I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but some how sometimes orders I place with US retailers get flagged, inspected and charged taxes, and sometimes they make it to my AO unscathed. Recently I placed two orders with Brownells for tools and parts.
Order 1
| Stock # Description | Qty Ordered: | Unit Price: | Total | % of Order |
| 080101081 #1 MAGNA TIP SET W/#81 HANDLE | 1 | $42.98 | $42.98 | 56% |
| 965415080 SERIES 80 BP EXTRACTOR | 1 | $27.51 | $27.51 | 36% |
| 969000021 WOLFF SIG MAINSPRING KIT | 1 | $6.00 | $6.00 | 8% |
| $76.49 | 100% | |||
| CBSA Inspection Fee | $9.95 | 13% | ||
| Taxes | $10.33 | 13.5% |
So CBSA decided to open this package. More then half the value of the order was a screwdriver set. Some how the privilege of them “inspecting” my parcel cost almost ten bucks. So you’d think they’d go “Wow! hand tools, not regulated, carry on”. Quite the contrary, the instead marked the paperwork as components – small arms and stuck me with 13.5% tax. Sales tax is only 13% in Ontario, by the way. Effectively my government has decided I own them 26.5% of my order’s value. I could argue and request a reassessment but that requires sending them the package and hope they don’t decide I owe them even more.
Order 2
| Stock #Description | Qty Ordered: | Unit Price: | Total | % of Order |
| 084175357 9MM/.38/.357 SQUIB ROD, PKG 2 | 1 | $23.64 | $23.64 | 44% |
| 100004158 MAG417-MOE TRIGGER GUARD-OD GREEN | 1 | $6.90 | $6.90 | 13% |
| 231000005 BT-14 DPMS AR-15 FIRING PIN | 1 | $6.09 | $6.09 | 11% |
| 231000103 LR-28 TRIGGER PIN | 3 | $1.07 | $3.21 | 6% |
| 231000109 LR-04 TRIGGER GUARD PIN MS16562-129 | 5 | $1.00 | $5.00 | 9% |
| 071000043 AR-15 EXTRACTOR UPGRADE | 1 | $9.06 | $9.06 | 17% |
| $53.90 | 100% |
My second order was not assessed, and contained more actual components – small arms. Yay, for the magic of government bureaucracy. Makes almost as much sense as gun laws. And yes I probably have more pins than a normal person should ever need.
Formed in 1920 the Prohibition Unit of Bureau of Internal Revenue later become the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which sounds like it should be the most fun government agency, and is in fact not
Thanks Canadian Border Services Agency/Agence des services frontaliers du Canada for keeping taxes on screwdrivers up and completely ignoring the box of parts that goes on the most frightening of scary black rifles, the AR-15. Next time, join me as I try to decide why Canada Post sometimes leaves items on the stoop, sometimes between the doors, sometimes leaves a card, but why they never try to knock on the door. Then again I probably wouldn’t want to talk to me either.
