Canadian contests $35,000 fine after failing to declare luxury watch at border

A Canadian man's failure to declare a luxury watch at the border has cost him a lot more than time as he's been ordered to pay a significant penalty.

According to a federal court ruling, David Segall Blouin, a business owner from Montreal, travelled to Philadelphia in 2022 to pick up a pricey A. Lange & Söhne watch for $115,000.

He purchased the item online from Luxury Bazaar, an international pre-owned watch retailer.

Blouin returned to Montreal the same day but did not declare the watch with CBSA officers at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport.

He had requested that Luxury Bazaar ship the watch box back to him by courier. The box's manifest indicated a value of just $6.

However, border officers discovered the watch's actual price and fined Blouin $34,650.65, or 30 per cent of its value.

On top of that, he was ordered to pay the Quebec sales tax of $11,405.83.

Blouin contests border officers' fine

Blouin contested the fine in federal court and argued that he intended to pay the customs duties when he went to retrieve the box.

He claimed that he had previously imported other watches of lesser value and could pay the duties when the items were delivered to him by courier.

He also said that when Luxury Bazaar shipped the watch box to him via FedEx, it was accompanied by "a declaration of the true value of the watch."

But the $6 manifest in the watch box proved otherwise. Statements from CBSA officers noted that the package didn't include any indication of the item's significant value.

"It was only when a CBSA officer asked the carrier FedEx to provide additional information that an invoice stating this true value was disclosed," reads the ruling.
Officers also said this is a known scheme among individuals, who try to enter Canada with undeclared goods and send packaging or invoices by courier or mail.

Ultimately, Blouin's attempt to contest the fine was dismissed, and the judge ruled that the penalty and tax he was ordered to pay were "reasonable."

For Canadian travellers planning to bring goods back into the country, you may want to brush up on the CBSA's declaration rules here.