value Added Tax) is 6%
• The PST can be anywhere from 6-14% (depending on the province destination).
• A 'commercial invoice' will be enclosed with your order. It will contain the necessary information for a proper tax assessment.

Duty:
Also known as a tariff, Duty is a special kind of tax that you pay to the Canadian government when you import goods. Duties can be imposed to help protect local industry, making it more difficult for foreign manufacturers to compete with Canadian manufacturers.

• Duty rates can vary from 0% (duty free) to 20%, depending on the type of goods.
• Many of our items are considered medical and may qualify for the Duty free rate, but some are considered recreational and will be taxed.

Want to be extra sure? You can call the Canadian Border Information Service Hotline and ask an agent specifically about the duty on a particular item. The phone number is 1-800-461-9999 within Canada, 204-983-3500 or 506-636-5064 from the US.

Brokerage and/or Handling Fees:
Brokerage and Handling fees are not imposed by the Canadian government or by Dynamic Living, but by a courier company (UPS, FedEx, or USPS/Canada Post). The courier company is charging you for providing customs service for you: being your agent when "clearing" your parcel across the border.

How we will ship and what you can expect:
We recommend shipping by Priority International via the United States Postal Service (USPS). Canada Post charges a $5 brokerage fee (payable when you pay any applicable taxes incurred) for packages shipped by USPS Priority Mail International. If you choose a faster delivery option, an $8 brokerage fee is assessed for USPS Global Express Mail. When taxes are charged, Customs sticks a taxes-owing form on the box and the box is held by the Post Office as a COD. Recipient pays the tax/handling when the package is retrieved.

When USPS isn't available or appropriate (like for very large items), we'll use UPS Worldwide Expedited. This shipping option has brokerage fees included. We will not ship UPS Standard Ground because the shipping plus brokerage fees will cost more than the Priority International or UPS Expedited options. In addition to the Duty and Taxes, UPS charges:

• $4.25 for collecting the brokerage charges
• 2.7% of the order total or $5.85, whichever is greater, to pre-pay the taxes and duties. (This fee is called a Bond Fee.)

Additional potential hidden fee:
There is one more financial consideration before making your purchase. Your credit card company may charge an exchange rate that you will not see until you receive your credit card statement.

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