Shipping Polish Pottery to Canada

This quick post is for our dear Canadian customers. We get a lot of orders from Canada. Polish pottery is hard to find locally and it is a little more expensive than in the US because of higher custom duties and local taxes. I recently shipped an order of Polish pottery to my house in Canada to test the shipping time and the additional costs. The order consisted of 3 stoneware house numbers. Order total was $50.61 plus $25.80 for shipping by Fedex Ground.  The order was shipped from Texas to British Columbia and it took 6 days to get there. About 2 weeks later I received a bill from Fedex for CAD $39.10 (USD $29) for the following: Canada GST $3.47, British Columbia PST $4.86, Disbursement Fee $10, GST on Disb/Ancillary Service Fees $1.47 and Clearance Entry Fee $19.30.

My $50 order cost an additional $55 in fees. You will be pleased to know that we are opening a store in Canada soon to make Polish pottery more affordable for our Canadian customers. The website address is www.polishpottery.ca and the store will be up and running any day now.

For your reference, this is what the Canadian government website says about paying duty and taxes on imported goods:

Any item mailed to Canada may be subject to the GST and/or duty. Unless specifically exempted, you must pay the 5% GST on items you import into Canada by mail. The CBSA calculates any duties owing based on the value of the goods in Canadian funds. The duty rates vary according to the type of goods you are importing and the country from which they came or were made in. Depending on the goods or their value, some other taxes may apply, such as excise duty or excise tax on luxury items.You do not have to pay the GST on the following goods that are imported into Canada by mail:

  • goods worth CAN$20 or less; and
  • gifts from family members or friends who live abroad when the worth is CAN$60 or less.

The Government of Canada has entered into agreements with certain provinces to collect the HST at a rate of 13 percent. If you live in a participating province, you will have to pay the HST instead of the GST.

GST and provincial sales tax (PST)

  • British Columbia
  • Manitoba
  • Quebec
  • Saskatchewan

HST

  • New Brunswick
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island

GST only

  • Alberta
  • Northwest Territories
  • Nunavut
  • Yukon