ZR
02-08-2017, 08:41 AM
Honesty is the best policy, border officials warn after an Ottawa man paid a steep price for pretending he borrowed from a friend a car that he’d actually just bought in the United States.
It was a costly mistake when his tale began to unravel.
The 45-year-old man was trying to return to Canada after a day of shopping in Ogdensburg, N.Y. on Jan. 15. He declared $300 in goods and claimed a friend had loaned him the American-plated vehicle he was driving.
But on secondary inspection, Canada Border Services Agency officers searched the man’s phone and car and found emails and documents showing he’d bought the car over the Internet and concocted the story to avoid paying duties and taxes. He soon confessed to the scheme.
The car was detained and the man’s card under the NEXUS program, which is designed to speed border crossing for frequent travellers, was taken away.
By failing to declare the vehicle, which officials valued at $12,084, the man was trying to evade $700 in duty and taxes and a $295 fee to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles.
Instead, he had to pay those charges plus a $6,646 penalty before getting the car back.
“The single best thing you can do to save time returning to Canada is to simply be open and honest with the CBSA officer,” said Leanne Sullivan, chief of operations at the Prescott port of entry.
“If you are not sure about what to declare, don’t hesitate to ask a CBSA officer at a port of entry.”
The border agency warned that not declaring or falsely declaring goods means officers can seize them, either permanently or until the traveler pays a penalty of 25 to 80 per cent of their value.
They can also expect closer scrutiny the next time they make a trip across the border, the agency warned.
It was a costly mistake when his tale began to unravel.
The 45-year-old man was trying to return to Canada after a day of shopping in Ogdensburg, N.Y. on Jan. 15. He declared $300 in goods and claimed a friend had loaned him the American-plated vehicle he was driving.
But on secondary inspection, Canada Border Services Agency officers searched the man’s phone and car and found emails and documents showing he’d bought the car over the Internet and concocted the story to avoid paying duties and taxes. He soon confessed to the scheme.
The car was detained and the man’s card under the NEXUS program, which is designed to speed border crossing for frequent travellers, was taken away.
By failing to declare the vehicle, which officials valued at $12,084, the man was trying to evade $700 in duty and taxes and a $295 fee to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles.
Instead, he had to pay those charges plus a $6,646 penalty before getting the car back.
“The single best thing you can do to save time returning to Canada is to simply be open and honest with the CBSA officer,” said Leanne Sullivan, chief of operations at the Prescott port of entry.
“If you are not sure about what to declare, don’t hesitate to ask a CBSA officer at a port of entry.”
The border agency warned that not declaring or falsely declaring goods means officers can seize them, either permanently or until the traveler pays a penalty of 25 to 80 per cent of their value.
They can also expect closer scrutiny the next time they make a trip across the border, the agency warned.