Canada Border Services Agency

Effective June 1, 2012, Canadian residents returning to Canada will benefit from increases to personal exemption limits, expediting CBSA clearance and making cross border travel more convenient.

The CBSA is currently working with its partners and stakeholders to ensure all publications are updated, including the CBSA Declaration Card (E311) [PDF, 2.8 MB] [help with PDF files], distributed by airlines to travelers arriving on board international flights. The Agency is making every effort to ensure new exemption limits are reflected in our publications and available to the public effective June 1, 2012. However, Canadian residents will qualify for new personal exemption limits even if they use an older form.

Who qualifies for personal exemptions

When you return to Canada, you may qualify for a personal exemption. This allows you to bring goods of a certain value into the country without paying regular duties and taxes, except for a minimum duty that may apply to some tobacco products.

You are eligible for a personal exemption if you are one of the following:

• a Canadian resident returning from a trip outside Canada; or
• a former resident of Canada returning to live in this country; or
• a temporary resident of Canada returning from a trip outside Canada.

Even young children and infants are entitled to a personal exemption. As a parent or guardian, you can make a declaration to the CBSA for a child, as long as the goods you are declaring are for the child’s use.

Read more here.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 1st, 2012 at 6:32 pm and is filed under Official Documents, Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.