BSF715 Casual Goods Accounting Document: Assessment and Payment

The BSF715 Casual Goods Accounting Document is the form a Canada Border Services Agency officer prepares at a port of entry to record the duties and taxes you owe on personal items you’re bringing into Canada above your duty-free exemption. The officer completes most of it. Your job is to hand over accurate receipts, say where each item was made, and describe what you bought clearly enough that it can be classified correctly.¹

When an Officer Fills Out a BSF715

A border services officer prepares a BSF715 whenever a casual importer needs an accounting document at an airport, land crossing, or marine terminal.¹ “Casual goods” means anything imported into Canada that is not intended for sale, industrial use, or any other commercial purpose.² Souvenirs, clothing, electronics, gifts. If those goods exceed your personal exemption, the officer calculates the duty and taxes on the overage and records the whole assessment on this form.

The BSF715 is not the form for every personal import. Goods arriving by mail are assessed on Form E14, and the postal carrier collects payment on delivery.³ Courier shipments use the courier company’s own receipt tied to a B3 customs transaction number.⁴ A BSF715 can also appear when someone voluntarily accounts for mail goods that were released without proper assessment; in that case the form is marked “Voluntary Accounting” in the cargo control field.

Whether You’ll Owe Anything

How much you can bring back duty-free depends on how long you were out of the country. If everything you’re bringing home fits inside the exemption, no BSF715 is prepared and you’re not paying anything.⁵

More than 24 hours away: up to CAN$200 in goods, all-or-nothing. If you exceed $200, you lose the exemption entirely and owe duty and tax on the full amount. Alcohol and tobacco are not included at this tier.
More than 48 hours away: up to CAN$800, and you pay only on the amount over $800. Alcohol and tobacco are included, within the quantity limits below.
More than 7 days away: the same $800 limit, but goods can follow you home by mail or courier instead of being physically with you at the border.

Anything above the applicable threshold triggers a BSF715 on the overage.⁶

Alcohol and Tobacco Caps

Even inside the 48-hour and 7-day exemptions, alcohol and tobacco have separate quantity ceilings. The duty-free alcohol allowance is one of: 1.5 litres of wine, 1.14 litres of spirits, or 8.5 litres of beer.⁶ For tobacco, the limit is 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 200 grams of manufactured tobacco, and 200 tobacco sticks. Exceed those quantities and the excess is captured on the BSF715 with excise duty added. Alcohol and tobacco you fail to declare at all are seized permanently, with no option to just pay the duty later.⁷

What You Need to Give the Officer

The officer handles the technical parts of the form: the shaded CBSA-use sections, the accounting document number, the 10-digit tariff classification, and the duty and tax calculation.¹ What you provide is the input:

Your name and postal code, which are the minimum identification the form requires.
Receipts showing the price paid in the original currency of the transaction. These are the primary basis for the calculation.
The country of origin of each item, meaning where it was manufactured rather than where you bought it. Origin drives the duty rate, and items marked as made in Canada, the U.S., or Mexico often carry no customs duty under CUSMA.
A description specific enough for the officer to classify the goods. Clothing, electronics, and automotive parts carry different rates, so vague descriptions slow things down.

The officer converts the foreign purchase price to Canadian dollars using the Bank of Canada exchange rate in effect on the date the goods were shipped to Canada.⁸ Any shipping or insurance you paid before the goods reached the border is added to the value for duty purposes. For jewelry, the CBSA recommends carrying an appraisal from a recognized Canadian gemologist or jeweller, with signed and dated photographs of each piece, so you can prove ownership and value when you return.⁵

Paying and Keeping the Stamped Copy

Once the assessment is done, you pay at the inspection area or a nearby cashier. The total is customs duty plus the applicable sales taxes: 5% GST in provinces without a harmonized tax, HST of 13% to 15% in provinces that use it, and in some cases a separate provincial sales tax.⁹ The last two digits of the tariff classification on the form determine the provincial tax status of each item.

After payment, the system assigns an accounting document number and marks the form paid. You receive a stamped copy as your official receipt. Keep it. If you ever take these items across a border again or need to prove they’ve been cleared, the stamped BSF715 is your evidence. If you don’t complete payment, the goods can be held in a secure warehouse; after 30 calendar days in CBSA custody unclaimed goods are considered forfeit, and perishable goods are held for only 24 hours.¹⁰

If You Think the Assessment Is Wrong

If the duty or taxes on your BSF715 look wrong — wrong tariff classification, wrong country of origin, or a valuation error — you can ask for a refund or adjustment on Form B2G, the CBSA Informal Adjustment Request.¹¹ It’s designed for casual importers and doesn’t need a lawyer.

The filing window depends on the reason:

Defective or inferior-quality perishable goods: within 3 days of importation.
Tariff classification, value, or origin disputes on hand-carried or mailed goods: within 1 year of the original importation date.
All other requests: within 4 years of the original importation date.

Attach the original BSF715 to the completed B2G, along with supporting evidence such as a corrected invoice or a certificate of origin that shows the assessment was wrong.⁴ Mail it to the CBSA Casual Refund Centre assigned to your postal code; the list of centres is on the B2G form page.¹¹

A different process applies if goods were seized rather than merely over-assessed. In that case you have 90 days from the date of seizure to appeal in writing to the CBSA for a review.⁷ The seizure appeal deadline is separate from the B2G refund deadlines above.

Related Forms You Might Need Instead

Some situations that look like a BSF715 case actually use a different form:

Moving to Canada: Settlers importing personal and household effects use Form BSF186, not the BSF715. Under Tariff Item No. 9807.00.00 those effects can enter duty-free if you owned and used them abroad before arriving, they’re for personal use, and you intend to establish a permanent residence for more than 12 months. Selling or disposing of any of those goods within 12 months of importation means notifying the CBSA and paying the duty that would have applied.¹²
Goods that will follow you home: If you’re claiming the 7-day exemption and some purchases will arrive later by mail or courier, ask the officer for Form BSF192, the Personal Exemption CBSA Declaration, so the goods to follow are on record. You have 40 days from your return to claim them. Alcohol and tobacco can’t be included; those must be physically with you at the border.⁵
Seasonal residents: Non-residents who own or lease a home in Canada for at least three years get a one-time duty-free importation of household furniture, furnishings, and maintenance tools under Tariff Item No. 9829.00.00. Construction materials or anything permanently attached to the residence don’t qualify, and the goods must have been owned and used before your first arrival to occupy the residence.¹³

What Happens If You Don’t Declare

Failing to declare goods, or giving false information about them, lets the CBSA seize them under the Customs Act. You may lose the items permanently or pay a penalty of 25% to 70% of their value to get them back.⁷ Food, plants, and animal products carry a flat penalty of up to $1,300 regardless of value. The CBSA also keeps a record of infractions, which can mean more frequent examinations on later trips and loss of eligibility for trusted-traveller programs such as NEXUS. Declaring honestly and letting the officer prepare the BSF715 on the overage is by far the cheaper outcome.

1
Canada Border Services Agency. Memorandum D17-1-3: Casual Importations
2
Government of Canada. Persons Authorized to Account for Casual Goods Regulations
3
Canada Border Services Agency. Memorandum D5-1-1: International Mail Processing
4
Canada Border Services Agency. Memorandum D6-2-6: Refund of Duties and Taxes on Non-commercial Importations
5
Canada Border Services Agency. I Declare: A Guide for Residents Returning to Canada
6
Travel.gc.ca. Personal Exemptions Mini Guide
7
Travel.gc.ca. Be Sure . . . Declare Everything
8
Canada Border Services Agency. Memorandum D13-2-3: Exchange Rate for the Calculation of the Value for Duty
9
Canada Border Services Agency. Memorandum D17-1-3: Casual Importations
10
Canada Border Services Agency. Memorandum D4-1-5: Storage of Goods
11
Canada Border Services Agency. B2G – CBSA Informal Adjustment Request
12
Canada Border Services Agency. BSF186 – Personal Effects Accounting Document
13
Canada Border Services Agency. Seasonal Residents’ Effects – Tariff Item No. 9829.00.00