The process of importing an RV from Canada involves all the steps involved when importing a vehicle from another country to the United States.
How To Import A RV From Canada to USA?
The importer of record may hire a customs broker and an attorney to assist with this process or he/she may choose to do it themselves.
1. Using a Broker
It is not uncommon for many customs brokers and attorneys to charge thousands of dollars up front before they even begin filing the necessary paperwork on your behalf, so it is important to know that an importer of record must be prepared and organized with the correct paperwork before they begin the process.
Below is a summary of some key issues regarding importation from Canada so importers can be better informed prior to purchasing.
2. Foreign tax compliance form
All Canadian residents are required by law to report their worldwide income on their Canadian income tax return.
Form T1135 is a compliance form that must be filed with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) every year to report these foreign assets. If you are purchasing an RV from Canada and it has been owned by a Canadian resident for more than one year then you may be subject to the CRA’s Voluntary Disclosure Program which requires that you report the vehicle to the CRA and pay the taxes on it.
There are different ways to bring an RV into the United States, but one is as a Temporary Importer (TI) through 8 CFR §101.2(a)(13)(C).
For those who wish to temporarily import an RV from Canada, 8 CFR §101.2(a)(13)(C) outlines the steps that must be taken and they are as follows:
3. Register as Temporary
In order for a vehicle to be classified as “temporary”, it is required that the vehicle be imported by an individual who meets all of the following requirements:
a) is a citizen of the United States; or b) is not a citizen of the United States but who has been admitted to the United States for permanent residence (and does not intend to abandon his/her lawful permanent resident status by taking up residence elsewhere); and c) will be using the vehicle outside of the United States and not in Canada for more than one year from the date of its entry into the U.S.; or
d) is a Canadian citizen and will be using the vehicle outside of Canada for more than one year from the date of importation; or e) intends to export it within one year after entry, but this does not apply if the vehicle is imported by a dealer.
4. Fees
An important note about this process is that you must complete any necessary customs paperwork and pay all applicable duties, taxes and fees before leaving Canada or land at a U.S. port-of-entry with an RV in-transit status.
You cannot simply let your out of country broker take care of this for you. You must be able to present the paperwork and pay all fees before you are allowed to leave Canada with your vehicle in-transit status.
5. Submit Documents
At that point, you will have up to 7 days (or sometimes longer depending on the port) to get the necessary documents from a customs broker or attorney showing that you have paid these fees which can be presented at the port of entry when entering into the U.S.; otherwise, you will not be allowed through without paying all applicable fees and/or duty taxes upfront .
If there are penalties assessed due to non-compliance, it is your responsibility as an importer of record to pay those costs. The above information only applies if you are temporarily importing an RV from Canada; if you are permanently importing an RV from Canada, there is more paperwork involved and the process will take much longer.
Buying a used RV in Canada To Import To USA, here is how it works:
Regardless of whether or not you have shipped a vehicle or items before, I recommend going through a broker.
A broker can help navigate the procedural nuances that exist in various regions across Canada and ensure that your transaction moves along as smoothly as possible.
Use a Broker to do the Dirty Work
You can also find brokers online by typing “import from Canada” into Google (or Bing), but be sure to contact him/her directly instead of applying via their website because they may not respond if the application only allows for email. The price for a broker can vary greatly, but the cost should reflect the amount of work that needs to be done.
For example, if you are not providing them with enough information such as proof of funds or vehicle condition reports they need time to do additional research in order to move forward which will result in an additional cost.
Once you have found a broker, he or she will ask you a series of questions regarding what it is that you want to import and why .
From there your broker will help guide you and provide an estimate on what will be required from both parties including whether the vehicle has salvage/rebuild title(s), if any modifications were made before export, name of exporter who modified vehicle if applicable (if not provided by broker.
The name of the broker/dealer should be listed instead), any police reports which can help determine if damage to the vehicle occurred in Canada rather than after importation (will take longer and cost more for your broker to obtain this information); etc.
The most important thing is that you provide as much information up front to your broker so he/she does not have to waste time chasing you down once they start working on your file (or visa versa).
Source : U.S Customs Importing