Canadian golf cart importer hit with $178,000 tariff after EV reclassification

JPSMGolf, a small Toronto company that imports electric golf carts from China, has been billed more than $178,000 after the Canada Border Services Agency re-classified its three-wheel trolleys as electric vehicles subject to a 100% surtax. Founder Joseph McLuckie, who started the business in 2006, says his appeals have been denied and the charge now includes $169,882.35 in duties, $8,494.12 in GST and over $4,500 in accrued interest.

The CBSA justified the decision by citing dictionary definitions that label the carts as motor vehicles used to transport goods. McLuckie has asked the Department of Finance for a remission, but officials have not replied. The 100% surcharge was originally imposed in 2024 to shield Canada’s auto industry and was later reduced after a bilateral agreement allowing limited Chinese EV imports at a 6.1% rate. The dispute threatens the viability of JPSMGolf, which employs six people and has sold roughly 25,000 units over two decades.