HOW TO AVOID PAYING DHL CUSTOMS FEES IN CANADA

As a fellow Canadian, one of the most frustrating things about ordering from US stores online and shipping internationally are the dreaded surprise bills that you get upon receipt.

You could buying something for $100 and your courier will slap you with a bill for another $50. Even worse, sometimes the customs fees are equal to the value of what you bought.

If you've read stories on CBC, and covered by other news outlets, the couriers control the entire workflow of how your packages get from the United States to Canada.

HOW TO STOP PAYING CUSTOMS FEES TO COURIER COMPANIES

It's worth understanding what makes up these fees that couriers like DHL charge when importing goods from the US or other countries.

Breakdown of the type of fees

This is the unavoidable charge. For most things that you ship into Canada, they'll be taxed according to your province's rate. In Ontario's case, that's a 13% HST.

Taxes

Duty is a bit more complicated because it depends on the type of goods you bought and where they came from or where they were made in. Officially, it means having a good understanding of HS Codes and Trade Agreements.

Duty

It's called “self-clearing”. I had this confused with “pre-clearing” at one point but yes, the official term for what you'll be doing is to self-clearing the package instead of letting the your courier do it for you.

How to self clear your own packages

Next steps

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