A driver”s cross border journey is so much more than picking up freight and proceeding with delivery. Crossing international borders, especially with commercial freight, means complying with the rules of the governing country.
There are many aspects for the carrier to consider when planning their journey: transportation permits, routes, road conditions, hours and what customs requirements apply to the goods on board.
While most entries must be transmitted to the CBSA electronically for review, there are a number of exceptions to this rule. Here is a list of those exceptions to help give you a better understanding of some of the reasons you or your driver may have to stop your journey along the way:
- Invoice lines in excess of 250 lines – When an invoice covers a large number of purchased goods, it can take a customs broker quite some time to key it line by line. This is why customs has allowed entries exceeding 250 lines to be presented as a paper entry to help expedite the clearance process.
- Multiple Highway Cargo Control Numbers at Frontier
- Courier Low Value Shipment rejected from consist
- Other government department permit or certificate required – There are certain goods that cannot be released electronically because they require a permit, certificate or license to be presented to CBSA. An example of this would be vehicles that require Form 1 or fire arms that require a special permit.
- System outage (ie. customs broker, CBSA or CFIA)
- Shortages, Entered to Arrive, Value Included — These goods are reported when the quantity of goods originally reported to the CBSA is different from that received by the importer or broker.
- Provisional — When the importer/owner or broker cannot establish a final value for duty of goods at the time of importation. In such cases, goods may be released under the interim accounting provisions.
- Prime & ETAs — When an item is too large to fit on one truck and transportation of the goods will be split up onto a number of trucks.
- Used self propelled vehicles — Goods that require US customs authorization to export before they will be CBSA released.
- Used machinery requiring inspection — Goods that may have soil or dirt present must be inspected to ensure that the proper cleaning precautions have been taken.
In any of the above cases, the customs broker will instruct you or your driver to come into their office to collect a paper package, which they will have prepared in advance. After obtaining instruction from the customs broker, you will proceed to the customs booth and advise the border service officer (BSO) that you need to see your customs broker. The border service officer will instruct you where to park while you take care of your documentation.
Once you”ve visited the customs broker and have obtained the paper package, those documents need to be presented to CBSA for their release decision. If release has been granted, Customs will stamp your paperwork released and you may then proceed with final delivery.
Do your due diligence and always ensure that your entries are good to go before proceeding to the border. By doing this, it gives you and the customs broker an opportunity to communicate any special instructions to each other.
Under what circumstances might a low value shipment be rejected from the consist sheet? We currently put shipments of all values on PARS and send them to the broker. Is there a better way?
The Courier Low Value Shipment (LVS) Program streamlines the reporting, release and accounting procedures for certain goods imported by courier. Couriers wishing to participate in the Courier LVS Program must request authorization from the CBSA.
Couriers authorized by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to participate in the program may have qualifying goods released by presenting a cargo/release list to the CBSA. To qualify under this program the goods must:
(a) Be valued at less than CAN$1,600; and
(b) Not be controlled, prohibited or regulated by an Act of Parliament.
Some examples of this would be, but are not limited to;
(CFIA) Canadian Food Inspection Agency – Food, Plants, Animals
(NRCan) Natural Resources Canada – Mechanical machinery, Pumps, Household appliances
(TC) Transport Canada – Vehicles & Tires
(HC) Health Canada – Beauty products, Lighters, Precursor commodities
The list must be presented to the CBSA by the courier before or as soon as the shipments arrive in Canada. It must contain a concise description of the LVS qualifying goods so that the border services officer can determine the admissibility of the goods.
If the CBSA removes a shipment from the cargo/release list, Form Y50, Reject Document Control, is completed and the courier is given a copy. The shipment is removed from the cargo/release list by the courier, who issues an individual cargo control document.
To answer your questions…
Under what circumstances might a low value shipment be rejected from the consist sheet?
The most common reasons may be that the shipment did not meet the qualifications under the LVS program by being valued at more than $1600 CAD, or may have been a controlled, prohibited or regulated commodity.
We currently put all shipments of all values on PARS and send them to the broker. Is there a better way?
If your company is already an authorized Courier with CBSA, shipments that meet the LVS requirements would be released under the LVS program and not be required to be set up on a PARS.
Couriers are eligible to participate in the program if the courier:
(a) Is a bonded carrier;
(b) Will report goods in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations;
(c) Will post security, if releasing casual goods, in accordance with the “Security for Release of Goods†section of Memorandum D17-1-0, Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties Regulations; and
(d) Has not had its authorization to participate in the program cancelled within the previous 12 months.
In addition to the existing requirement for participants to be bonded carriers, the CBSA proposes to restrict participation in the Courier LVS Program to:
1. Companies that are approved Partners In Protection members; in addition, Courier LVS Program shipments must be imported and transported by approved PIP carriers;
2. Companies that will allow the CBSA the use of their proprietary systems for report, release and risk assessment purposes; and
3. Companies that will also transmit their pre-arrival cargo data to the CBSA as they do today for high value shipments.