[SteveA]

Here's some useful info. from dad604:

Michael, I have done my own clearance many times before. It is a very simple process. Usually carriers located their terminals in the same complex as Canada Customs for their own convenience but it makes it easy for someone doing own clearance too.

Procedure is as follows

1. Notify carrier (UPS) as soon as you have tracking #. UPS phone # 1-800-742-5877 and option 3
2. They will call you when parcel and needed papers are ready for pickup.
3. Take paper over to Canada Customs and fill out form B-3 (simple to fill out - about 5 minutes)
4 Paid the Government their pound of flesh.
5 Take release form to carrier (UPS) and pickup parcel.

I find the most time consuming part is looking up the tariff classification number for the stuff. As I have posted elsewhere at this site, tariff # for poker chips is 9504.90.90.91 and for playing cards it is 9504.40.00.10 and both items are duty free (from anywhere not just the US.) You just have to pay GST and PST if you are in province with PST.

I know UPS is a very reliable and good company to deal with in US but the thing that bugs me is the same as above complaints. This week I receive a 300 Desert Sand chip set. The GST/PST to the government was $33.20 and UPS brokerage fee would have been $51 on top of everything. Canada Post charges flat fee of $5 for normal and $7.50 for Expedite parcel which is reasonable. It has been many years since FedEx deliver something across the border to me but I remember that I had no complaints.

A further point, if you notify UPS that you are doing your own clearance and they screw up and clear it for you, you shouldn't have to pay the brokerage fee. The nice thing is that the clearance cannot be reverse (as UPS has told me.) That is what happened with my shipment this week and I didn't even have to ask, they just deliver it to me without brokerage, just had to pay GST/PST part of $33.20. Save me some gas.

[TheDuke]

Clearing customs on your own is ONLY possible if you are close to the 'port of entry' city.

For example, I'm in Edmonton, and so far - every UPS package I have received went through Winnipeg. So if I wanted to clear the customs on the package on my own I would have to go to Winnipeg to clear the package.

So clearing customs is NOT an option for the majority of Canadians, only those fortunate enough to live in the cities that are ports of entry. (Vancouver, Winnipeg, etc).