USAV Customs Brokers
Do it right, save you time.
Customs clearance
When you bring goods from a foreign country into Canada, the goods are imported and you become the importer of record. Unless specifically exempted, the goods must be Customs-cleared by CBSA prior to removal from a Customs office, sufferance warehouse, bonded warehouse or duty-free shop or delivery to your business premise or your consignee's. In order to clear the goods, you must correctly determined:
the date and place of direct shipment to Canada;
the country of origin of each product;
the tariff classification for each product; and
the value for duty of goods appraised in accordance with the conditions set out in Section 48 of the Customs Act.
There are many specific Customs rules and regulations that govern the act of importing. They can be extremely complex, confusing and costly. Therefore, the clearance of goods is often complicated. It requires solid knowledge in the latest Customs rules, regulations, and compliance enforcement. Retaining a Licensed Customs Broker for professional advice could expedite the clearance of your imported goods, ensure the accuracy of your business transactions, maximize your saving in duties and taxes, and warrant your Customs compliance down the road.
Minimum documentation requirements
For the clearance of your imported goods, the following documentation is required at a minimum:
a cargo control document (A8A);
a commercial invoice containing all the information listed in Appendix A of CBSA Memorandum D1-4-1; a commercial invoice, together with a Canada Customs Invoice (CI1), giving the same aforesaid information; or a fully completed Canada Customs Invoice (CI1);
and a packing list;
a Certificate of Origin or Exporter's Statement of Origin in the format prescribed by CBSA, fully completed and duly signed by the producer or manufacturer in the beneficiary country, and a through bill of lading if a preferential rate of duty is to be claimed; and
-
any licenses, permits, certificates and declarations as required by OGDs such as CFIA, NRCan and TC.
OGD requirements
If you import any of the following goods, additional elements required by respective OGDs. Incomplete or insufficient information often cause costly delay in the release of goods. Prior to importing/exporting, seeking guidance from respective OGDs or consulting professional advice from a Licensed Customs Broker is crucial in avoiding delay in the clearance of goods.
| OGD | COMMODITY |
|---|---|
| Health Canada (HC) | Consumer goods; drugs; food; medical devices; natural health products; pesticides; pharmaceuticals; radiation-emitting devices; toxic substances; vitamins |
| Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) | Human bodies and body parts |
| Environment Canada (EC) | Endangered species; ozone-depleting substances; hazardous waste; leaded gasoline; goods containing chlorofluorocarbons |
| Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) | Radioactive isotopes |
| Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) | Agricultural products; animals and animal products; aquatic commodities; soil and related matter. CFIA administers fish not for human consumption and live fish imports for the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). |
| Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) | Regulated energy-saving products; diamonds; minerals; explosives |
| Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) | Agricultural products; textiles and apparels; steel; strategic goods; goods under trade embargoes |
| Transport Canada (TC) | Tires; vehicles |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) | Firearms |
Mode specific time-frames for clearance of goods
The following table summarizes the earliest acceptable time-frames for the clearance of goods via various modes of transport and service options.
| MODE | CARRIER CODE | SERVICE OPTION | EARLIEST TIME-FRAMES TO REPORT ARRIVAL OF PARS OR SUBMIT RMD |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR | Primary or Secondary | PARS | - wheels up to a CBSA office at destination |
| Primary | RMD | - wheels up to a CBSA office at destination | |
| Secondary | RMD | - arrival at a CBSA office at destination | |
| MARINE | Primary or Secondary | PARS | - 12:01 AM on the day of vessel arrival at the first port of arrival in Canada |
| Primary | RMD | - 12:01 AM on the day of vessel arrival at the first port of arrival in Canada | |
| Secondary | RMD | - arrival at a CBSA office at destination (To avoid extra storage charges for the importer, CBSA made an exception when there are multiple containers documented on one or more cargo control documents against one RMD that are not arriving at the CBSA office at the same time. At least one of the containers must have arrived at the destination sufferance warehouse at the time the RMD is submitted. The remaining containers must have arrived at the port of report and be en route or awaiting furtherance to the inland destination.) | |
| HIGHWAY | Primary or Secondary | PARS | - arrival in Canada |
| Primary or Secondary | RMD | - arrival at a CBSA office at destination | |
| RAIL | Primary or Secondary | PARS | - 1 hour non-stop to Canada |
| Primary | RMD | - 1 hour non-stop to Canada | |
| Secondary | RMD | - arrival at a CBSA office at destination |
Useful tips
Include all the required information the commercial invoice;
Type or write the commercial invoice and packing list clearly; ensure the commercial invoice contains all the information that would be shown on the packing list; allow sufficient space between lines; and keep all the data elements within each column;
Mark and number each package so that it can be identified with the corresponding mark and number appearing on the commercial invoice;
Show detailed description on the commercial invoice of each item contained in each individual package;
Mark the goods legibly and conspicuously with the country of origin unless they are specially exempted, and with such other marking as is required by the Marking of Imported Goods Regulations (D11-3-1).