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CSA TRAVEL INFORMATION GUIDE
If you bring in more than the free allowance, you will have to pay both customs and provincial or
territorial assessments. For more information, check with the appropriate provincial or territorial
liquor control authority before you leave Canada.
Gifts
While you are abroad, you can send gifts free of duties to family and friends in Canada under certain
conditions. To qualify, each gift has to be worth $60 CAD or less and cannot be an alcoholic beverage,
a tobacco product, or advertising matter. If the gift is worth more than $60 CAD, the recipient will
have to pay regular duties on the excess amount.
It is always a good idea to include a gift card to avoid any misunderstanding. While gifts you send
from abroad do not count as part of your personal exemption, gifts you bring back do.
Gifts, Awards and Prizes
Gifts, awards and prizes that you receive while abroad can also be declared as part of your personal
exemption. They are not “free” items to bring back to Canada. If their reasonable value exceeds your
personal exemption limit, you will pay duty on just the excess amount.
Repairs and Alterations to a Vehicle, Vessel or Aircraft
The value of any repairs or alterations made to your vehicle/vessel/aircraft in the United States,
Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel or another Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement beneficiary will be
free of duty when it is re-imported into Canada. GST/HST will apply to the value of the repairs or
alterations.
Emergency repairs can be made to your vehicle/vessel/aircraft while you are travelling out-of country
to ensure your safe return to Canada. To be eligible for this special provision, however, be sure to
declare the value of all repairs and replacement parts when you return to Canada with the vehicle.
Declare Valuables You Are Taking Before You Leave
To avoid any potential difficulty, when you are returning, to prove that something in your possession
was in fact taken out of Canada and not purchased abroad (and therefore subject to duty and taxes),
declare your valuables (e.g. camera, laptop computer and printer, video recorder, etc.) at a Canada
Border Services Agency (CBSA) office before leaving Canada. A CBSA officer will complete form Y-38
Identification of Articles for Temporary Exportation (small green wallet size card) that records a brief
description, make, model and serial number of the item. If you live within reasonable proximity to a
CBSA office, you may take your valuables in for identification at any time prior to leaving Canada. It
does not necessarily have to be done on the actual day you are leaving Canada.
As some valuable items, such as jewellery, do not have serial numbers, a clear detailed photograph of
the item will also need to be presented to a CBSA officer for certification besides a written appraisal
certificate.
Paying Duty and Taxes
Making a customs declaration, and if necessary paying any required duty and taxes, is a simple and
straightforward process. If you are required to pay duty and taxes, payment can be made by cash,
traveller’s cheque, VISA, MasterCard or American Express. Many CBSA offices also accept bank debit
cards. If your calculated duty and taxes is more than $2,500 CAD, you can sometimes arrange to pay
this by personal cheque.