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Importing Beverage Alcohol

Importing Beverage Alcohol Products into Ontario for Personal Use

Although the LCBO offers a broad selection of wines, spirits, beers and other products from around the world, on occasion, customers identify products that they would like to purchase that are not currently available from LCBO stores.

The LCBO’s Specialty Services department serves this need. By providing as much detail on the products you wish to import, a Private Ordering representative will contact the supplier, obtain a price quote and, with your agreement, arrange to ship it to Ontario for pick-up. For more information on this service, please click here.

Using this service ensures that all customs and regulatory requirements are satisfied and reduces the likelihood of unforeseen complications that may arise from incomplete or missing receipts or other required customs documentation.

However, it is possible to import unplanned purchases of beverage alcohol made while travelling outside of Canada, provided certain protocols are followed.

Personal Importations

BRINGING IT WITH YOU

If you choose to import beverage alcohol products when returning to Ontario from a trip abroad you must:

  • Be an Ontario resident 19 years of age or older;
  • Be bringing products back for personal use only;
  • Not exceed a total of 45-litres of beverage alcohol (any combination of wine, spirits or beer);
  • Have all proof-of-purchase documentation including sales and credit card receipts ready to present to Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) officials when you are going through Customs;
  • Pay all applicable import and excise duties, taxes and levies as detailed below.

If you’ve been out of the country for 48 hours or longer you may, under the federal duty-free entitlement, bring back either 1.14 litres of spirits, 1.5 litres of wine or 8.5 litres of beer (24 standard sized bottles). No duties, taxes or levies will be assessed on this entitlement when you make your declaration to CBSA. A duty free entitlement is not included or counted as part of the 45-litre maximum volume limit. If you’ve been out of Canada for less than 48 hours and wish to bring back any beverage alcohol, you’ll be required to pay all applicable duties, levies and taxes at the border.

HAVING IT SENT TO YOU

If bringing products home personally is not possible, you may arrange for them to be shipped to you in Ontario provided the requirements described below are met. Please note that a duty-free entitlement is not available to you if you use this method.

You must make all transportation arrangements (you must use a freight shipping service not a postal channel) and your shipment will be processed somewhat differently than a personally accompanied importation when it reaches Ontario, Canada. Rather than being processed by CBSA, your direct shipment will be processed by the LCBO’s appointed customs broker, currently UPS Supply Chain Solutions (see information below). The LCBOs broker will calculate the applicable taxes, duties and levies as detailed below, as well as a broker fee to process the transaction. When making a direct shipment you must:

  • Be an Ontario resident 19 years of age or older;
  • Be importing products for personal use only;
  • Not exceed a total of 45-litres of beverage alcohol (any combination of wine, spirits or beer);
  • Provide documentation indicating the value of your shipment (supplier invoices, etc.) along with proof of payment (typically a credit card receipt).

In addition, the shipment must:

  • Be consigned to the LCBO c/o yourself on the shipment manifest or bill of lading;
  • Be clearly marked as beverage alcohol on all transport and customs documentation;
  • Not include any non-alcohol items, just beverage alcohol;
  • Be accompanied by a completed Canada Customs Invoice (CCI) indicating the brand name(s), vintage if applicable, alcohol by volume, format, quantity and accurate valuation (as noted above). CCIs are available by clicking here.

It is your responsibility to ensure the above documentation is fully completed and accurate in order for the LCBO’s broker to account to CBSA for the release of your shipment with minimal disruption. It is also your responsibility to pay any additional storage charges, processing fees or other related service charges incurred due to incomplete or inaccurate documentation.

If you are expecting a direct shipment, please ensure it is referred to the LCBO’s customs broker:

UPS Supply Chain Solutions
Attention: LCBO Team
Tel: 905 677-6735
Fax: 905-677-2689
 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

As noted, beverage alcohol can be imported into Ontario by residents for personal use by following the procedures noted above. It is very important to remember that beverage alcohol brought in either on your person (accompanied) or via direct shipment (unaccompanied) may not, in any circumstance, be used at a licensed establishment, or a Private, Public or Industry Promotional Special Occasion Permit (SOP) event. However, the holder of an Industry Promotional permit may use accompanied and direct shipment imported beverage alcohol if they applied for a permit for the purpose of conducting market research.

Should you have any questions regarding the importation of beverage alcohol into Ontario for your own personal use or for other LCBO services, please refer to the contacts listed below.

Products/General Inquiries

If you would like to locate an LCBO retail store location or search for a product, please visit our Store Search or Product Search section. If you have a general inquiry, please contact us at:

Mail: LCBO Customer Care
100 Queens Quay East, 9th Floor
Toronto, ON, M5E 0C7

Telephone: 1-800-ONT-LCBO (1-800-668-5226) or 416-365-5900 in the local Toronto area. TTY Users dial toll-free at 1-800-361-3291.

Hours of Operation: Monday to Saturday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (EST).

E-mail Webform: http://service.lcbo.com/app/int/ask/


Ontario Provincial Border Levies
Casual Importations
(5 cases (45 litres) or less)

 

Accompanied importations Spirits
750mL bottle
Wine
750mL bottle
Beer
24 x 355mL
  59.9%
of value
39.6%
of value
$0.676
per litre
Retail Price $21.9500 $10.4000 $12.0000
Import Duty(1) $0.0148 $0.0140 $ -
Excise Tax/Duty(2) $3.5088 $0.4650 $2.6599
Subtotal 1 $25.47 $10.88 $14.66
Border Levy(3) $15.26 $4.31 $5.76
Subtotal 2 $40.73 $15.19 $20.42
HST(4) $3.31 $1.41 $1.91
Consumer Price $44.04 $16.60 $22.33


NOTES:

1. Import Duty Rates vary according to product type and alcohol content. Rates used in this example are $0.0492/LAA for other imported spirits (it is free for US spirits), and $0.0187/litre for other imported wine (it is free for US wine). Beer is not charged import duty.

2. Rates are $11.696/LAA for spirits, $0.62 per litre for wine and $0.3122/litre for beer. 100% Domestic produced wine is excise free. Excise duty relief for beer with greater than 2.5% alcohol by volume produced by domestic brewers is as follows:

• $3.122/hl for first 2,000 hectolitres produced annually (90% excise duty reduction)

• $6.244/hl for next 3,000 hectolitres (2,001 - 5,000 hl) produced annually (80% excise duty reduction)

• $12.488/hl for next 10,000 hectolitres (5,001 - 15,000 hl) produced annually (60% excise duty reduction)

• $21.854/hl for next 35,000 hectolitres (15,001 - 50,000 hl) produced annually (30% excise duty reduction)

• $26.537/hl for next 25,000 hectolitres (50,001 - 75,000 hl) produced annually (15% excise duty reduction)

• $31.220/hl for over 75,000 hectolitres produced annually (regular rate)

3. Border levy is applied to the value of subtotal 1

4. HST is 13% applied to the value of subtotal 1


Ontario Provincial Border Levies
Casual Importations
(5 cases (45 litres or less)

 

Unaccompanied importations Spirits
750mL bottle
Wine
750mL bottle
Beer
24 x 355mL
  143.7%
of value
102.2%
of value
$1.70
per litre
Retail Price $21.9500 $10.4000 $12.0000
Import Duty(1) $0.0148 $0.0140 $ -
Excise Tax/Duty(2) $3.5088 $0.4650 $2.6599
Subtotal 1 $25.47 $10.88 $14.66
Border Levy(3) $36.61 $11.12 $14.48
Subtotal 2 $62.08 $22.00 $29.14
HST(4) $3.31 $1.41 $1.91
Container Deposit(5) $0.20 $0.20 $2.40
Consumer Price $65.59 $23.61 $33.45


NOTES:

1. Import Duty Rates vary according to product type and alcohol content. Rates used in this example are $0.0492/LAA for other imported spirits (it is free for US spirits), and $0.0187/litre for other imported wine (it is free for US wine). Beer is not charged import duty.

2. Rates are $11.696/LAA for spirits, $0.62 per litre for wine and $0.3122/litre for beer. 100% Domestic produced wine is excise free. Excise duty relief for beer with greater than 2.5% alcohol by volume produced by domestic brewers is as follows:

• $3.122/hl for first 2,000 hectolitres produced annually (90% excise duty reduction)

• $6.244/hl for next 3,000 hectolitres (2,001 - 5,000 hl) produced annually (80% excise duty reduction)

• $12.488/hl for next 10,000 hectolitres (5,001 - 15,000 hl) produced annually (60% excise duty reduction)

• $21.854/hl for next 35,000 hectolitres (15,001 - 50,000 hl) produced annually (30% excise duty reduction)

• $26.537/hl for next 25,000 hectolitres (50,001 - 75,000 hl) produced annually (15% excise duty reduction)

• $31.220/hl for over 75,000 hectolitres produced annually (regular rate)

3. Border levy is applied to the value of subtotal 1

4. HST is 13% applied to the value of subtotal 1

5. Effective Feb. 5, 2007, for each refillable container, deposit is $0.10 for a container less than and equal to 630 ml and greater than 100 ml; it is $0.20 for a container greater than 630 ml; and $0.00 for a container <=100 ml.