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Hi Guys,

I am appealing to anyone from Canada who has shipped out their ZF to the USA for repairs to help guide me through the process. I want to ensure that I am only charged tax on the value of the repair work, and not on the full value of a "new" ZF (not sure how anyone could calculate that value anyway…).

I have tired making sense of the CBSA memorandums and can't get a clear read on what is required to be done when I take it across the border. Both as I export it from Canada, and as I pass through US Customs on entry to the USA with it. I plan on sending it freight after I get it into the US to RBT.

Does anyone here have any recent experiences they can share?

Thanks!
Mark
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Mark,
Since the car is unusable with the ZF out anyway.
Find and beg a Pantera brother in the U.S. that would let you store the car in a corner for awhile.
Drive or trailer the car to above mentioned location. Take the trans out in the states and ship it. Have it shipped back, put in car. Drive car home. No tax, no duty, no anything,
cause they will never know at the border that the work was done.
Any chance to stick it to Canada customs is ok with me. And the cross border shipping and fees will be brutal.
And the shipping company will want to know value for insurance and you have to tell them full value for a complete rebuilt ZF, not just the value of the repairs. Just in case. You never know.
Then try to explain that value is only if its lost or stolen but all you did was have it repaired.
Like Will says. Good Luck !!!

Doug M
I have sent a set of Webers to the UK, a Hood to Sweden and a received a few parts from the UK and each time I insured it for its value and labelled it Automotive Samples and both times there was no tax due at either end.

Or I shipped to a Canadian Friend of yours who has a US address in I think it was Michigan ?

If you feel this is a risk .. ask RBT for an estimate / Invoice and use that as your receipt of the value ( which would be just for the repairs ) ... but insure it for the full value. You will pay taxes just on the repairs.

My Experience.

Ron
Thanks guys,

This is my Mangusta Dash -1 box. The car is under restoration currently. The ZF is likely fine, but I want it gone through for my own piece of mind as I do intend on driving the car once completed. The shipping and proper insurance are arranged. I am taking it into the US myself. Paying the taxes on the overhaul when I pick it up are not an issue, I just want the proper paperwork in place so all goes smoothly.

Mark

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Well, if I was dealing with a "reasonable" group of people at the border, I would agree. Having already had sufficient border experience to know things are not always "reasonable", I now prefer to be well prepared.

Some may remember a few years back when I assisted some Alberta owners with getting back the 6.1% Duty that CBSA had incorrectly imposed on their Panteras when they imported them into Canada. The Border Services people either didn't know their own rules, or deliberately preyed on them for thousands of dollars of illegal Duty fees — which they eventually got refunded.

The CBSA documentation is fuzzy. It implies that as long as I complete the correct forms (whatever they are) when I export it from Canada, that I SHOULD only need to pay tax on the repairs. Or maybe the FULL value of the newly modified transaxle... The US Border Services also requires documentation to be completed before I can bring it in, but doesn't state exactly WHAT.

I just was hoping someone else from Canada had already done this, but maybe not.

Mark
Don't drive it across the border. Blow the money and ship it from Canada.

That's the sure way as you can identify the unit by serial # in the shipping docs which clearly show where it was picked up and where it was going. The docs will indicate that it's a ZF going for repair.

Take some pics and you should have no problem proving it came from here and went there for repair.

Your shipping docs will be clear plus you will have an invoice from the company you shipped it to confirming the repair that was done and the cost.

But shipping will cost much more. I guess you'll have to weight the risk of aggravation and/or extra charges at the border.
Right you are, Mark.
I've brought over cars, trucks, sleds and a boat from the US. It seems that many working behind the desk don't have a clue about what forms they are to fill out and what taxes/duty to charge.
Maybe they spend most of their training on " how to intimidate and be a prick"?
And why are most overweight? Coincidence? Is that why they are bitter?
Don't get me started on cops…..
I ship using FOWARD AIR .. so if your near an airport and Ron Mcall is near an airport thats the simplest way ... shipping cost is less and seems drop shipping airport to airport is more of a commercial venue where there might be less personal input and a little more intelligence then a consumer type of shipping like UPS or Fedex ?

I shipped a hood to Richard and seemed to have gone very smooth ?

Ron
Thanks for the input guys.

Jack, I do have several available US addresses that receive parts for me all the time. One is an hour from my place and where I will be shipping the box from. That doesn't, unfortunately, alleviate the issues of crossing the border twice with a ZF. In this case it will actually be TWO because another Canadian Goose owner is getting his re-done at the same time so we are delivering/shipping them together, which saves costs.

I plan to use the carrier that RBT recommends because they are aware of what they are shipping. These things weigh a fair bit — especially in the rather over-kill crate I have for mine — so ground freight is the way for me (plus there are no sizable airports within hours of that location).

Thanks again everyone, and to Andy for your help today with the paperwork suggestions.

Mark
OK, So I'm just back from Canada Customs. The process was far easier than I thought, and exactly as Andy explained to me. Prepare a complete Packing Slip itemizing the things to be shipped along with serial numbers etc. Complete an E-15 Temporary Export form (3 minutes), have BOTH stamped at Customs PRIOR to leaving Canada and away we went. Less than 10 minutes, but way easier than might have been had we not had everything in order.

Mark
JFB, a dash-2 ZF without a bellhousing or rear mounts weighs 140 lbs. Be SURE to insure it- there have been a few cases of boxes breaking and loose parts falling out. And none are cheap! One guy wound up in Court with Railway Express who could not believe the cost of a lost mainshaft was $2200. In 1987. They lost but it took months. Good luck.

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