Duty on extra liquor

[potatoeman]

How much duty is charged for an extra liter of liquor going into Canada, how much for an extra case of beer coming out?

[Yankee]

There is better booze in Canada, as well as better beer.
Better Rye & better Rum...yummmm!

[woods]

Good luck if you can figure it out. Our group has been paying the duty for 19 years and we can't make heads or tails out of what is charged for what! I placed 5 phone calls up to the border and Winnepeg one year (we cross at Pembina in Manitoba), and I got shuttled from one place to the next, and never did get an answer from any gov. official.

[Wooglin]

I'd like to know the same? I mean, guesstimate wise, is it like $5 (US) per litre, or $10 (US) per case? I can get a case of Labatts in the US for about $20 and pay for the same case in Canada $35 (I think), so I also need to weigh my options.

Thanks!

[bigfish1965]

The Labbats you buy in the US is not the same as the Labbats you buy in Canada. Different recipe with lower alcohol.

[MrBor]

The charge for beer is based on how much you paid for the beer in the US. They have always asked how much I spent per case, and I tell them I paid about $11 for a case of beer and they charged me around $6. The duty on hard liquor is much higher than beer, so if you like to bring a bottle of Jack Daniels or Vodka, claim the hard liquor as your duty free, and pay the duty on the beer.

It is definately cheaper for beer if you bring it over the border and pay the duty. We paid $35 canadian ($26 US) in Ear Falls last year for a case when we ran out. I will admit that Canadian Beer is better than US weak beer, but I am cheap so Bud Light for me!!!!!

PS: Do not even try to sneak beer over the border. I had a friend whose group tried to sneak 15 cases over the border. They fined him and TOOK ALL OF THE BEER. They then said they were impounding his RV. The RV never moved from where it was parked...it just meant that they had to pay another $200 to get back in the RV and get on their way. It was a 3 - 4 hour ordeal.

[Canadian Guy]

All the seconds and iffy batches are sent to the US. All the good stuff stays home for the boys and girls here. It's been that way for years. All brewmasters adhere to this through there code of ethics. Heres proof. If its in writing it must be true. www.canadianbasics.ca

[retire55]

FYI

From http://www.2ontario.com/traveltips/tips13.asp

Liquor

Special quotas apply. Visitors aged 19 or over may import to Canada duty-free a total of 1.1 litres (40 ounces) of liquor or wine, or twenty-four 355 ml. (12-ounce) cans/bottles of beer, ale, or their equivalent. You can import a larger quantity of liquor (up to 45 litres or 11.9 U.S. gallons) if you are willing to pay Ontario's fees and taxes in addition to the duties that apply. To find out the duty rate of an article, or to learn more about your rights and responsibilities under customs law, contact the Automated Customs Information Service (ACIS). If you are calling from outside Canada, you can access ACIS by calling (204) 983-3500 or (506) 636-5064. Long-distance charges will apply.

I telephoned the ACIS (Prescott office in Ontario) this morning and received the following information:

Beer

The extra charges do depend on what you paid for your beer. However, to simplify things, on an extra case of beer for which you paid the equivalent of $10 Cdn, the extra charges amount to $10.82 Cdn.

Liquor/Spirits

On an extra 40 oz bottle of liquor (up to 40 % alcohol) for which you paid the equivalent of $10 Cdn, the extra charges amount to $17.96 Cdn. Apparently charges escalate rapidly for higher alcohol content.

You can cost compare buying liquor in Ontario at the LCBO at http://www.lcbo.com/index_eng.html

You can cost compare buying beer in Ontario at http://www.thebeerstore.ca/

[Jeff Cashman]

From my experience, it's not worth the cost or extra hassle. We just buy whatever extra we will need in Canada.

[Yankee]

Well, see, there ya go. I allways figgered Bud light drinkers coudn't possibly be into it for the taste. >> Hee hee.

[jerry bark]

i'm with you jeff, i checked out the LCBO site posted above and most of the liquor prices are the same or lower than in michigan.

on the beer it may be a bit cheaper to pay the duty but what's avoiding the extra hassle worth in real dollars?

i won't bother.

[Yankee]

I always bring up the legal amount of "yankee beer" and give it away to local friends. (Some of them are nuts for it). I buy the good stuff up there for consumption. I can get "yankee beer" any day of the week at home.

Look, if you went fishing in Argentina, you wouldn't bring your own beer, so why do it in Canada? There's a hundred good Canadian beers (so far). Try some new ones, eh?