Bringing US Boat Back to Canada ?

[westcoastgirl]

We bought a 19 foot sailboat (5hp outboard engine)on a trailer late 2006 (delivered to us Feb 2007 so our bills of sale say 2007) to use at our summer home in Washington, USA. We paid state taxes and registered it in Washington and have sailed it two summers. We have sold the summer home and now want to bring our sailboat home to BC. When we went inside the offices to ask the border people we were told they knew very little about bringing boats into Canada. We wondered at that answer and want to know what indeed we need to do, what taxes we need to pay, and how the value of the boat, motor, and trailer are determined. We will put the boat into storage in Washington until January 2009 so have some time to await your response and direction. Thank you so much.

[noreault]

It is a relatively easy process. If the boat was manufactured in North America (covered by Nafta) no duty is owed. You have to pay PST.

You have to fax documentation on title for boat and trailer to US customs 72 hours in advance. Fax number are listed for each of the crossings. They complete a title search and assure that the boat wasn't stolen and stamp the titles.

Now stop at Canadian customers. You need to have certificate of non-recall for trailer. Titles and bill of sale for trailer and boat. You pay the PST and now they are Canadian. The boat should be registered with Service Canada and the trailer must be inspected by Canadian Tire to assure it meets Canadian standards. You have 45 days to complete the inspection.

Check out the customs Canada site for vehicle importing to get detail on the process.

You can also use a broker to do the import for you.