I.E.Canada, in partnership with LSCI Inc., introduces its Trusted Trader Webinar Series. Our 3 ninety minute sessions will delve into and demystify the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) Customs Self Assessment (CSA) Program. Gain the knowledge and tools needed to determine how this Trusted Trader program can benefit your company in addressing the increasing demands [...]
I.E.Canada, in partnership with LSCI Inc., introduces its Trusted Trader Webinar Series. Our 3 ninety minute sessions will delve into and demystify the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) Customs Self Assessment (CSA) Program. Gain the knowledge and tools needed to determine how this Trusted Trader program can benefit your company in addressing the increasing demands of an ever changing Canadian import landscape, where mandatory importer Advanced Trade Data requirements for all modes of transport loom in 2014 under eManifest (the third phase of CBSA’s Advance Commercial Information program), delays grow at the border and the potential for audits and penalties for non-compliance increases. Our member experts from industry, the CBSA and the service provider community will share their unique perspectives, experiences, as well as the cost and time-saving advantages of having successfully integrated CSA into their businesses’ logistics and trade compliance strategies. It is easier to adopt than you think!
The sessions are:
Trade Compliance Program Overview: What’s Available & How to Maximize It
February 27, 2013 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST
Speakers: Michelle Bunbury, Senior Manager, Trade Management Services, UPS-SCS
Hear an overview of Partners in Protection (PIP), Customs Self Assessment (CSA) and Trade Benefits (formerly the CBSA Partners in Compliance pilot) as an alternative to Advance Commercial Information (ACI), including eManifest requirements and mandatory importer Advanced Trade Data (ATD) in all transport modes for July 2014. There will also be a case study presentation on How CSA fits into my compliance program.
Customs Self-Assessment (CSA) Program: It’s Easier to Apply for Than You Think and Applying for CSA- What to Expect
March 6, 2013 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST
Speakers: Natalie Rochon, Senior Program Officer, CSA/FAST Importer Compliance, CBSA; Susan Subryan, Customs Compliance Coordinator, L.V. Lomas Limited
A presentation and case study dispelling the myths of the CSA application process as well as the costs associated with adopting this Trusted Trader program.
CSA, Modernizing and Automating Your Importation Environment, Let’s Get Started!
March 13, 2013 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST
Speakers: Louis Sauvé, IT Director, LSCI Inc.; Ruheda Karim, Manager, Customs and Compliance, Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada
A presentation on the nuts & bolts of transitioning systems to CSA followed by a case study: Soup-to-Nuts, the Path I Followed
I.E. Canada Member Registration Rate: FREE
Non-Member Registration Rate: $75 per session
Webinar login information will be sent prior to each session. Click here to register.
The significance of this announcement is that the 18 month count down to a new compliance deadline begins with the availability of the Governments Portal. There will be 12 months of voluntary compliance, 6 months of informed compliance, and then penalties resulting from lack of compliance. The CBSA has advised that the eManifest Portal is available as [...]
The significance of this announcement is that the 18 month count down to a new compliance deadline begins with the availability of the Governments Portal. There will be 12 months of voluntary compliance, 6 months of informed compliance, and then penalties resulting from lack of compliance.
The CBSA has advised that the eManifest Portal is available as of Monday, August 29th.
A message from CBSA regarding the eManifest Portal is as follows:
I take great pleasure in being able to inform you today that the eManifest Portal will be accessible from the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) Web site as of Monday, August 29, 2011.
As you know, the eManifest Portal will provide the trade community with an alternative method to the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) options for the advance transmission of commercial information to the CBSA.
This first iteration of the eManifest Portal has been designed for highway carriers. The carrier’s authorized representative must apply for a Shared Secret to register for the eManifest Portal the first time and establish an eManifest Portal Business Account. Application instructions have been available on the Web site for several months and, to date, the CBSA has received nearly 500 applications. Now that the Portal is up and running, the CBSA will begin issuing Shared Secrets to all highway carrier applicants.
With all Manifest transmission methods (EDI and eManifest Portal) now available, the CBSA will be announcing in the coming weeks the start date of the 18-month implementation timeline for highway carriers.
I encourage you to share this information with your membership and to remind them to visit the eManifest pages of the CBSA Web site regularly, view the on-line highway carrier presentation, and subscribe to the eManifest RSS news feed to keep abreast of important updates on eManifest implementation.
We have all worked very hard to achieve this milestone in the implementation of the eManifest initiative and I thank you for your valuable input and continued support.
Bruna Rados
Director General, eManifest and Major Projects Directorate
Canada Border Services Agency
GHY offers solutions to facilitate compliance with CBSA’s eManifest requirements.
Contact us for more information about how we can help.
While both Canadian and US Governments have mandates to create better supply chain security for the benefit of their nations citizens, they are harmonizing many programs, although not on the same time line, nor is each program identical as each have their own nuances due to National priorities. The key is that understanding each program is part [...]
While both Canadian and US Governments have mandates to create better supply chain security for the benefit of their nations citizens, they are harmonizing many programs, although not on the same time line, nor is each program identical as each have their own nuances due to National priorities.
The key is that understanding each program is part of the journey towards trade compliance as part of an integrated trade compliance strategy.
Courtesy of ie Canada
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has issued a notice advising stakeholders that as of January 20, 2011, the agency has received 239 eManifest conveyance and 3403 related cargo transmissions from a variety of carriers and service providers for shipments entering Canada at ports of entry in all regions nationally.
While the figures are relatively low, CBSA notes that they are increasing daily as clients complete systems’ testing and carriers implement electronic processes throughout their fleets on a national basis.
Our advice to importers and carriers is to be proactive in understanding how eManifest impacts their supply chains, and to work at fully implementing the program well before the mandatory period begins, when penalties will be applicable, and unnecessary stresses imposed, that will ultimately have negative commercial consequences.
Our friends at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP, or TDS law have spent some time looking into the new regulations in Canada surrounding the implementation of e-manifest. During the research of this piece Reynold Martens, Executive VP of GHY International and author of the white paper titled “A Case for An Integrated Trade Compliance Strategy”, was consulted for his insight on this matter.
This and other hot topics are presented in their most recent newsletter. You can read their newsletter here.
About Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLPThompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP (TDS) is one of the leading full-service business law firms in Manitoba, with over 120 years of history providing legal services to its clients locally, nationally and internationally. From our offices in Winnipeg, Manitoba, TDS has the expertise necessary to help clients take advantage of every opportunity and to develop creative solutions to legal challenges experienced in their business in a timely and cost-effective way. The full-service firm’s seventy-eight lawyer team covers over 20 areas of practice and offers services in seven languages including English, French and Spanish. TDS has long been recognized as a centre of excellence in the areas of business law, labour relations law, employment law, civil litigationand dispute resolution. LEXPERT® The Business Magazine for Lawyers recognized TDS as the leading corporate law firm in Manitoba, being the only Manitoba corporate law firm at the centre of its “Bulls-Eye” ranking of Manitoba corporate law firms. A number of our lawyers have been recognized by LEXPERT® and THE BEST LAWYERS IN CANADA® and other legal publications as being among the leading Canadian lawyers in their areas of practice.
ACI e-manifest while a tactical program by Canada’s CBSA, there are positive compliance implications for Canadian importers
The Canadian government following on the heels of the US government is finally implementing the much talked about ACI e-manifest program. While it is a tactical program which I tend to stay away from on this blog, there is a positive compliance angle that I did want to highlight. But first a short back grounder on ACI e-manifest.
October 31st was the roll out of the ACI Highway (eManifest) mandate by the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA). ACI (Advanced Commercial Information) is Canada’s regulation requiring cross-border shippers and carriers to file electronic manifests for Canada-bound shipments one hour prior to their arrival at the Canadian border. This milestone begins the twelve month optional reporting period combined with six months of Informed Compliance. Once the optional reporting period is closed, the CBSA has indicated it will begin to impose Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) fines to those shipments that arrive at the border without a prior approved ACI filing. This week, Canadian Transportation and Logistics published an article interviewing Con-way Freight to find out what their experience has been as they were part of the CBSA’s pilot project. To read that interview click here
Alan Dewar, VP Canadian Operations, GHY International share this regarding the implementation of e-manifest in Canada:
eManifest ‘closes the loop’ of supply chain cooperation between CBSA and ‘importers/carriers/custom broker service providers’. Currently the business systems used by importers, carriers and customs brokers to communicate with CBSA rely heavily individual ‘checks and balances’. If any single party doesn’t open and close a file from pre-Arrival awareness to final accounting it is possible for trade reporting to slip through the cracks. Anything slipping through the cracks can attract Administrative Monetary Penalties at a later date when CBSA perform audit samplings.
As Mr. Dewar mentioned the compliance issue today is the AMPS penalty related to lack of verification (post audit) if a driver at the border has presented paperwork on your behalf but failed to get confirmation from CBSA. Especially an issue when you use LTL (less than truckload) freight where there are multiple shipments to a truck. According to Mr Dewar:
LTL (less than truckload) carriers particularly are embracing the benefits of eMfst. Previously document files would need to be scanned and logged individually by CBSA at time of border crossing. We’ve seen situations where a truck driver would fully present to CBSA but ‘documents would be stuck together or a scan would fail’. Administrative Penalties if undetected include a first infraction of $2,000, second infraction $4,000 and escalating from there. Imagine fully declaring to Customs at border crossing with 10 shipments where ’2 documents stuck together or failed at scan’ and incurring a fine of $6,000 ($2,000 + $4,000)? With eMfst any single shipment will automatically present the entire load to Customs for import release processing decisions. All supply chain partners are excited about the accountability and risk management benefits of eMfst.
In an ACI e-manifest world with the right provider you can have a definitive audit trail with each e-manifest that is filed. No replying on stamping and no concerns for files getting stuck together. There are some assumptions here such as the carrier must participate in the RNS (Release Notification System) to have visibility if the broker partner has filed the entry on behalf of the importer, while the carrier doesn’t have to wait for that filing in today’s world there is still ongoing discussion if the importer would be subject to a penalty on their shipment if both sides of the equation haven’t been filed in advance in order to allow CBSA proper review and targeting. We are keeping an eye on this issue and it’s compliance obligations to importers and exporters.
This again reinforces another reason why the Integrated Trade Compliance Strategy makes sense as the lines of communication and visibility as defined by the strategy would ensure that partners know who owns what and stay in communication and sync with regards to tactical issues like customs clearance and now ACI e-manifest.
