Shipping wine samples to Canada isn’t difficult to do as long as you follow the process. The steps are detailed below and we’ve also pulled together a short video to walk you through the process.
Please follow the steps below when sending samples to us:
Step #1
Please ensure that the bottles are individually wrapped and shipped in styrofoam wrappers or equivalent. Unless otherwise advised, please send three (3) 750ml sample bottles. Samples are to be shipped via air freight, pre-paid and insured.
Step #2
Wrap the cartons, and address them as follows:
LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD OF ONTARIO
c/o Uncork Solutions Inc. (WineAlign)
4195 Dundas Street West, Suite #217
Toronto, Ontario, M8X 1Y4, Canada
Tel: (416) 258-7315
Email: Samples@WineAlign.com
FRAGILE – TRADE SAMPLES – NOT FOR RE-SALE – FOR ANALYSIS ONLY
Customs Brokers – UPS Supply Chain Solutions – LCBO Team
Toronto International Airport (YYZ) Tel: 905-677-6735
While UPS Supply Chain Solutions (SCS) Inc. is the customs broker hired by the LCBO, samples may be sent by any international courier service; such as, FedEx, DHL, TNT, etc. Upon arrival in Toronto, it is UPS SCS that provides the customs clearing.
Step #3
Please fill in our CI1 form (Canada Customs Invoice), detailed instructions below. The following two files can be downloaded and used.
Step #4
Ship the bottles of wine via airfreight, prepaid, and insured. Please ensure the package is marked ‘FRAGILE’.
Step #5
Please inform WineAlign as to the flight number and airway bill number once the goods have been shipped.
Important Reminder:
The daily limit permitted for agents to receive samples is 45 litres (5 cases 12 X 750ml). If the shipment is more than 45 litres it will be rejected. If more than 45 litres are to be shipped, please break-up the shipment and ship over a number of days.
How to Complete the Canada Customs Invoice
The Canada Customs Invoice needs to accompany the shipment and should be included with the paperwork that is given to the courier company, as well as being attached to the shipment. You can find a pre-filled CI1 form here. Only fill in the fields indicated below:
Field 1: Vendor
Indicate the name and address of the company sending the goods to the receiver.
Field 2: Date of Direct Shipment to Canada
The date you shipped the samples.
Field 7: Country of Origin of Goods
Country where goods are grown, produced, or manufactured.
Field 11: Number of Packages
This should be one (1), unless samples shipped in fewer packages.
Field 12: Specifications of Commodities
Name of the wine, vintage, size of the bottle, alcohol percentage, red or white.
Field 13: Quantity
This should be three (3) unless specified otherwise.
Field 14: Unit Price
Reasonable declared value. We strongly recommend that you place a value on any samples at your lowest wholesale price minus your margin. Samples should be valued at no less than CDN $3.00, Euro €2.50, US $2.50, UK £2.00, AUS $3.00, etc. Any seriously underpriced wine will not clear customs.
Customs and Importation Charges
You will also incur a cost to clear the samples through Canada customs which includes a LCBO Levy of 102.2% on the value of wine, plus duty/excise of $0.50 per 750ml bottle of wine, plus HST at 13% plus UPS SCS charges of approximately $5.00 per bottle. We will process this charge on your credit card after we have received the samples. We have created a spreadsheet where you can easily estimate the import costs which you can download here.
For example, to import 12 bottles (one case) with an average value of €3.00/bottle would cost about €100 in import/custom/LCBO fees.
| Average Cost Per Bottle | Estimated Import Fees (per 12 bottle case) |
| €3.00 | €100 |
| €4.00 | €115 |
| €5.00 | €130 |
| €10.00 | €200 |
Should you have any questions, please contact us prior to sending samples. Detailed LCBO information will be found at this here.
