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Bringing Wine Back to Canada After an International Trip

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Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
Category: Shipping, Border, Import Laws Shipping, Border, Import Laws
Published: 10 April 2008 10 April 2008

This article summarizes the laws that apply when a person travels to another country and then brings wine for personal consumption back with them to their home province at the end of the trip. Please note that other articles apply for the following situations:

Bringing Wine Back Between Provinces After a Trip

Shipping Wine Between Provinces (i.e. not bringing it back with you)

So you are taking a vacation abroad? Maybe to a nice wine producing area like France, Italy or California. And you would like to bring some wine back with you?

Duty Free Allowance

How much can you bring back? Well, the duty-free allowance (following trips of 48 hours or more) for bringing wine back to Canada is only 1.5 litres per person which is a rather miserly 2 bottles. You are allowed to bring back 8.5 litres of beer but only 2 bottles of wine. See CBSA site for the limits. If you are within the duty-free allowance, you won't have to pay anything extra. Technically, there is zero duty-free allowance for alcohol for trips of less than 48 hours. If you are lucky and have a nice customs person (of which there are quite a few), you might be allowed to bring back more. 

Charges & Fees Above Duty Free Allowance (For Wine Accompanying Traveller - Not for Wine that is Shipped Separately)

If you are above the duty-free limit but within the import limit for your province (45 litres for BC), you will have to pay applicable taxes, markups and duties. In BC, those charges are more than 100% of the value of the wine - that will quickly negate any savings.

As an example, for BC only, here are the extra charges that you may have to pay on wine above your duty-free allowance. For each 750 ml of bottle, the fees are as follows:

Customs Duty: $0.00 on U.S. wine, $0.03 on most other wine
Excise Duty: $0.49
GST:

5% of (purchase price + customs duty + excise duty)

BC Liquor Board Markup: 85% of (purchase price + customs duty + excise duty) with a minimum fee of $1.83 and a maximum of $12.75
PST: 10%

Generally, the border fees will exceed the amount that you paid for the wine at retail. So, for example, on an $8.00 bottle of wine, you will pay almost an additional $10 at the border. Only 91 cents of that goes to the federal government. The rest are provincial fees, mostly Liquor Board markups and fees.

However, you should note that because the LDB markup/fee caps out a maximum of $12.75 per bottle, and depending upon the price of the bottle, the personal import of more expensive wine may be economic. It is important to have receipts for all wine that is imported in the manner set out above - particularly if you are picking up wine that you have ordered online.

IMPORTANT: the above charges are only valid in the "traveller stream" (i.e. for individuals returning from a trip with liquor accompanying them). They are not valid if you try to import the wine yourself without going on a trip or if you arrange to have it shipped to you while you are away. In these latter situations, the import process is very complicated and the charges may be even higher. At the present time, I do not recommend that any BC resident have wine shipped to BC from abroad.

Comparisons With Other Jurisdictions

By contrast, the United States allows 1 litre of wine for its residents to bring back duty-free (less than Canada!) but the duty and tax rates on anything over the limit are extremely low: 3% duty (not applicable for Canadian wine due to NAFTA) plus maybe some other IRS or state taxes if applicable. In addition, I am told that even these amounts are not often charged on reasonable amounts that are brought back.

For even greater contrast, look at the EU: for example, if you go over to France from England, you can apparently bring back up to 90 litres of wine without problem! See HM Customs page for wine import information .

Differences Between Provinces

The fees levied at the border within Canada vary depending upon what province you return into. As a result, your return point of entry may dramatically affect the fees: see this CBSA (Canada Customs) memorandum which sets out the details of border tax collection. For example, if you are a resident of BC but return to Canada via Alberta, you will be charged the Alberta markups when you re-enter Canada (this is because Canada Customs does not have the jurisdiction to levy fees from one province in a different one). The fees in BC are very high for low to moderately priced wine. By contrast, in Alberta there is a flat per bottle fee charged, around $3 per bottle.

For Ontario: import info is here on the LCBO site. For Quebec: import info is here on the SAQ site.

Legal Authority to Collect Border Charges

There is no doubt that CBSA (Canada Customs) has the authority to collect taxes and duties at the border when you return to Canada. However, the vast majority of the amounts charged on wine (and other alcohol) are not taxes or duties ... they are liquor board markups. Liquor board markup is legally not valid as a tax (although all the revenue still goes to the relevant provincial government). It is imposed by the various liquor boards on the legal basis that they "own" the liquor in question and, as such, can levy whatever profits and fees they like on it. However, a small problem arises at the border because you, as the traveller, have already purchased the liquor (i.e. you own it) when you are bringing it back. In order to fix this, the liquor boards have created an artificial legal structure whereby they vest the customs officer with the power to act as an agent of the liquor board. The customs officer/liquor board agent then technically expropriates (seizes) your liquor from you (without compensating you) and will then release it back to you only when you pay all of the markups and fees. Don't believe me? Check out section 19 of the Liquor Distribution Act. There is also some federal legislation (which clearly relates only to tax), an "order-in-council" (which doesn't add much) and an agreement between the CBSA and the LDB.

Personally, I have some doubts as to the legal validity of this structure since the liquor board appears to be using its statutory monopoly power as a regulator to impose markups at levels which are excessive in order to discourage competition with its retail arm. For example, the markups discussed above are applied to the full retail price that you paid for the wine. Since markups are applied to the wholesale cost within BC and since the liquor board has no costs associated with your imported purchase, it seems punitive to impose this level of markup. In addition, since BC wine purchased directly from a winery has zero markup, it seems unfair (NAFTA? GATT?) to charge these levels of markup at the border when you purchase wine in exactly the same way from a winery in WA, OR or CA.

But until someone challenges it, that's the legal authority.

 

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Shipping Laws on Wine within/into Canada

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Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
Category: Shipping, Border, Import Laws Shipping, Border, Import Laws
Published: 09 August 2004 09 August 2004

Due to frequent updating, this article has moved ... please see here: Shipping Laws on Wine within Canada.

 

 

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Brief History of BC Wine & Liquor Laws

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Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
Category: Retail and Distribution Laws Retail and Distribution Laws
Published: 09 August 2004 09 August 2004

Current B.C. liquor laws do not make sense at all unless you have some sense of their history and development from the time of prohibition (which is now approaching a century ago!).

 
Pre-Prohibition Era

In BC's earliest "wild west" days, there was no regulation over the liquor business at all. Bars and saloons were major features of the larger cities such as Vancouver and Victoria. Many were open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. During this era, it was perceived that there was a substantial problem of maintaining public order as a result of unregulated drinking and drunkenness. ...


 

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Canadian Wine Allergen Labelling Rules Effective Saturday

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Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
Category: Labelling and Content Laws Labelling and Content Laws
Published: 31 July 2012 31 July 2012

New Allergen labelling rules for wine in Canada become effective on August 4th, this Saturday. Bottled wine with a vintage date of 2012 or later and all wine packaged without a vintage date must now make declarations on the label in certain conditions:

  • If the wine contains sulfites in an amount greater than 10 ppm, this must be declared on the label either in the ingredients or a "contains ..." statement.
  • If the wine contains any significant amount of residual protein from the use of eggs (ovalbumin), fish (isinglass) or milk (casein) products as a fining agent, then this must be declared on the label either in the ingredients or a "contains ..." statement. This requirement could be important for wine that is unfiltered.

The Canadian Vintners' Association has more detailed information including this Allergen Labelling Fact Sheet and Allergen Labellling Guidance Document.

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Shipping Laws on Wine within Canada

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Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
Category: Shipping, Border, Import, Export Laws Shipping, Border, Import, Export Laws
Published: 09 August 2004 09 August 2004

IF YOU ARE A MANUFACTURER OR VENDOR: You may wish to access more comprehensive information on this topic by subscribing to the Essential InterProvincial Shipping Compliance Subscription which is available now on our related web site, Alca Intelligence (consulting and information services for the liquor industry). The subscription provides detailed compliance information on this subject including a discussion of recent federal changes, a summary of all relevant provincial laws and policies (including links), sample "terms of use" clauses for vendors as well as 12 months of updates and notification of significant changes. 

This article summarizes the laws that apply when wine is shipped between Canadian provinces for personal consumption. Please note that other articles apply for the following situations:

Bringing Wine Back Between Provinces After a Trip

Bringing Wine Back to Canada After an International Trip

This article provides a summary of the shipping laws regarding wine (and other liquor) within Canada. This article is updated frequently and was current as of October 2019. However, the laws in this area are changing rapidly. Please contact a lawyer in order to ensure that you have the latest information. 

The shipping of any alcohol from one province into another province was previously prohibited by a federal law (which stems from the prohibition era) called the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act (Canada). However, in June 2019, the federal government repealed this prohibition entirely in respect of the interprovincial transport or shipment of alcohol. Nevertheless, the various provinces have not embraced the spirit of this reform and have created various provincial laws and barriers to interprovincial "direct to consumer" shipments.

The Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Comeau was released in April 2018. Generally, the court upheld provincial legal restrictions on the inter-provincial purchase/import of alcohol as long as they are connected to a legitimate provincial objective other than restricting trade. This decision directly affects the issues discussed on this page. Legal advice may be required on the implications of this decision.

The following chart summarizes my views on the ability of consumers to receive "direct to consumer" interprovincial shipments of wine under the laws in the various provinces.

  DTC from Winery?   DTC from Retailer?   Quantity Limits  ... Comments
BRITISH COLUMBIA          
 green light     Yes No Amount for personal consumption if 100% Cdn wine from winery. 

  DTC sales and shipment is permitted only for 100% Canadian wine purchased directly from a winery. BC has also eliminated the limits on alcohol importations from other provinces but only in respect of "in-person" importations (no shipment). 

ALBERTA          
 yellow light Unclear Unclear Amount for personal consumption.

  Alberta law says that adults may "import" liquor from other provinces (and other countries) in amounts determined by regulation. The regulation (s.89) makes importation from other provinces "subject to the policies of the Board". The Board's policies are set out in section 3.27 of this manual and which restrict importation to amounts that are personally transported (i.e. not shipped). It is not clear whether this "policy statement" has a valid basis in Alberta law since it may not be consistent with the language in the Act and Regulation. 
SASKATCHEWAN          
 yellow light Yes (from BC only) No 9 liters.

  Saskatchewan is open for DTC shipments of wine and spirits from BC only (not other provinces). An authorization (for the customer) is required from the SLGA which is valid for one year. Maximum quantity per shipment is 9 litres (one case) but multiple shipments are allowed. The customer is required to submit markup to the SLGA upon receipt of the shipment. The markup for wine is $5.25 per 750 ml bottle. See details here: Direct Shipment to Saskatchewan.

MANITOBA          
 green light Yes Yes Amount for personal consumption.

  Section 71 of Manitoba's new law governing both alcohol and cannabis refers to the fact that it is permissible to possess and consume liquor that has been "lawfully imported" into Manitoba. Manitoba's liquor web site indicates that DTC is permissible.
ONTARIO          
 red light No No

  Ontario has recently amended its laws to prohibit the possession of alcohol that has been imported from other provinces unless the alcohol was imported by or under the authority of the LCBO.
QUEBEC          
 red light No No 9 liters

  Provincial law restricts transport of wine not purchased from liquor board within Quebec. Regulations have been issued which allow the importation of alcohol from other provinces but they only permit 9 liters of wine per person and only if it has been personally transported (no direct to consumer shipment).

PEI          
 green light Yes Yes 9 liters.

  It is my view that the only reasonable interpretation of the word "import" in the amended legislation includes both in person transport and direct shipment. The PEI liquor board is stating that it is not open for shipment, only for "in-person transport". In my view, this is not a reasonable interpretation of PEI law.

NEW BRUNSWICK          
 red light No No 

  The recent decision in R. v. Comeau upheld New Brunswick's provincial laws that restrict its residents from purchasing and importing wine from outside the province beyond a "single bottle".

NOVA SCOTIA          
 green light Yes No     OK for Canadian wine purchased from a winery. Nova Scotia announced it is open for DTC wine shipments on June 25, 2015.

NEWFOUNDLAND          
 red light No No None

  NL only permits "in person" importations from out of province as described in the accompanying article. Note that the NL liquor board charged FedEx with shipping BC wine from a winery to a customer in Newfoundland. The case did not proceed after the defence lawyer made an argument that NL laws could not reach a federally regulated courier such as FedEx.

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Please note that this site is intended to provide general information only. If you require specific or personal legal advice, please contact a lawyer.

This site provides general information and commentary on issues related to the wine industry in Canada, particularly in BC.

The author is a wine industry consultant (now retired from law practice). The information presented here comprises solely the views of the author personally.

 

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