The Canada Border Services Agency has delivered good news to Canadian resort owners and their American customers by saying groups crossing the border won’t be required to pay a 25 percent tariff on groceries they bring to eat.
When Canada introduced its retaliatory tariff last month, Ontario and Manitoba tourism officials, fishing outfitters and lake resorts believed visitors would be required to show receipts for their groceries and other consumables.
On Wednesday, however, a government spokesman said border agents won’t apply the new tariff if the incoming personal-use goods appear to be in line with the intended purpose, nature and duration of the traveler’s stay in Canada. The goods must be for personal use only, the spokesman stressed.
“It is the responsibility of border services officers at ports of entry to assess the quantity of consumable goods,‘’ said Canada Border Services Agency spokesman Luke Reimer. “If the officer determines that the goods exceed a reasonable quantity for the visitor’s intended stay, then the 25% surtax may be applied.‘’
Gerry Cariou, executive director of Sunset Country Travel Association in Kenora, Ontario, said the clarification is great news. He said he received a similar explanation this week from the border crossing superintendent stationed at Fort Frances.
Generally speaking, Cariou said, people traveling to Canada for a week or two of vacation don’t exceed the allowable limit for groceries and other personal items.
Beer and other alcohol would be subject to the tariff, Cariou said, but only for amounts that exceed the allowable (duty-free) limit. Traditionally, those limits have been one case of beer or one 40-ounce container of spirits per adult.
Matt Tolton, the third-generation owner of Rex Tolton’s Miles Bay Camp on the Ontario side of Lake of the Woods, said he’s encouraged by what he has heard so far about how Canada will apply the tariff on goods arriving from the U.S.
