Account lockout for "anyone attempting or assisting others in avoiding cross border duties"

[blackhawk]

There's a mod post in the For Sale forum Warning that smuggling will be reason to lock your account. Any illegal activity carried out through these boards would obviously be reason and required by AT's legal advisors.

However, the body of the post states that anyone asking or offering help to avoid paying duties is the same thing.

I think there's a big difference between smuggling and reducing duty, taxes, brokerage fees and giving others advice in how to reduce or eliminate them through normal and LEGAL means.

If someone asks the best way to ship cross border, then this is asking advice and the AT lawyers are covering their legal liability with a very wide brush.

Is there something else going on that brought this on? Why the attack on cross border trading?

 

[unclebabar]

> However, the body of the post states that anyone asking or offering help to avoid paying duties is the same thing.

There are still duties? What happened to the NAFTA ____?

 

[N8Magic]

Originally posted by: unclebabar
> However, the body of the post states that anyone asking or offering help to avoid paying duties is the same thing.

There are still duties? What happened to the NAFTA ____?

Duties are pretty rare now, but they DO collect taxes (PST and GST) at the border.

I believe they are referring to the "gift exemption" from taxes. By allowing people to PM each other about this type of stuff, AT is indirectly facilitating fraud.

I think they're just trying to cover their ass here.

 

[blackhawk]

Sure sounded like the "lawyer mod" talking.

With all the talk about Nafta etc. I thought it would be safe for me to take a modem across the border to the US to mail when I checked my post office box but they nailed me at the border for 5 usd for "importing" a used USR modem I bought from the states and was built there too!

They get you coming and going. It was a paper work fee to track imports and exports and was valued at 18 usd.

They could certainly explain a bit more in this post stickied at the top of the page. Its a given that any illegal activity carried out across the AT boards cant be tolerated but they need some specifics cause they obviously are concerned about something, just what is all I'm asking.

 

[UNCjigga]

And with one fell swoop, Uncle Jigga's little cigarrette smuggling operation between North Carolina and small towns along the Canadian border came to a grinding halt.



PS: This may be unrelated, but I always thought that U.S. residents were NOT supposed to pay PST/GST. For all your purchases while in Canada, keep your receipts and then on your way back you can stop at a little office on the border and get reimbursed for all the GST and PST taxes (this works best when you're driving though if you get to the airport early enough you should still be able to do it.)

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: N8Magic

Originally posted by: unclebabar
> However, the body of the post states that anyone asking or offering help to avoid paying duties is the same thing.

There are still duties? What happened to the NAFTA ____?

Duties are pretty rare now, but they DO collect taxes (PST and GST) at the border.

I believe they are referring to the "gift exemption" from taxes. By allowing people to PM each other about this type of stuff, AT is indirectly facilitating fraud.

I think they're just trying to cover their ass here.

Yup, there are no "duties" on computer/electronic equipment, just sales tax. AKA, there's no need to smuggle.

 

[Geekbabe]

Seems to me that the best place to ask your question would be over in Forum issues

 

[chiwawa626]

I dont know but it seems like the mods are really trigger happy anyways, for example check out this thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=45&threadid=859748

As a long time member, you should know the rules by now. No excessive bumping.

One bump every 3 hrs is what ive heard...this guy does it some minutes early of 3 hrs and gets locked on it?

 

[Braves]

huh?

 

[XMan]

So what you're saying is . . . I'm going to have to go get my own tamales now?

F*ck that!

 

[Anubis]

i got screwed with duty when i bought my Mt bike off ebay. the bike was fine very little use. bought it from some guy in canada. who had origionally bought it in cali. but they made me pay 150$ duty on the think. let me tell you i went up 1 side of UPS and down teh other. to no avail but it sure made me feel better lettem them hear mi mind


so anyway gettin round duty isnt smuggling because of free trade!!!!!!!!!

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: TheEvil1
i got screwed with duty when i bought my Mt bike off ebay. the bike was fine very little use. bought it from some guy in canada. who had origionally bought it in cali. but they made me pay 150$ duty on the think. let me tell you i went up 1 side of UPS and down teh other. to no avail but it sure made me feel better lettem them hear mi mind


so anyway gettin round duty isnt smuggling because of free trade!!!!!!!!!

Bikes might have "duty", but are you sure it was duty or was it a UPS (whatyacallit)charge?

 

[Anubis]

no it was a specifin duty charge man i was pissed

an besides that he allready paied duty when he bought it in caliand took it to cananda. so duty was paied twice on teh same item

 

[bunker]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
I dont know but it seems like the mods are really trigger happy anyways, for example check out this thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=45&threadid=859748

As a long time member, you should know the rules by now. No excessive bumping.

One bump every 3 hrs is what ive heard...this guy does it some minutes early of 3 hrs and gets locked on it?

chiwawa, it's once every 4 hours.