Question
I have a customer that claims she paid the shipping cost twice and wants me to refund the extra payment. When I asked her about where she got the extra charge she claims it was from the Canada Post.
Sounds like a duty charge to me? Item was a $29.95 crystal piece, heavy and cost $8.00 to ship
So apparently she was charged another $8.00. Would that be a duty and tax charge?
Answer
No, that doesn't appear to be duty. It appears to be GST and the charge shows up on the same form on the package she received as duty would.
The form will clearly show that the charge is GST (Goods and Service Tax - a federal sales tax), which is 7% of the Canadian dollar equivalent value of the merchandise value in the package PLUS a $5.00 handling fee.
Canada Post collects GST on behalf of the Canadian government and for that service receives a $5.00 handling fee which is charged to the recipient.
GST is supposed to be charged on any incoming package from the U.S. with a value of more than Cdn. $20.00. However, many packages do slip into the country and are not charged. Your customer was just unlucky.
Tell your customer that if she looks at the flip side of the form (remove the form from the package) she will see a 1-800 number she can call for further information. She can also visit any post office as well to ask questions.
By the way, if your customer were to buy your item in Canada in a retail store she would also pay 7% GST. She wouldn't have to be the $5.00 handling charge to Canada Post though.
Bottom line - it's not a shipping charge and really not your problem.