Personal Shipments

Canada Border Service Agency holds the University of Alberta accountable as the "importer of record" for all international shipments received at the University. This accountability involves the responsibility of remitting applicable duties and taxes to Canada Revenue Agency for imported goods, as well as maintaining all supporting documentation relating to the goods.

Shipments that are not related to the business of the University pose a risk of penalties being assessed to the University if any mandatory information element is declared in error (such as incorrect value).

Employees and students are not to arrange for personal items to be shipped to the University. The University will not accept personal shipments. Therefore:

• All personal shipments for students and employees must be delivered to non-campus locations. For students living in residence, “University of Alberta" should not be included in the shipping address.
  
  
• Personal goods must not be packaged together with commercial goods, for the University, when shipped to Canada as they may be deemed as commercial goods. Duties and taxes would then be payable on those personal belongings that might otherwise be imported as tax-exempt by an individual person.
  
  
• Customs Services attempts to identify shipments that are personal and to remove them from the University’s import record. It is not always evident that a shipment is personal, and the University would not be aware of the nature of the shipment until after it has been delivered. If a non-business or personal shipment is received, it is removed from the University’s import list and returned to the courier company for delivery to the individual’s residence or alternate address.
  
  
• If a package is delivered and was not identified by Customs Services as a personal shipment, the employee's department is responsible for all charges (GST, duty, and brokerage) and will be asked to provide a speed code for payment. The department is also required to maintain copies of packing slips, waybills, credit card slips and invoices related to these personal shipments for a period of 6 plus the current year.