Importing a used car to Canada

Check out the forums on importing Japanese used cars to Canada as well to find more information

Vehicles Purchased Overseas Residents of Canada cannot normally import a car from overseas countries unless it is at least 15 years old. The relatively few exceptions to this rule can be found in CCRA publications.

Import rules vary depending on your vehicle's age, its country of origin and the country from which you are importing it. You need a good understanding of the import regulations administered by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA), Transport Canada and, for shipments from overseas, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). At the provincial level, there are vehicle-licensing, emissions-testing and sales tax requirements to be considered.

Some countries, including the U.S., have requirements that you must meet before a vehicle can be exported. In England, for example, the vehicle's vendor should visit the licensing authorities to exchange the car's registration document for a Certificate of Permanent Export. As a precaution, check with the customs or vehicle-licensing authorities in the country from which the vehicle will be exported.

Paper Trail. Your copy of the vehicle's foreign registration document will establish its age and country of export. You should also have a bill of sale that clearly identifies the vehicle (year, make, model and vehicle identification number). The bill of sale should also contain the names and addresses of the vendor and purchaser and the price paid for the vehicle.

Your file folder will expand as you receive the documents generated by the companies involved in shipping your car to Canada. If you have a low tolerance for red tape, consider using the services of a customs broker. For a fee, the broker will relieve you of your paper burden and will prepare and present the forms required to obtain customs clearance for your car.

Upon arrival at Customs, a qualifying vehicle will be entered into the RIV program. The registration fee is $197 in Quebec and $182 in other provinces. Within 45 days, the vehicle must be altered at your expense to meet Transport Canada requirements (it may need daytime running lights and metric labels for instruments, for example). You won't be able to register and license the car in Canada until it is modified and inspected. The RIV Web site contains a list of eligible vehicles and detailed information about typical modification and inspection requirements.

Vehicles imported from overseas must be thoroughly cleaned before shipment to Canada in order to remove soil and plant material. The CFIA will inspect your vehicle, at your expense, to ensure that this requirement has been met. If your car fails the inspection, you will be responsible for the cost of a thorough cleaning and a second inspection.

Import FeesVehicles that are eligible for importation will be subject to import levies including customs duty and GST. Customs duty is generally based on the price paid for the vehicle and the percentage rate of duty varies depending on the vehicle's country of origin.

If your collector car has air conditioning, working or not, you will pay an excise tax of $100. There are additional levies if your vehicle weighs more than 2,007 kilograms (4,425 pounds).

Finally, GST will be charged at the rate of seven per cent of the total of the purchase price plus the customs levies.

Provincial Requirements When you have satisfied all the import requirements, a critical document called a Vehicle Import Form will be given to you by customs, your broker or the RIV program, depending on the circumstances of your importation. Without this piece of paper, you will get only a blank stare from your provincial licensing authorities.

Before heading off to your licensing bureau, you'll need to satisfy the provincial requirements. In Ontario, for example, your car must pass a safety-standards inspection. You will also need a Drive Clean inspection certificate if the vehicle is more than three model years old and less than 20 years old.

In addition to the fees for registering your newly imported car, provincial authorities may collect sales tax on the price you paid for the vehicle. Don't bother asking why provincial sales tax applies to a sales transaction that occurred outside Canada.

From a useful article of which extracts are reproduced here written by Murry Jackson on his experience of exporting a used car into Canada.

For customs information about importing vehicles into Canada, contact the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's automated information service free of charge at 1-800-461-9999. You can also find information on the CCRA's Web site at www.ccra.gc.ca.

For Transport Canada information about importing vehicles that were manufactured for sale in the U.S., contact the Registrar of Imported Vehicles, 405 The West Mall, Toronto M9C 5K7; telephone: 1-888-848-8240; Web site: www.riv.ca . For other vehicles, contact Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation Directorate, Transport Canada, 8th floor, Place de Ville, Tower C, 330 Sparks Street, Ottawa K1A 0N5; telephone: 1-800-333-0371; Web site: www.tc.gc.ca.

For information about Canadian Food Inspection Agency requirements, contact an Import Service Centre in Montreal (telephone 1-877-493-0468), Toronto (1-800-835-4486) or Vancouver (1-888-732-6222). The CFIA's Web address is www.cfia-acia.agr.ca.