mechbox siezed by customs

[INCURSORI]

Originally Posted by PoFF

A reciever for an AR-15 type firearm is the lower part of the assembly, that bears the serial number. ANY other part of the firearm is not considered a firearm and is not subject to control, including the upper reciever. That's for the real-steel, I'd guess the same would apply for airsoft. IMO a gearbox doesn't even closely ressemble an M-16 lower reciever.

I beg to differ with you on this. Any part of a restricted firearm is subject to control, especially a barreled upper for an AR-15. Its legal to cross with it if you have the correct documentation, but just Joe Schmoe sending a 20" DPMS upper in the mail will have that item seized 99.999% of the time. In the US, any part that attaches to it is controlled, and needs proper exportation documents (if its not on the "Do Not Export" list)

Just from my experience importing real-steel parts from the US.

Marco P.

[firemachine69]

Can't see how that won't work. Thumbs up. Shove that crap right back up CCRA's ass.

[sniperbay]

Originally Posted by firemachine69

That's likely what happened. However, they have no force to do that. Send them a letter, polite, yet firm, stating that if part is not immediately released (as it contravenes NO laws), the matter will be pursued in court. Don't say "oh noes you can't do that!" Fact is, you CAN. Just make sure you clearly ask which part of that section they are holding it against.

DON'T play the replica v.s. imitation. You're only bound to lose.

Customs consists mostly of a bunch of retarded soccer moms. They see M16 anywhere on the package, and they freak.

Dude... hate to say it but my former roommate works is a customs inspector and anyone who has shit siezed is best not to tell them they 'cant' do anything.. cause that just pisses them off and thats the last thing you want. Try to reason with them .. try to explain why it should be returned to the country of origin or why you thought it doesnt break the customs laws and go through it that way.

Basically customs can do almost anything they want once an item is in thier possession and standard practice is to destroy things ASAP... so I would reccommend a polite letter soon rather than one telling them basically your are wrong which they will read as you telling them they cant do thier jobs correctly.. and your item may be 'accidently' destroyed...

Life sucks.. they take wierd shit.. I have had everything from mags and silencers to full GBB's brought back for me by guys from HK, BUT I have also heard of TOP springs being siezed... so try to plead it out, the letter thanknig them for thier jobs can probably be a closing paragraph in you original letter rather than multiple letters... and it will hopefully work..

*edit* in response to Opea's last post.. that would probably be just fine.. I say give it a try...

[firemachine69]

They shove it to you, legally, you can shove it right back. Give at'er, you ain't got much to lose. If you give in to "they're customs, they can do whatever the fuck they want", you deserve to lose your money. Fight for your rights, or lay back and let democracy erode (this is the big picture I'm getting at).

Try to reason with them, but as a licensed importer, I can tell you outright that they have this feeling that they think they're almighty and no one can touch them: every person that fights back (with a valid, legal, and legitimate reason, of course), is a little nick in that huge egotistic attitude they have.

You can pursue just about any legal entity, really: it usually just boils down to how much time you're willing to waste (and in some cases, money).


Opea's got the right idea going on there, but I'm almost positive they will play the "bitch" position, and say "we're never wrong", as they always do. So instead of one letter, it will be two, or three. This is what pisses me off about customs: they rarely ever directly admit to making a mistake.


If some people are wondering why I'm so bitter to customs, it's because my first business order went through under my personal name: this is legally permissible, I was importing stock in preparation to my grand opening, but had not begun transactions. However, mid-way through shipping, I changed over to my new, (then newly registered) business name, which, although done through UPS, I also relayed th new info to customs. Customs had a hissy fit about it, and nearly seized two thousand dollars worth of radio stuff, without a valid claim. It took three weeks to release my shipment, but man oh man, that feeling of getting the shipment and giving them the middle-finger salute was almost worth it.

[Opea]

I am just doomed as far as getting this mechbox, lol, first a few people cratered on our team wgc order and the item was backordered, then next order it was ordered but missed somehow, so now i go it on my own and this happens, lol......

Doomed i tell ya.

I will compose my literature today, send it off and see what happens. I thank all of you for your ideas and will let you all know how it turns out.

cheers.

[RecceGod]

Good luck bud.

[PoFF]

Originally Posted by INCURSORI

I beg to differ with you on this. Any part of a restricted firearm is subject to control, especially a barreled upper for an AR-15. Its legal to cross with it if you have the correct documentation, but just Joe Schmoe sending a 20" DPMS upper in the mail will have that item seized 99.999% of the time. In the US, any part that attaches to it is controlled, and needs proper exportation documents (if its not on the "Do Not Export" list)

Just from my experience importing real-steel parts from the US.

Marco P.

You got it right Incursori,

It's on the US do not export list, but if you can get past that, there's no need to get paperwork from Canada.

Also, I'd like to point out that a uppper reciever, barreled or not is not subject to ANY control while on canadian soil, i.e. no need of a license to buy ANY part or an AR-15, aside the lower reciever.

[Drake]

Possibly you got shipped the wrong item. Otherwise, it's just CBSA fucking with you cuz it's airsoft-related. They have the latitude to make judgement calls any way they see fit, and if you feel it's wrong you have to contest it (which is what you need to do now).

I've seen this happen a few times, and often the package is just released without any explanation or resistance. It's like they just wanna hassle you. Or maybe the dude's got a quota to fill, I dunno.

Either way, a mechbox is in no way either A) part of a firearm, restricted or otherwise or B) a replica, or receiver of a replica.

[ILLusion]

In the end, it comes down to how much of a hard time the officer wants to give you.

I once had three grenade launchers seized. The customs officer originally sent me a notice with 90 days to choose to abandon the shipment, appeal the decision or have it sent back to the country of origin.

So I contacted her to have the shipment sent back to the sender.

She responded with: "Sorry, the terms have changed. The item is now completely seized with no option for return. You may only choose to appeal it."

So I responded with a request for appeal and used my reasoning that all taxes for the item were paid on it, it was listed on the invoice/packing list, REAL M203 grenade launchers aren't even prohibited devices and are not even considered firearms.

She responded with: "It was not correctly declared on the packing list (she meant the long string of numbers and exact CCRA designation) and claimed outright that it was not listed on the invoice."

I responded with: "Yes it was listed on the invoice. The name you returned it to me as is the exact name on the packing list. I was even charged taxes on it."

She responded with: "Decision for appeal must be made within 30 days. Item is seized with no other option."

This completely contradicted the original notices sent to me. By that time, I was about 80 days in to the process because of all the back and forth. She just wanted to give me a REALLY hard time, and she was successful in doing so.

[Opea]

Update: I called the appeals officer listed on my letter today and left a message basically, politely, asking if the interpretation of my order was false, or perhaps the wrong items was shipped.

The guy called back within half an hour, asked if i was appealing or wanted item shipped back or destroyed. I asked him if he had personally seen the item, his response was "no, it was flagged by a customs officer for description , thus the letter sent to you. If you wish to appeal then I will have the item sent to me for a determination if it is a prohibited item"

So i say sure, how do i file an appeal, fax, mail, etc...He says no, you can do it that way but you can also file one right now, over the phone.

Basically at this point he is going to get the item, might take a few weeks of course and if it is in fact a gear box, he will release it. If its a reciever however it will be destroyed.

Of course i could have saved any of this ordering from one of the wonderful retailers here in Canada, but sometimes you want to test things out on your own and there is always a risk involved. When i order something on the cusp, which airsoft tends to be, I am prepared at any time to lose my investment so if this goes sideways its not the end of the world to me. So far this pales in comparison to the five months it took me to get military action figures from a company called wartoys.com, lol.



Thanks again for all responses, the guy sounded pretty upbeat so we shall see.

[ToRN]

well, if it is in fact a reciever, and not a mechbox, you can obtain a copy of the destruction order, and send it to the retailer to get your money back, since that is not the item you ordered.

Hope that gives you at least /some/ sense of comfort.

[Opea]

Latest update

Got a basic letter from customs saying they have accepted my verbal appeal and now it is a waiting game. Five to six weeks minimum with possibility of delay. Although i find it kind of funny i never once mentioned "airsoft", just that it was a gearbox. In the letter it says basically they will inspect to see if it is in fact a airsoft mechbox instead of a m16 reciever (lol no "airsoft m16 reciever there), so my guess i will be at the mercy of interpretation.

[mcguyver]

Good luck with your appeal. I wrote one for a seizure enforced 18 months ago and it has gone all the way to the Minister as nobody wanted to make a decision and passed the buck. Still no word.

[Skippy]

Five to six weeks for customs to look inside a fucking box? A monkey could do it more efficiantly. Stupid backlogged customs.

Hope all goes well, and that you manage to weasel an appology out of customs if it is in fact a mechbox.

[Opea]

latest update, the item was wrongly described in shipping and is now being sent to me as it is a mechbox not a reciever. Now just the wait for it to be shipped to me from bc.