Canadian buying boat in the USA

[olson34]

On only your last question, US boats with only State registration sail (and motor) into BC Canada waters from Washington and Oregon thousands of times a season.

[Faster]

In Canada if the boat is over 30 ft and/or over 10HP then you must license it, which is free and nowadays your get a provincial license number that must be displayed on the vessel (used to be a 'K' number in BC, now it's a 'BCnnnnnn' format.

Registration is optional up to a certain size (~60/65 feet?). It costs more, mainly for a name search (it must be unique on the registry) but it's a full-on documentaion and you carry a 'blue book' on board with the details. The Registry number must be permanently affixed below somewhere, but it need not be overtly visible. For yachts there are plaques that are allowed, I believe.

Not sure how you'd deal with an apparently undocumented vessel, If it requires licensing I suppose I'd go and apply for that.. it's doubtful they would unearth any history, I don't believe there's any kind of title search involved, and they will get their HST or PST/GST depending on the province and timing when you do that.

If it was to be registered then you may well run into issues if the boat is indeed American and has not been properly imported.

It's been a few years but I don't recall that I had to worry about 'undocumenting' when we imported from the US. I had to have a copy of the owners US title when we came through customs, but my impression was that that was to ensure the boat was his to sell, and not stolen propery. Overall the process was quite simple.

I have sailed an undocumented boat into the US and back some years ago (it was under 30 ft) without incident.. not sure how that would go in today's post 9/11 world.

[Carogan]

Originally Posted by Faster

In Canada if the boat is over 30 ft and/or over 10HP then you must license it, which is free and nowadays your get a provincial license number that must be displayed on the vessel (used to be a 'K' number in BC, now it's a 'BCnnnnnn' format.

Registration is optional up to a certain size (~60/65 feet?). It costs more, mainly for a name search (it must be unique on the registry) but it's a full-on documentaion and you carry a 'blue book' on board with the details. The Registry number must be permanently affixed below somewhere, but it need not be overtly visible. For yachts there are plaques that are allowed, I believe.

Not sure how you'd deal with an apparently undocumented vessel, If it requires licensing I suppose I'd go and apply for that.. it's doubtful they would unearth any history, I don't believe there's any kind of title search involved, and they will get their HST or PST/GST depending on the province and timing when you do that.

If it was to be registered then you may well run into issues if the boat is indeed American and has not been properly imported.

It's been a few years but I don't recall that I had to worry about 'undocumenting' when we imported from the US. I had to have a copy of the owners US title when we came through customs, but my impression was that that was to ensure the boat was his to sell, and not stolen propery. Overall the process was quite simple.

I have sailed an undocumented boat into the US and back some years ago (it was under 30 ft) without incident.. not sure how that would go in today's post 9/11 world.

As a Canadian resident living in BC, I'm trying to figure out the least costly way to legally make this purchase (this process is all so complicated!!)

I take it that I can't have my american vendor just remove his vessel for USCG documentation, bring it over the border himself, and then make a transaction with me in Canada where I would license it and just pay the 12% HST at that time (and hope to avoid paying the import duty because I wouldn't file it in a Canadian registry?) Because he would still have the boat licensed from his home state then I suppose this would bring up flags regarding import duties?

The more I read about this convoluted process, the more I think that the most economical way for me to do this is just register and licence the boat in an Alberta registry (pay the 9.5% duty for the boat built in Taiwan, and pay the 5% GST only - Alberta has no PST), and find a way to moor it in BC. Do I have this right?

If I register it in BC I understand that I'd have to pay the import duty (9.5%) AND full HST (12%). Just on principle alone I will not make any transaction that forces me to pay this much tax to any government(s).

[Faster]

Originally Posted by Carogan

As a Canadian resident living in BC, I'm trying to figure out the least costly way to legally make this purchase (this process is all so complicated!!)

Understandable...

I take it that I can't have my american vendor just remove his vessel for USCG documentation, bring it over the border himself, and then make a transaction with me in Canada where I would license it and just pay the 12% HST at that time (and hope to avoid paying the import duty because I wouldn't file it in a Canadian registry?) Because he would still have the boat licensed from his home state then I suppose this would bring up flags regarding import duties?

Two problems.. finding an American willing to do this, and it would still be an illegal importation.. the CBSA has way too much power to mess with.. you could lose the boat and be fined besides. You have far fewer rights dealing with customs than you might have with the police.

The more I read about this convoluted process, the more I think that the most economical way for me to do this is just register and licence the boat in an Alberta registry (pay the 9.5% duty for the boat built in Taiwan, and pay the 5% GST only - Alberta has no PST), and find a way to moor it in BC. Do I have this right?

You will pay the duty wherever you actually register it. You may have a problem licensing it in AB if you're not a resident.

If I register it in BC I understand that I'd have to pay the import duty (9.5%) AND full HST (12%). Just on principle alone I will not make any transaction that forces me to pay this much tax to any government(s).

My boat is foreign built.. I was able to show that about 30% of the purchase was attributable to add-ons and new gear that had been purchased in N.A. and got a duty exemption for that amount. However a friend was denied a similar claim a year later so I think that's hit and miss and which agent you deal with.

Just keep it all legal... it's not worth the potential down side if things go south.

[hellosailor]

Really?
"As a Canadian resident living in BC,"
So you're a resident alien in Canada, not a Canadian citizen? And that would explain why you have no concept of what the local motor vehicle and tax laws are, because basically, you're just a tourist who chose to hang around?

" Because he would still have the boat licensed from his home state"
Ergh, no, again. I guess you're not from the US either, because no place in the US "licenses" boats. We license cars, but register boats.

Convoluted? Everything is convoluted when you're trying to evade taxes in a strange land and have no idea of what you've moved into.

[SloopJonB]

I bought a registered boat in Cali and had it trucked to Vancouver. I used a title service in Anacortes to de-register it in the States and a Customs Broker to prepare the documentation for import. They took care of the PST/GST as part of their service.

Each of them cost about $150.

It's the only way to do it - don't waste your time trying to do it yourself.

DO NOT under ANY circumstances call CCRA for information or use anything they might tell you - they are idiots who don't know anything about the customs laws. If I had followed what they told me it would have cost me more the the trucking cost from Cali in extra costs to do it properly.

Luckily for me, the American truck driver knew more about Canadian customs regs & procedures that the staff at CCRA did.