Aha, welcome to the wonderful world of international
mailorder!

Assuming you're somewhere where they charge PST and GST:
$408US = $490Cdn (Assume $1=$1.20)
Tax @ 14% = $69 cdn
Can. Post Processing fee = $5 cdn

Total?  $74 cdn

It's worse if you use Fedex or UPS.  They charge you a brokerage
fee of $30 or more on top of the taxes.  So much for NAFTA, huh?

May I suggest a day trip to the US next time?
(wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

tabe johnson/vancouver bc/87 westy

Date:    Fri, 16 Sep 2005 11:51:04 -0500
From:    Jeff Palmer <icecoldvw@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: dumb customs question

Can anyone help me understand customs duties?

I imported $408 US worth of parts from the US to Canada and got charged $74
in duties/taxes.  There was no form on the parcel to indicate what the
charges were.  Is this typical?  I was thinking about getting an engine from
the US to Canada next year and I wonder if I'd face a big duty hit.

Thanks
Jeff