# importation laws



## Tibob32 (Sep 26, 2009)

I ordered some flame moss from Taiwan last week. The ebay shop had very very good feedback from people all over the world. Many of which were in Canada. I'm starting to wonder, can my plants be refused at the customs or do major exporters have licenses for that?


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Yes, your plants can be refused at customs unless you are sure that the exporter has shipped the plants with a phytosanitary certificate. 

eBay sellers usually do not usually have the correct licenses to export live plants. With customs, it is usually hit or miss, they may open/inspect your package, and then subsequently destroy it if the proper paperwork is not present.


----------



## bluekrissyspikes (Apr 16, 2009)

Tibob32 said:


> I ordered some flame moss from Taiwan last week. The ebay shop had very very good feedback from people all over the world. Many of which were in Canada. I'm starting to wonder, can my plants be refused at the customs or do major exporters have licenses for that?


i ordered some moss from there too last week. is yours from aquaticmagic? it's my understanding from reading on another forum that they just ship it labelled 'household item'. if it's the same seller it takes them a few days to get it shipped out and then 5-13 buisness days for it to arrive.


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

bluekrissyspikes said:


> it's my understanding from reading on another forum that they just ship it labelled 'household item'.


Of course, needless to say, this is illegal and customs may hold the order and subsequently destroy it unless it has the proper paperwork (which is the responsibility of the importer).

Technically, they could pursue it and fine you, but most people don't even get a slap on the wrist.

Though, I have seen live plants declared as "model toy car" and "soft plush animal"


----------



## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Darkblade48 said:


> Of course, needless to say, this is illegal and customs may hold the order and subsequently destroy it unless it has the proper paperwork (which is the responsibility of the importer).
> 
> Technically, they could pursue it and fine you, but most people don't even get a slap on the wrist.
> 
> Though, I have seen live plants declared as "model toy car" and "soft plush animal"


If you order livestock from across international borders, make sure that all paperwork is in order and you're not doing anything ILLEGAL. Not knowing isn't a good excuse either and can cause you more heartache (and money) than you probably care for.

Also, clearing customs can take forever. I've had things (drygoods) take about more than a week to get through customs before.

A good example is of a coral seller here in Canada tried to ship someone in the states coral without declaring it properly and getting the necessary paperwork in order to do so.
Upon the shipment reaching the US, the US customs seized the shipment (probably a small one) and then proceeded to track down the intended reciever and slapped him with a handsome fine for doing so.

I know a lot of these mosses are cheap, but most of the time they can also easily be had from a local source. It might be 2 or 3 dollars more, but it doesn't come from Asia, is unlikely to be infected with anything foreign, will most likely survive much better as it's acclimated to local conditions, supports a local hobbyist instead of a foreign one, and best of all, it's not illegal


----------



## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

As others have indicated contact Canada Customs and Boarder Agency. Plants do require paper work and now even pet food requires a permit to bring into Canada. Spend the 5 minutes on the phone with the correct agency and find out what paper work you have to fill out in advance of your shipment hitting the boarder.


----------



## Tibob32 (Sep 26, 2009)

bluekrissyspikes said:


> i ordered some moss from there too last week. is yours from aquaticmagic? it's my understanding from reading on another forum that they just ship it labelled 'household item'. if it's the same seller it takes them a few days to get it shipped out and then 5-13 buisness days for it to arrive.


Yes its from them. That sucks, with the size of their shop, I would have thought they had the certificate. Oh well, if it doesn't make it I'll order from a canadian


----------



## bluekrissyspikes (Apr 16, 2009)

yeah, the import papers cost like $80 per shipment or so i'm told. i didn't find that out until after i ordered though and i honestly can't say that if this order comes in perfect i would never order from them again. half the time i can't find anything in canada even when i post ads people don't want to ship it to me or they want xx amount of dollars above what the shipping process would cost to ship it. like i tried to order a giant 4" moss ball from a canadian site and shipping was $60...like come on. i've also ordered java moss from the US before and it came within 2 days, and the seller declared it as java moss so i guess it depends on how they are feeling that day at the border


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Tibob32 said:


> Yes its from them. That sucks, with the size of their shop, I would have thought they had the certificate.


The certificate is the responsibility of the importer; not the exporter. The exporter needs to properly declare the item, along with the phytosanitary certificate that you are supposed to provide the exporter with...


----------



## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

bluekrissyspikes said:


> yeah, the import papers cost like $80 per shipment or so i'm told. i didn't find that out until after i ordered though and i honestly can't say that if this order comes in perfect i would never order from them again. half the time i can't find anything in canada even when i post ads people don't want to ship it to me or they want xx amount of dollars above what the shipping process would cost to ship it. like i tried to order a giant 4" moss ball from a canadian site and shipping was $60...like come on. i've also ordered java moss from the US before and it came within 2 days, and the seller declared it as java moss so i guess it depends on how they are feeling that day at the border


A local shop like Menagerie should be able to get anything in for you - last I chceked they were selling phoenix moss and christmas moss, and I've seen marimos there too.

Oh, nm. I forgot you're from up North ....you could always ask someone from the city to pick them up and send them to you


----------



## KevD (Mar 2, 2008)

I'd like to clarify some confusion in this thread. The onus is on the exporter/seller, not the importer/buyer, to provide the proper documents in order to clear customs. It's up to the importer to ensure the exporter has prepared those documents and included a copy of them with the shipment.


----------



## Tibob32 (Sep 26, 2009)

Thanks for the good infor guys. Next time I'll know..


----------

