Importing a Motor Vehicle To Canada (the be all end all) | Page 45 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Importing a Motor Vehicle To Canada (the be all end all)

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fastar1 said:
Weird, doesn't jive with my experience. Tried a dealer in Louisiana and one in Minnesota, both said no can do.
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Most dealers say no because they don't know the right process. Only one dealer in NY and one somewhere in New England knew what I was talking about.

robertojiang said:
Holy cow, I just took a look at it and I got hit by not 1, but 2 useless taxes.

1) Excise Tax - $100.00
2) Duty - $37X.XX

I know I shouldn't be hit by both those taxes, but it was because the customs officer screwed up. My brother imported the bike on my behalf, so he didn't know much and paid both the taxes.

According to the sheet, it says that my vehicle is an "automobile with a/c". My guess is that I was hit with the excise tax of $100.00 for the A/C portion of it and the motorcycle should be duty free according to their HS code. I am already going back to them to ask for a refund of that 47X.XX.

@JoeyJoeJoe:
You were right, it was imported as a car instead of a motorcycle. If you want proof that it is duty free, I can provide that to you -- just ask.

You can get your RIV inspection done same day assuming you are ready. That means that you will have to go to the RIV office right after customs, pay RIV fee and show recall letter. They should give you the form 2 on spot and you can go to any CanadianTires from there. Like RickCH said, not all CanadianTires do bike inspections, so check out the RIV website to find out which ones do it.
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Hopefully you can reverse those charges.



Soooo... I dun goofed. I thought you can cross the border on Saturday, but I guess it has to be during the week. I have a friend who is willing to lend me his mototrcycle trailer any time and willing to drive, but only on a Saturday. I can't install the trailler to my car because the owners manual say no trailers. My buddy would allow me to use his car, but it's his company's car, so I'm not allowed to drive it. Also I really don't know anyone else with a car/truck with a hitch.

At the end of the day it's not that big of a deal. I can just rent a van and bring it over that way... also my work hours are 9 to 5, but pretty flexible if need be. Like I can take off mid week and work on the weekend. A cargo van should be more than enough space right? Maybe tuck down the mirrors.
 
I got the charges reversed today so I'm good to go. Another ~500 back into my pocket :)

As for the cargo van, it doesn't seem like it will be a problem, but make sure you have the proper tie down points for your ratchet straps. Don't forget that you will need a ramp which can be done with several pieces of wood. Might as well check measurements to make sure it's going to fit too.

It would be best to have something holding the front wheel, so a wheel chock might be in order, if not, I remember a page on this forum where turbodish said something about using pieces of 2 by 4's to create a temp thing to hold the front wheel down.

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...touring-bike&p=1644244&viewfull=1#post1644244


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I rented a cargo van - we tied the bike down to the holes in the frame. Cannon Dancer 2 + 4 ratcheting straps. Bike happily rode all the way from Rochester to Toronto.
 
You were at Rochester too? If I had known, I would've gotten my bike earlier. Would've saved us both gas and rental fee's lol.


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i'm planning to pick up a fz6 from Michigan possibly next week.

hopefully the recall letter comes in Thursday.

also how do i Present my vehicle along with original title docs to US Customs prior (72 hours) to entering Canada.www.customs.gov

is there a forum to fill out and email to them.
 
Anil_zx3 said:
how do i Present my vehicle along with original title docs to US Customs prior (72 hours) to entering Canada.
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You just have to fax them the paperwork 72 hrs before. Not sure if you've read through the info on this thread, but there is a lot of valuable info here. It should answer almost any question you have about importing your bike.
 
Lewiston, no need to fax they want email 72 hrs prior and printed email reciept confirmation + title at custom. Last July i did fax and they prefer email, which is faster for them.
RIV can be done all online so once you got form 1 at the border. You can submit the required number (from form 1) to RIV and pay by credit card, they dont colect RIV fee at the border. I got email of form 2 in less the same day :) ( i got lucky?) . Print the form and go to canadian tire, mto and your done.
 
You need to email the bikes info, vin number. I will try to scan and post the letter from US custom on teusday.
 
Anil_zx3 said:
i'm planning to pick up a fz6 from Michigan possibly next week.
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Check on the Michigan crossing (Detroit or Port Huron) you will use and how you can send them the title. Previous posters were correct (fax or email the title) but the offices at the different crossing points are not uniform. The Michigan crossings may not allow you to email the info, whereas Lewiston does. There's one crossing further east that requires the actual title, i.e., you have to mail or courier it to them. I seem to recall from previous posts in this thread, that the Michigan crossings want the title faxed (and make sure you print off the confirmation sheet and bring it with you).
 
Bond Chick said:
Check on the Michigan crossing (Detroit or Port Huron) you will use and how you can send them the title. Previous posters were correct (fax or email the title) but the offices at the different crossing points are not uniform. The Michigan crossings may not allow you to email the info, whereas Lewiston does. There's one crossing further east that requires the actual title, i.e., you have to mail or courier it to them. I seem to recall from previous posts in this thread, that the Michigan crossings want the title faxed (and make sure you print off the confirmation sheet and bring it with you).
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From what I have heard so far, only Lewiston crossing accepts e-mails. You still have to fax the bike info (registration and bill of sale) to Port Huron. You have to do it 72 hours in advance (be it e-mail or fax), make sure those 72 hours are on business days (i.e. 3 business days).
 
Hey anyone here get a recall letter from BMW US recently, that was accepted at RIV? Got someone who thinks they can get me the paperwork but am not sure if they are just wasting their time if RIV won't take it anyway...
 
Any way to save on taxes? Ie: my brother imports the bike and then resells to me, since im a family bike could be considered as a gift hence no tax?
 
That will work, but you can do that only once every 12 months:

Tax exemptionYou do not have to pay retail sales tax if:
  • You are a qualifying Diplomat or Status Indian. You can complete a transfer by showing your identity card.
  • You receive a vehicle as a gift from a close family member, such as:
    • Spouse
    • Parent or step-parent
    • Grand-parent
    • Son or step-son
    • Daughter or step-daughter
    • Grandson or granddaughter
    • Step-grandson or Step-granddaughter
    • Son-in-law
    • Daughter-in-law
    • Father-in-law
    • Mother-in-law
    • Brother or Sister
    • Half Siblings (siblings with a common parent)
    • Adopted Siblings (siblings with a common parent by way of adoption)
    • Siblings-in-law (siblings of a spouse of spouse of a sibling)
Note: Only one tax-free transfer per vehicle is allowed every 12 months within your close family.
For some transfers, such as gifts between close family members (describe above), are sales tax exempt if a Sworn Statement for a Family Gift of a Used Motor Vehicle in the Province of Ontario is provided when registering your vehicle at a ServiceOntario Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Office.
 
HA3AP said:
Any way to save on taxes? Ie: my brother imports the bike and then resells to me, since im a family bike could be considered as a gift hence no tax?
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Yeah, but he needs to register the bike first, hence pay the taxes??
 
Disregard. We've settled on a V-Strom for the wife instead. And for a refreshing change, they are very well priced in Canada so we're buying locally.
l84toff said:
Hey anyone here get a recall letter from BMW US recently, that was accepted at RIV? Got someone who thinks they can get me the paperwork but am not sure if they are just wasting their time if RIV won't take it anyway...
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ViperZ said:
Yeah, but he needs to register the bike first, hence pay the taxes??
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And thats what i was wondering... Can he import the bike as a track bike which im assuming has no tax on it, and then gift it to me. Hope some one with import experiance can help out thanks
 
HA3AP said:
Can he import the bike as a track bike which im assuming has no tax on it, and then gift it to me. Hope some one with import experiance can help out thanks
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You still won't have the right kind of paperwork to be able to register the bike and ride it on the street. One of the ways you can avoid the provincial tax is to import a track bike as a parts only vehicle. But doing this means it can't ever be plated for the road. If you want the bike to have an Ontario registration, you have to go through the importation process and that means someone will have to pay the GST at the border and the PST portion when they do final step of the process and get the Ontario registration.
 
Hey guys,

Just brought back my new bike from the US. I had my doubts as the dealership kept reassuring me that he'll handle all the paperwork and have everything ready for me for the border. They told me to only cross at the Peace Bridge.

No 72 hour notice ahead of time and I did it today (Saturday). 20 minutes later and I was already on the road for home.
 
Peace bridge? I thought the only place for importing a bike was Lewiston... At least that's what the customs thing said.


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