Understanding Duties and Taxes

Duties and taxes are implemented to all international shipments crossing international borders. They are imposed so that it can generate revenue and protect local industries. All international shipments will be subject to duty and tax assessment by the importing country's government. A shipment's duty and tax amount is based on the following:

• Product value
• Trade agreements
• Country of manufacture
• Description and end use of the product
• The product's Harmonized System (HS) code
• Country-specific regulations

It is important to consider the effects of duties, taxes and other clearance charges when determining a shipments total cost. Depending on the shipment content and the destination country, clearance charges could significantly impact the total shipment cost.

Many countries have general consumption tax on goods and services such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Even though Canada has GST, there are also:

• PST - Provincial Sales Tax
• QST - Quebec Sales Tax
• HST - Harmonized Sales Tax (combination of PST and GST)

Please click here to learn about the Canada-specific tax rates by province. 

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