i'm going to the states shopping next week.. how can the border officials prove what i bought and what i didn't buy, if i don't have receipts, etc........
2006-11-03 08:48:16 · 6 answers · asked by princess 1 in Travel ➔ Canada ➔ Other - Canada
they don't have to you do
2006-11-03 08:53:52 · answer #1 · answered by michael m 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you are gone for one day, and you come back with 5 pairs of shoes and 8 dresses how do you explain all these clothes for an overnight trip? You might get away with some, but I don't know about a lot. As for receipts, I bought a lot at a memorabilia trade show once. The result being I didn't have receipts to prove costs. Customs had a tendency to make high estimates on the value of these, and how could I prove otherwise. It was a long process and I almost missed my connecting flight. I say if you have receipts it isn't a good idea to get rid of them.
The last 5 years the boarder crossings have been a lot more suspicious and check through a lot more vehicles than they use to. I'm sure people still do this, but not like they use to.
The penalty for being caught in a false declaration could be to have all the goods seized INCLUDING the vehicle used to transport them. Plus you are flagged for special attention in the system for future crossings.
2006-11-03 17:35:05 · answer #2 · answered by JuanB 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The big tip off is the bilingual labels. And if you try and tell a border official you didnt buy anything when you went to a certain place...they arent stupid. Get ready to have your car torn apart and a plastic glove put on.
Border guards can tell when you are lying. Did you know that a person's eyes dilate when they lie? And people subconsciously look to the left. Some people get away with it....but its much easier to fess up than be put on the black list and have everything searched.
The other poster had a good idea to let them know about cell phones etc when you go from Canada to the USA. That way you dont have to worry when you come back proving you had the item before.
2006-11-07 00:10:23 · answer #3 · answered by Cariad 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you don't have receipts, and the goods are in new or like new condition, they have reasonable and probable grounds to suspect you purchased them in the US. It's up to you to prove you didn't. If you're taking a camera with you, stop at Canadian customs on the way down, and get a 'green card' for your camera, your cell phone, your i-pod or anything else of that nature. It's good for subsequent crossings, and simply proves that the item was brought from Canada into the US, so when you return to Canada there's no question about whether you bought it in the States.
2006-11-04 01:17:35 · answer #4 · answered by old lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes I know it's illegal, but when I go over the boarder to the States to buy clothes, I just wear them all back. Sure it's not comfortable, but hell I'd rather wear 3 shirts and 3 pants back to Canada, rather then spend $50 extra on tax. By the way if the clothes are made in Canada, the US, Mexico, or Israel they're exempt from tax, so keep an eye out for that stuff.
2006-11-05 01:49:50 · answer #5 · answered by Allen S 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
items bought in canada have french and english on their labels. Look at some clothes from Canada and the washing instructions are often dual.
2006-11-03 21:17:10 · answer #6 · answered by sweet cheeks 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋