Penalties for Under Declaring
The article starts with someone bringing a large quantity of Mexican cheese to Saskatchewan border crossing and not declaring it. It goes on to mention other cases in varying types of goods from gu...
Forum Discussion
Well, being more health cautious ended up costing me a $4 item for declaring bell peppers that I had chopped up, rather than a potential $300 fine at their discretion if I did not declare it thanks to the US customs Dalton Post last September 2015 heading into Haines.
I was asked what fruits and citruses I had in possession as I declared unpeeled oranges and some apples and blueberries which was not even an issue...
When asked what veggies I had, I mentioned spinach, carrots, red onions, chopped bell peppers as the agent wanted to see the chopped bell peppers and told me they were not allowed - kinda burned me with all the hard work I did chopping them up more than anything else as they were confiscated as he mentioned bell peppers from Canada were prohibited....I will say he was one of nicer US Customs agents I encountered with.
So three hours later while shopping at the IGA store in Haines as I went to re-up on some more orange bell peppers, well and behold they had a year's supply of them in stock with the same PLU code stickers labeled 'Canada' on them - I just happen to wonder how a supermarket can get away with smuggling all those prohibited items while flipping them for some cash.
I sure felt like giving US Customs a call to inform them there were a lot of (so called) illegal bell peppers in town, however I couldn't find a pay phone anywhere around as I ask a few locals where all the payphones disappeared to that were here 21 years ago, as I was informed the last payphone in Haines was ripped out 5 years ago....at least in Skagway there are still 3 payphones and one in Dyea that are around.
I still laugh about the irony of this particular incident, as I felt like a bootleg or counterfeit victim as that $4 confiscation still feels like I was fined $300 - it's all good though....the first time in my 29 crossings (returning to the US) I had anything confiscated (28th crossing).
When crossing international borders of anykind, best thing to do is comply to the regulations and declare everything you have, or face the consequences and potentially lose your privilege to cross borders in the future in a worse case scenario if officials deem you a repeat offender.
When I checked the CBSA and CBP websites for prohibited foods prior to my departure, nothing indicated bell peppers were a prohibited item - so other than the usual strict enforcement types of under declaring alcohol, tobacco, firearms and such, expect the unexpected on food and other items subject to declaration as noted it can be at a second's notice for changes.
I was asked what fruits and citruses I had in possession as I declared unpeeled oranges and some apples and blueberries which was not even an issue...
When asked what veggies I had, I mentioned spinach, carrots, red onions, chopped bell peppers as the agent wanted to see the chopped bell peppers and told me they were not allowed - kinda burned me with all the hard work I did chopping them up more than anything else as they were confiscated as he mentioned bell peppers from Canada were prohibited....I will say he was one of nicer US Customs agents I encountered with.
So three hours later while shopping at the IGA store in Haines as I went to re-up on some more orange bell peppers, well and behold they had a year's supply of them in stock with the same PLU code stickers labeled 'Canada' on them - I just happen to wonder how a supermarket can get away with smuggling all those prohibited items while flipping them for some cash.
I sure felt like giving US Customs a call to inform them there were a lot of (so called) illegal bell peppers in town, however I couldn't find a pay phone anywhere around as I ask a few locals where all the payphones disappeared to that were here 21 years ago, as I was informed the last payphone in Haines was ripped out 5 years ago....at least in Skagway there are still 3 payphones and one in Dyea that are around.
I still laugh about the irony of this particular incident, as I felt like a bootleg or counterfeit victim as that $4 confiscation still feels like I was fined $300 - it's all good though....the first time in my 29 crossings (returning to the US) I had anything confiscated (28th crossing).
When crossing international borders of anykind, best thing to do is comply to the regulations and declare everything you have, or face the consequences and potentially lose your privilege to cross borders in the future in a worse case scenario if officials deem you a repeat offender.
When I checked the CBSA and CBP websites for prohibited foods prior to my departure, nothing indicated bell peppers were a prohibited item - so other than the usual strict enforcement types of under declaring alcohol, tobacco, firearms and such, expect the unexpected on food and other items subject to declaration as noted it can be at a second's notice for changes.
