Do Customs Clearance Locally on Low Value Goods and avoid Brokerage Fee

Self Clearing remotely is only for low value items that are valued at Maximum of $2500 CAD. This is only for Personal items. For business purpose the process is slightly different. What you need to do is track your parcel and once it has cleared customs, phone your courier and ask for a Cargo Control Document or Manifest. They can email it to you. Print it out and take it to your local CBSA office along with your invoice and payment receipt. Pay your tax and collect the B15 form form the customs officer and then send the B15 form to your courier company to give proof that you have paid taxes. If in meanwhile your package is being delivered show the B15 form and receipt to the delivery person as proof that you have already paid the taxes. If you haven't done the payments and your package is beibng delivered tell delivery man to hold package at local facility and that you are in process of paying taxes yourself to avoid brokerage fee.

My First Experience with UPS and Self Clearing

18th June 2015
Parcel was shipped. I phone UPS and told them I will be doing self accounting.

19th June 2015
I recieved call from UPS in the morning. I told them again I will be doing self-accounting. Ask them to email me invoice. I took invoice and original invoice form ebay and paypal to my local CBSA office. Paid 10% ($12.30 CAD) customs tax and got the B15 form. Came back home phoned UPS on international number and informed them i have already paid customs and have the B15 form on hand and aks them where to fax it to. At this moment in time package hadn't entered Canada.

Weekend

22nd June 2015

I missed a call from UPS in morning and a voicemail was left. I called the number left on voicemail and pressed Option 3. Informed them I have the B15 form and would like to send it to them. She said it still hasn't cleared customs and I need to wit until shipment is released.
An hour after it showed on my tracking that shipment was released. I couldn't remember the above phone number as i had deleted my voicemail so I phoned UPS international number and told them i was asked to phone when shipment was released to find out where to send the B15 form. The representative told me that she'll put in a request for a call back tommorrow between 8.30 to 4.30 am.
I looked up on my home phone record and found the number left on my voicemail and called them again. Explained to them I was asked to call back after shipment had been released. She had the exact same response as the previous person. So I guessed i should wait for a call.

23rd June 2015
I wait whole day and no call from UPS. I was so furious when I got home and wife told me there was a package she had to pay $25.80 COD for. I immediately phoned UPS and just snapped. I asked the agent why i was charged tax if I had already paid tax before and everything has been recorded under my account. Agent was very apologetic and after speaking to the spervisor the agent said I will get my money back provided I send them the B15 form but it'll be subject to a $15 fee (can't remember what for it was something ridiculous). I said this to the agent.

"You are kidding right. You do know what you are doing is illegal. I have already paid the customs tax and have the B15 form and you are charging me for what. If you do not refund me the money i will be taking this case further at my local CBSA office."

Agent put me on hold to speak with the supervisor with not much better response so I told the agent to just put me through to the supervisor since they are not being very helpful. After a few minutes the supervisor picked up the call and again the supervisor was apologetic for this. I agreed with the supervisor that she should apologise because this is absolutely ridiculous. I explained to her the situation. After 25minutes of grilling her and aurguments and with her having no proof as to why i should pay $25.80 extra if I had already paid tax and realising it is an error on their end she agreed to give me full refund and gave a reference number. The supervisor was well confused. She said tax in Saskatchewan was 5%. I constantly kept reminding her that paying the tax is not what I have problem with and that it is 10% in SK.

UPDATE: They took payment out from my credit card on 3rd July and I was told that I will get a refund of $25.80 within 10 days and that was on 25th June. Today is 17th July and I still haven't recieved the refund.

My Second Experience of Self Clearing with DHL

So I recieved text and call from DHL regarding paying taxes on my upcoming delivery of bulbs from China this time. Bulbs cost $25 USD and they were asking for $17 CAD for taxes and brokering.

I Phoned DHL on:

1-855-345-7447

Select Option 5 for Brokering, then Option 4.

I explained that it is a low value shipment and that I want to pay the taxes locally. Although at first the agent said that i would have to be at the border to do that, once I explained the low value shipment law to her for items under $1600 CAD and asked her to confirm with her supervisor, she did say I can go ahead and do that myself. I asked her to send me the commercial invoice. I printed out my Paypal invoice and Paypal payment receipt and took it to my local CBSA office.

When I went there the officer said I needed a Cargo Control Document or Manifest from DHL. So I phoned DHL and asked them to send me that instead. They emailed me the Manifest, it was about 7 pages long and then I forwarded the email to the CBSA officer's email address. Along with my papers and the manifest I paid a total of $2.90 tax with my Mastercard and took the B15 form. Once I got the  B15 form I scanned it and emailed it to:

codhold_ca@dhl.com

in Subject i was told to write Paid Duty & Taxes on Waybill Number: xxxxxxxx and attached the form and payment receipt. I was also advised to show the receipt to the delivery person to show that I have paid the taxes. I got an email reply very quickly from DHL saying that duties have been paid and that I should show this to delivery person. When delivery person came I wasn't home but my sister told him we had already paid taxes and he didn't ask for anything and gave the package.