Non-Canadian boat owners must pay to overwinter here

Canada Border Services Agency has responded to a Nova Scotia boatyard owner's concerns about tariffs charged to non-Canadian leisure boat owners who keep their vessels in Canada over the winter.

Henry Fuller owns the Cape Breton Boatyard in Baddeck.

He said Canada Border Services Agency officials came to his business last week and told him that a tariff of up to 15 per cent of the value of the boat will be imposed on boats owned by foreigners.

Fuller said that tariff is driving away customers and could put him out of business.

In a letter, border services told CBC the rules regarding foreign vessels being kept in Canada are not new.

The agency said foreign boat owners can temporarily enter Canada with pleasure boats, however at the end of the boating season they are expected to leave with their vessel.

If owners decide to keep the boat in Canada for repairs or storage during the off season, they are required to contact border services to get a temporary admission permit.

At that time the owner may have to pay a security deposit equal to duty and taxes based on the value of the vessel. The security deposit is refundable when the owner can prove that the vessel has left the country.

If the boat is not removed from Canadian waters by the deadline on the permit, full duty and taxes must be paid.

Foreign boat owners who repeatedly and continuously store or repair their vessels during the off season in Canada are not considered to be temporarily importing the vessel and the boat is considered to be permanently imported into Canada.

The owner must then pay all applicable duty and taxes — the same duty and taxes that Canadians must pay to import a foreign vessel into the country.

Non-Canadian boat owners who deliberately mislead border services by saying the boat is only temporarily in the country when it is in Canada permanently, could have their vessel seized.

Border services said the provisions strike a fair balance, giving foreign owners the option to occasionally use Canadian marinas for repair and storage, while treating Canadian boat owners fairly.

The agency said it recently did outreach work to Cape Breton marine service providers to remind them of the rules and how to comply with them.