A majlis shipped from Türkiye to Canada is assessed by the Canada Border Services Agency. Duty depends on the tariff classification and origin of the goods, and GST, plus provincial sales tax or HST in some provinces, is charged on most imports. Sofhu ships free worldwide; taxes and duty are set by Canadian law, so ask how they are handled on your quote.
- Border agency
- Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
- Duty
- Set by tariff classification and origin; check the CBSA Customs Tariff
- Sales tax
- GST on most imports; PST or HST depending on province
- Shipping
- Free worldwide from Sofhu, all provinces and territories
- Personal vs business
- Home orders are casual goods; resale and hospitality orders are commercial
- Next step
- Send wall measurements for a quote and ask how duty and tax are handled
On this page
“What will I owe at the border?” is the question Canadian buyers ask most once they have chosen a fabric. It is a fair question, and the short answer on import furniture to Canada duty is this: the Canada Border Services Agency decides, using published rules, and the result depends on what the goods are, where they were made and what they are worth. This guide explains those rules in plain language. For models, layouts and Canadian room ideas, see the main page on Arabic majlis sets in Canada.
Sofhu makes each set in Türkiye to your wall measurements and ships it free worldwide. That covers both of its products: the raised, fully upholstered Arabic majlis shown in the photographs here, and the low Arabic floor sofa made of a floor-level seat mattress and loose back cushions. The border rules below are the same for either. What follows is about the part Sofhu does not control: Canadian customs and tax. All of it reflects CBSA guidance as read in October 2026.
Three charges, three different rules
Buyers tend to lump everything into “customs”. The CBSA separates it into parts, and so should you.
| Charge | Who sets it | What it depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | Department of Finance | Tariff classification and country of origin |
| GST | Federal government | Value of the goods in Canadian dollars, duty included |
| PST or HST | Province or territory | Where in Canada you live |
Duty. The CBSA says duty rates vary with the goods and the country they come from. Furniture and cushions are classified in Chapter 94 of the Customs Tariff. The exact line depends on materials and construction, and the tariff treatment depends on Canada’s trade arrangements with the country of origin, which here is Türkiye. The full schedule is published on the CBSA website. Reading the right line takes a few minutes and is more reliable than any figure repeated online.
GST. The CBSA states that most imported goods are subject to the Goods and Services Tax. It is applied to the Canadian-dollar value of the shipment.
Provincial tax. In HST provinces the harmonized tax replaces GST and PST as a single charge. In other provinces, provincial sales tax may be collected on personal imports as well. Which applies is a matter of your delivery address.
This page gives no percentages because they are not Sofhu’s to promise and they can change. What you can ask Sofhu for is the declared value and the tariff code on its invoice. With those two facts you can work out the rest from official tables.
From the workshop to CBSA clearance
A furniture import duty question in Canada is easier to follow once you see where clearance sits in the journey.
- You send measurements and agree a layout, fabric and quote.
- The set is made, checked and vacuum-packed. Sofhu describes its packaging as sealed and vacuumed, which reduces volume.
- The parcels are handed to an international cargo company with a commercial invoice and packing list.
- On arrival in Canada, the shipment is accounted for with the CBSA. For personal orders moved by courier, the CBSA notes that the courier can do this on the importer’s behalf.
- Any duty and tax assessed is settled, and the parcels are released for delivery.
Step 4 is where a buyer may hear from the carrier. A message asking for confirmation of contents or for payment of assessed amounts is normal. Check any such message against the shipment details you received from Sofhu before paying anything.
How step 5 is settled is the point to clear up in advance. Sofhu confirms free shipping. Its website is silent on whether duty and tax are included in a quote or collected on arrival. Ask directly, in writing, before you confirm the order.
Personal order or business order
The CBSA treats goods for your own home as casual goods: items not imported for sale or for commercial, institutional or similar use. A family buying a U-shaped set for the basement is a casual importer.
A café owner, an event company or a retailer is not. Those shipments are commercial. Commercial importers work with the CBSA under a business number and through the CARM Client Portal, and many appoint a licensed customs broker. If your order is for a business, say so in your first message. The invoice, the declared importer and the paperwork all follow from that.
If you believe an assessment on a personal shipment is wrong, the CBSA has a process for requesting a review or adjustment. Keep your invoice and proof of payment, since both are needed.
Provinces, territories and remote addresses
Canada is large, and the last stretch of the journey varies more than the customs step. A condo in a major city, a farmhouse on a rural route and a community reached by seasonal road are three different deliveries.
Sofhu has no depot or outlet in Canada. Every order is built in Türkiye and delivered to the address you give. That makes the address itself important:
- Give the full postal code with your measurements. It lets the carrier’s coverage be checked before production.
- Mention access limits. Elevator booking rules in condo towers, basement entrances, long driveways in winter.
- Say if you will be away. Parcels of this value should be received in person.
Shipping to Canada from Türkiye for an Arabic sofa is free with Sofhu wherever in the country you are. If the final leg to a remote address needs special handling, it is better to learn that at the quote stage.
Delivery day and the Canadian climate
On the day, you receive sealed, compressed parcels, not an assembled sofa. Clear the wall the seating will stand against, because an Arabic floor sofa leans on the wall behind it and is not freestanding, and a majlis is set against the wall as well. Open the bags without a blade near the fabric and let the foam recover its shape. The step-by-step version is in how a majlis is packed and delivered.
In winter, parcels may have spent hours in an unheated truck. Bring them inside and let them come up to room temperature before opening. This is ordinary good practice with any foam product in a cold climate, not a Sofhu instruction.
Many Canadian sets end up downstairs. If that is your plan, the guide to basement majlis ideas covers layout below grade. For a cool room, velvet and chenille feel warmer than linen. The differences are set out in velvet vs linen vs jacquard.
What to send, and where to read more
A customs majlis Canada checklist is short. Put these in one message:
- Wall lengths and a photo of each wall
- The layout you want: single row, L-shape or U-shape
- Fabric and colour preferences
- Full delivery address with postal code
- Whether the order is personal or for a business
- The question: how are duty, GST and provincial tax handled on this quote
Send it through the quote form or on WhatsApp.
If you are still comparing options, the Arabic furniture store page explains how buying direct from the manufacturer works, majlis for sale walks through an online purchase, and custom majlis shows what can be changed. For a sense of how a quote is built, read what affects the price of a custom majlis. Buyers south of the border have a separate guide to importing a majlis to the USA.
