Montrealer ordered to pay $35,000 fine for not declaring luxury watch at border

MONTREAL — In a Federal Court ruling that opens with the judge musing that “time is money,” a Montreal business owner has been ordered to pay a hefty fine after he imported a luxury watch without declaring it to customs.

Justice Sébastien Grammond ruled Tuesday that David Segall Blouin must pay a $35,000 fine and $11,400 in Quebec sales tax on a watch he bought two years ago for about $115,000.

In August 2022, Blouin flew to Philadelphia to buy an A. Lange & Söhne watch from Luxury Bazaar, which bills itself as a dealer of pre-owned luxury watches. He returned to Montreal the same day but failed to declare the watch to customs, the judgment says.

Separately, Blouin had the empty watch box shipped to Canada by FedEx. He claimed he planned to pay duties when the package was delivered to him, but agents from the Canada Border Services Agency found that the manifest accompanying the package showed a value of just six dollars.

They issued Blouin a fine of $34,650, or 30 per cent of the watch’s value.

Blouin, who owns a transport and logistics company in Montreal, challenged the fine in Federal Court, claiming the decision was unreasonable and didn’t take into account the particular circumstances of his case. He claimed to have previously imported other, less expensive watches and paid duties when they were delivered to him. He said he planned to do the same thing this time.

But Grammond didn’t buy the story, since Blouin flew back to Montreal carrying this watch, while the package sent by courier was declared to be worth almost nothing. He said a border official had noted that bringing undeclared goods into the country and sending the packaging or invoice by mail is a familiar scheme known to the agency.

“In short, there is no reason to believe that Mr. Blouin intended to declare the watch, or that the whole affair was nothing more than a misunderstanding,” the judge wrote.

Now, on top of the fine and sales tax, Blouin is also on the hook for the government’s legal fees.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press