My Duty at the Border

I spent a day a few weeks ago delivering a couple of our sold systems up to Canada.  Why didn't you ship the systems you may ask?

1. Too expensive
2. It gets damaged
3. Because our system uses in-country wireless, it is prone to error unless it is tested and debugged in-country.  

 So we made the decision that I would physically drive lots of equipment up to Toronto area for delivery.  I am aware that many people would lie and just drive it across the border.  However, I have made a point a long time ago to avoid lying in the little things because lying in the little things leads to lying in the big things.  So I knew going on up that I would declare the value at the border and figure it out as it goes.  We did our best homework navigating through the numerous forms and regulations as to how to bring things across the border.  Nevertheless, I was expecting challenges and I wasn't disappointed.

I got to the border and my first mistake was I went in the auto lane instead of the commercial goods lane.  I was driving an auto I figured.  The immigration agent asked me gruffly where I was from and what I was bringing.  I said equipment.  He said how much.  I said XXk.  He pointed over to an area under a canopy and directed me to drive under it and wait.  I went under the canopy and waited, and waited and waited.  So I decided to go into the adjacent building and ask what I was supposed to do.  A not so nice Canadian border agent told me I was supposed to wait outside.  So I went back out and waited some more.  A rather nice female border agent then told me they had to escort me with flashing lights back over to the commercial goods section where I should have been in the first place.  So after about 20 minutes, the border truck shows and they take me literally across the road to the commercial goods section.  I then waited in line with mostly trucks waiting to go through customs.  A nice customs agent told me to park and then go in and pay my duty tax.

I went inside totally without a clue as to what to do.  Fortunately, a nice trucker guy who had gone through the drill helped me to my paperwork on the computer and print our my paperwork.  Since our "importer" was a one-time situation, I had to use a temporary importer number that was taped to the counter.  I then handed the paperwork to an agent at the counter whose sole job was to simply walk the paperwork back to someone else to process.  Otherwise it seemed her job was to read her book while others stood around.  She directed me to a waiting area and I waited some more.

A customs agent stuck his head out and called my name.  He told me the importer number I used could not be valid.  I told him I simply copied the one down that was next to the computer.  Maybe I copied it down wrong.  Could I change it now so he could reprocess it?  No!  So back through the process I went.  Finally, I was called to settle the duty charges.  No problem - almost done I thought.  The cashier asks me how I was going to pay.  I said credit card.  Problem - the most they can take on credit card is $500.  So I had to pay part on credit card, part on check.  Then she had a problem converting Canadian currency to US currency.  Finally after another 20 minutes I am really done or so I thought.  I go across the border and finally get up to Toronto around 3:00 PM.  When I get there, I get a frantic call from the customs cashier.  It seems she calculated the wrong conversion rate and I owed gulp $10.56.  I resisted the temptation to say "go pound sand" and offered my credit card for the balance.

So after about two hours, I was on my way.  Not the worst experience in the world and had I gone through the drill before, I would know.  However there may be certainly other ways of doing things that are a little less challenging.