Hey Imo000, would you have a link to the thread by chance? I had anticipated paying tax on the repair, but had not though about increased value of the car (though I doubt there would be much increase in value if any). Thanks!

 

according to ccra if you do work to a car you are supposed to pay duty on the whole car even if it already was paid.

 

I'll look for the link a little later. If my memory isn't too off it was a 951 that had this happen about 5 years ago. It was for sure here on RL.

If your car entering the US has a damaged engine it is worth quiet a bit less than one that has no engine issues. Once fixed, the value goes up even if it's a simple engine replacement with a used unit. Considering your engine will be heavily modified and cost a lot more than a used engine, there is a good chance the value will be estimated to be alot more than if it only received another used engine. Maybe the increase value will not be noticed when you bring the car back.

 

Jesus... why the hell does the increased value of a car you shipped to have engine work done have to be taxed???!!! I can understand paying tax and duty on the repair costs, but on the increased value of the car? Ridiculous.

 

Thanks for the advice Turbodan and Imo000, I was able to Contact Canada Border services and after explaining my situation to them, as in I had planned to send my car to the states for a specialized repair, they had said the taxes that would apply would be GST. Which in my case would be 5%.

However hearing one thing from a government official and having something entire different actually occur isn't uncommon, so when you have time if you could please direct me to the to the thread you were referring to Imo000, that would be fantastic, thanks!

 

I would reach out to some specialized cross border transport companies as well. Give TFX a shout as they have likely experienced or heard of every scenario out there.

I also agree things can change drastically from what the guy on the phone said to what the CBSA officer standing in front of you is saying. Reach out to the experts who handle cross border daily on behalf of their customers for expertise.

 

I've tried to use RL's seach option to find the thread but it came up with nothing. For the last wile RL's seach option has anything but good so I can't find the thread with the 951 owner that had to go through with this. As I wrote before, I crearly remember him having a nightmare at the Canadian border when he tried to bring his repaired and modified 951 back to Canada. I don't come up with stuff like this unless I remember reading it here.

 

I have heard of this happening when a few Canadians had their vehicles painted in the US and tried to bring their cars back.
Here is an excerpt from Canadian Customs:

GUIDELINES AND GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Tariff item No. 9992.00.00 of the schedule to the Customs Tariff provides customs duty-free importation of goods which are returned to Canada, regardless of country of origin, after having been exported for repair or alteration in the United States, Mexico, Chile, Israel, or a Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) beneficiary.

2. The provision allows customs duty-free entry on the full value (export value and the foreign value added) of the returned goods, which were temporarily exported to a free trade partner (United States, Mexico, Chile, Israel, or a CIFTA beneficiary) for repair or alteration. At the time of import no customs duty is paid on the value of the repair or alteration. However, duties under the Excise Tax Act including the goods and services tax (GST) and excise tax, if applicable, are payable on the foreign value added. Where excisable goods are repaired abroad, and the value is enhanced, excise tax is payable on the duty-paid value of the enhancement. For duty purposes, this provision applies to qualifying goods regardless of whether the repair or alteration is under warranty or not and regardless of whether the repair or alteration could have been performed in Canada.

It appears, to me, that the taxes to be charged is under the discretion of the custom official on duty at the time of import.

 

We've never had this issue.

The cars that are shipped from inside Canada are subject to a repair bond and the shipping company handles all processing. We supply them with commercial invoices upon request, and the taxes are assessed.

Cars that are brought into the states and then shipped are handled different ways, and up to the owners. Some have claimed to not having any taxes assessed in the past, but I have no idea how that was accomplished.

 

It sounds like there may be ways around the duties, but likely not the taxes. Can you ever escape the taxes?

From A&A Contract Customs broker's site -
http://www.aacb.com/resources/travel1.asp

 

Wouldn't that pi$$ you off?! The car fails while in the US, local US dealer repairs it under warranty at no cost to you, yet you're saddled with taxes when you hit the border coming home.

 

I called the CRA and several Canadian Border offices for information on this and was informed that in most cases if it was a repair you would pay GST/HST on the cost of the repair.

However if the value was increased or the vehicle was heavily modified (such as changing from a hard top to a convertible was the example they used), there would be taxes charged to the red book value of the car in addition to the work done. Though they had said if the parts are manufactured in the states or were OEM replacements, there would be no duty charged.

As mentioned previously in this thread, although all of the individuals would see what I was looking to do with a Raby Stage 2 engine as a rebuild, it would be up to the discretion of the CBSA agent you are speaking to at the time to decide whether you would pay simply GST on the repairs or on the book value of the car as well.

Due to this, they advised it would be best if I was were to drive the car back across the border once the repair was done so that I could do my best to explain the situation.

I will probably start another thread once the rebuild process actually starts and try to document the life of the engine. In the meantime, if there are any other suggestions for shippers beyond what has been mentioned already, please let me know!

 

That's more along the lines of what we have experienced. Driving the car across the border is certainly the most favorable option.

 

Border Guard .. ".... sir welcome to the border crossing .. BTW what is that MASSIVE cloud of blue smoke behind you ?"

me .. "condensation ?"