GST charged twice when importing auto

Eric Lai

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Q: I bought a prestige car in Utah, drove it back across the border at Queenston on July 12 and paid the 5 per cent GST at the border. On July 16, I was forced to pay an additional 13 per cent Retail Sales Tax at the provincial licensing office. Although I complained about paying the GST twice, I was told to take it up with Canada Border Services.

We have since spent an inordinate amount of time on the phone with CBS, GST Ruling, Ministry of Finance Ontario (Retail Sales Tax division, Refund unit, Service Ontario call centre), Ministry of Transportation and several other agencies — all of whom agreed that 18 per cent was too high but were unclear as to how to apply for a refund.

I cannot imagine that the intent of the new law that came into affect July 1 was to penalize an individual for importing a car by charging an additional 5 per cent GST at the border and 13 per cent at licensing.

A: Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson Patrizia Giolti replies:

Should a traveller feel that they have been overcharged, they can apply for a refund. For casual (i.e. non-commercial) importations, the person needs to complete a form B2G detailing what they paid, what they should have paid, and the reason for the refund request.

Eric Lai adds:

In this case, the reader seems to have been caught up in the provincial changeover from GST to HST and appears to have been charged GST twice on this transaction.

To access form B2G, visit: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/forms-formulaires/b2g.pdf

Q: I have a 2005 Jetta TDI wagon.

In April of this year, the air-con failed. The VW dealer found that the A/C “pressure hose is damaged caused by friction with intercooler pipe.” The repair cost was $750.

My complaint to VW through their website was rejected on the grounds that the car was out of warranty. (Incidentally, on the same work order, a free repair to the sun roof drains was done despite it also being out of warranty.)

I contend the problem may have existed before the warranty expired — the service manager says it could have taken as long as two years for the intercooler pipe to wear through the A/C line. In any case, there shouldn’t have been contact between the two. This was an assembly error in my opinion.

The dealership asked if the car had ever been in a collision and I replied that it had been rear-ended in 2008.

I called VW in June to speak to a superior, but was told the decision had already been made at the highest level.

A: Thomas Tetzlaff, manager of public relations for Volkswagen Canada, replies:

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your reader’s inquiry.

I have completed my investigation into this matter and am in agreement with our customer care department’s assessment of the situation. The failure of the part in question occurred more than two years and over 60,000 km beyond the factory warranty. As such, we have deemed this to be a normal occurrence, and part of the expected wear-and-tear on this vehicle.

You can send your non-mechanical questions to Eric Lai at wheels@thestar.ca. Include year, make, model and kilometres of autos cited, plus your name, address and telephone number. Personal replies cannot be handled due to volume.

More videos from Wheels.ca and our partners