Posted by Mark Preece on May 29, 2003 at 16:07:49:
In Reply to: Cross-border shopping posted by Keith C. on May 29, 2003 at 14:46:48:
I was living in Kitchener Ontario when I drove to Dillon Music in NJ to purchase my tuba. As a non-resident of NJ state, I did not have to pay the state tax, but be sure to mention that to them to ensure correct billing. Upon crossing the border, you are only billed the total amount to the GST (7%). There is no duty charged on goods of this nature anymore. Submit your bill, and they will calculate it for you. As for your Canadian tubas going into the States: Before you cross the border, go to the customs office and tell them you want a "Green Card" for your musical instrument. No bill of sale required. The procedure is to bring in your tuba(s) into the office, show the clerk the make, model, and serial#. They will record it on a green card, date it, sign it, and thats all there is to it. There is no expiry date on the card, so they are legal indefinately. Of course when I went in there, they didn;t even need to see the tubas that were in the car at the time, they just said right down the numbers, and we'll transfer them onto the card. No problems.