Whoohoo! Fortune Telling...

From: Jerome Fine <jhfine_at_idirect.com>
Date: Sat Nov 13 17:08:19 1999

aaaaa
>John B wrote:

> No Duty. I move machines from the US to Canada and Canada to the US.. You
> pay DEPENDING on how honest you are.

Jerome Fine replies:

It also depends on how old and how dirty the hardware is. About 3 months
ago, I went to Detroit to pick up some old VT100 terminals. For some
reason, there were coated with coal dust - or something that looked like it.
I had about 6 in the back seat and when customs looked at them, I suspect
that that they were loath to even touch them because of all the dirt. Since I
had not paid anything for them, there was no duty or GST in going from
the US to Canada.

> You may have to pay State tax on the purchase price when bringing it across
> the border. Be sure to say it is for your PERSONAL hobby. Get a receipt from
> the place you are purchasing the mini from.

Another time I went to Buffalo and the charge was $US10.00 which the fellow
surprised me by actually asking for it. Not that it was not worth that much (BA123
with RD53 and TK50), but usually when the price is that low, no one actually cares.
At the border, they did not even care about the invoice, the main factor was the date
on the power supply - 1985 which made it so old that the customs guy could hardly
believe it. So again, I was waived through without any duties or GST.

It would seem that anything more than about 10 years old is OK, PLUS the suggestion
that you get a receipt (also have a phone number that they can check to verify that
the amount was correct) is excellent. As long as the value is $CAN20.00 or less, I
understand Canada does not charge duties or GST. That may have changed since
I last crossed the border since I understand that they also collect Ontario PST.
If that boosts the total to an amount customs figures is reasonable, then the threshold
minimum value may now be lower than $CAN20.00.

I don't know how the US handles things, but on low values, it is probably similar.
Does anyone have any specific experience or examples?

Sincerely yours,

Jerome Fine
Received on Sat Nov 13 1999 - 17:08:19 GMT

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