just got this from them
Dear Austin,
Thank you for your reply. As you may be aware, all shipments crossing into Canada must be reported to Canada Customs and/or other government agencies. If the shipment is imported personally, you must report the shipment to Canada Customs, otherwise, the carrier is required to report the shipment on your behalf. This is to ensure that such shipments are legally entitled to enter into the country and that applicable taxes and duties are levied and paid. In Canada, paying those duties and taxes along with applicable brokerage fees is the responsibility of the consignee, or the importer of record.
A Brokerage fee is charged to process your shipment and present the requisite customs paperwork to Canada customs on your behalf. All courier shipments with a value exceeding $20 CAD require customs clearance by a licensed broker. The customs clearance procedure requires the broker to perform, on behalf of the importer, a number of tasks. Tasks include, but are not limited to, auditing import documentation, classifying the commodity being imported, and preparing and transmitting accounting information to Canada Customs. The UPS Customs Brokerage published rate schedule is competitive with other licensed customs brokers in Canada. Please be advised that all of our rates or fees are published and available in our rate guides or at
(
http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html).
When accessing the link for Rates for Customs Clearance into Canada, please review the complete fee schedule provided. Please note that Entry Preparation Charges, Disbursement Fees and Additional Services may apply to your shipment.
UPS advises U.S. shippers that brokerage charges, duties and taxes will be billed to the importer in Canada unless otherwise indicated by the shipper. UPS encourages U.S. shippers to advise their customers of these fees and to post this information on their website if they are selling goods online or in their catalogues.
For basic imports, UPS brokerage fees are included for all shipments sent via any one of UPS’s air services, Express and Expedited. UPS brokerage fees are not included in the freight charges for shipments sent via UPS Standard.
Here is the breakdown of the import charges on your brokerage invoice:
COD CHARGE $4.25
This is a UPS fee, to cover the cost of collecting the funds in this manner.
COD GST TAX $0.26
The Goods & Services Tax on the COD fee.
DISBURSEMENT $5.85
Disbursement fees are charges for UPS having to pay duty and/or taxes to the government on behalf of the importer.
ENTRY PREP FEE $43.73
Entry preparation charges are a fee for UPS processing the paperwork for a package to clear Customs
BROKERAGE GST $2.97
The Goods & Services Tax on the Brokerage charges.
CUSTOMS GST $21.92
The Goods & Services Tax on the Canadian value of the goods.
CUSTOMS PST $25.58
The applicable Provincial Sales Tax on the Canadian value of the goods.
UPS brokerage charges apply if a shipment is sent via Standard service, and is valued at more than $20.00 in Canadian funds.
Thank you for using UPS Canada Internet Services.
Cynthia Romero
UPS Customer Service
