Time in court pays off for woman
Canadian border officials went too far when they ordered a woman to pay $47,000 for the return of a luxury watch she had failed to declare when she arrived at Vancouver International Airport, a federal judge has ruled.
In March 2008, Eun Kyung Shin, a permanent resident of Canada since 2005, landed in Vancouver after a flight from her native South Korea. Shin indicated on her declaration card that she was bringing in $550 worth of goods into the country.
But a Canada Border Services Agency officer spotted the Rolex watch on Shin’s wrist and took Shin and her friend aside for questioning.
According to the officer’s report, the woman at first indicated through her interpreter-friend that she had received the watch before immigrating to Canada.
Under further questioning, the woman said she had acquired the watch in South Korea during the summer of 2007. She said she did not declare the watch at the time because it had been a gift from her husband, who still resides in her homeland.
She said she thought only purchases — not gifts — needed to be declared.
The officer consulted the Customs Enforcement Manual, which states that a seized Level 2 item may be returned upon payment of “60 per cent of its value for duty.”
For Shin, that worked out to $47,455.78.
In her submissions to Federal Court, Shin said the amount owed was unreasonably punitive and that a five per cent duty — or $3,954.65 — would be a fairer amount. The court was sympathetic. Federal Court Judge John O’Keefe said the Canada Border Services Agency’s internal manual allows for flexibility in cases of “negligence, carelessness and lack of knowledge on the part of the importer.”
The judge ordered that the case be sent to a different minister’s delegate to re-determine what amount Shin should have to pay.