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What if anything is the customs process when I take my interior out of Canada? (we are driving back to the US for Christmas) I'm going to then ship to Kirk Evans for fast access conversion and restorative work. I'm aiming to bring it back when my wife comes back up mid February and don't want to fall foul of any rules or get done for duty as new parts on re-entry.

Thanks,
Julian
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Julian,

By the letter of the law, when you ship things like interior pieces outside of Canada to be restored, they are considered new when you bring them back into the country, so you are required to pay duty and taxes accordingly. That being said, I've never had a Customs agent even mention this regulation. That's probably because it would be impossible for them to establish a value for new pieces. I've seen this happen with cars though. It usually works in the owner's favour because the value Customs puts on the restored car is usually much less than the cost of the restoration (although they'll make you pay duty if the car's an import).

The best thing to do is have Kirk give you an invoice that specifically states the "to-be-restored panels were received from Canada" and "all materials and labour are products of the USA". That way, Customs will only ding you with 5% GST. Of course, if you lived in a province other than Alberta, you'd have to pay PST too.
Julian,

I sent my ZF for overhaul by RBT and the process was fairly simple, although the Canadian Government doesn't make it easy to find that out. Essentially you should export your parts temporarily. This proves that they were here in the first place.

First step in the process is to stop at Canadian Customs BEFORE you leave Canada. The CBSA guys will (when you are exporting them) inspect the parts (maybe) and stamp your completed E15 (see below) form (insist on that). Then, upon re-importation, you should have the form and your repair invoice showing the work that was done. Taxes will be based on the actual value (in $ CDN) of the work done. No duty is applicable as it will be done in the USA.

I like to be UBER prepared and have photo documentation (before/after), proof of payment, contact information for the restorer etc. Basically, if CBSA wants to make your life difficult then be prepared to make their job easy and they will see that you're doing things properly.

Here is a link to the relevant guideline:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/pub.../d8/d8-2-11-eng.html

And an image of the E-15 form (see page 11 or so of THIS link: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/pub.../d20/d20-1-4-eng.pdf )

Good luck. Feel free to email me directly if you have any questions.

Mark

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Oh, and one other thing:

ALL parts intended specifically (or primarily) for use in vehicles that are over 25 years AND THOSE VEHICLES are exempt from duty regardless of origin. MANY CBSA offices DO NOT KNOW this and happily coerce people into paying 6.1% import duty when they shouldn't. I have helped several Pantera owners obtain a full refund of the duty they were charged in error. It's much easier to avoid being charged it in the first place of course.

The Tariff Classification Number is 9966.00.00

See below.

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