Ken,
Thank you all of this...everything one could want on the subject matter.
Robert Abbott
AZURA
C&C 32 - #277
Halifax, N.S.
On 2022-01-15 4:59 p.m., Ken Heaton wrote:
Further to this, it appears some of Henry's American clients had kept
their boats in Canada continuously for up to 18 years without ever
actually officially importing them, so never paid import duties:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/tariff-for-non-canadian-boat-owners-threatens-yard-1.1322571
In the long run, the rules were not changed, and this didn't seem to
have any lasting effect on Henry's business. The Cape Breton Boat Yard
in Baddeck, Nova Scotia is still in business.
Ken H..
On Sat, 15 Jan 2022 at 16:53, Ken Heaton <kenhea...@gmail.com> wrote:
The "short amount of time" Andrew refers to is one full year (12
months). The ``newish" law Andrew referred to has been on the
books for at least 20 years ( I think since the fall of 1998) but
has been spottily enforced. In theory, US boats are not supposed
to overwinter (stay longer than 12 months) in Canada without being
legally imported and paying duty. But there’s an exception. If a
boat needs repairs, it may stay—and the repairs, maintenance and
storage of such yachts has been the core business of Henry Fuller
of the Cape Breton Boat Yard in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. And though
the necessary “repairs” may not have been very extensive, customs
officers have never been very exacting about the matter.
For many years quite a number of American boats spent years on end
in Canada without being officially imported, using this loophole
that allowed the boats to remain here if "major overhaul" and
other large shipyard related jobs were being done to them. The
intention of this rule was to allow shipyards to bid on large
projects without having to worry about import duties if the job
stretched out beyond 12 months. Legitimate large repairs can be
extended beyond 12 months, up to as long as four years (48 months)
if required, and permission for the extension(s) is granted.
This loophole was being abused as many of these boats were really
just having light seasonal maintenance done. Henry Fuller made a
public issue of it back in the fall of 2013 and so drew the
attention of the government agency tasked with enforcing the law,
forcing their hand so enforcement increased as a result.
Some coverage of Henry's complaints are here:
https://www.oceannavigator.com/bad-news-from-baddeck/
Here is another view:
https://contrarian.ca/2013/09/06/how-the-feds-are-killing-a-77-year-old-cape-breton-business/
Here is a link to the actual rules and information for travellers
(note the wording on that page has not needed to been changed
since 2014):
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/fv-be/menu-eng.html
Information about the length of time permitted for repairs are
here:
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/fv-be/importation-eng.html
The actual letter of the law here:
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d2/d2-1-1-eng.html
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d2/d2-2-3-eng.html
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d8/d8-1-1-eng.html
Ken H.
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