The Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) Interim Turnaround Policy for Highway Carriers as noted in Customs Notice 17-19, will expire effective 23:59 PT November 2, 2020.
Highway carriers who arrive in Canada without Advance Commercial Information (ACI)/eManifest pre-arrival cargo and conveyance data in full compliance may be subjected to monetary penalties.
Monetary penalties for ACI non-compliance in highway include:
C378 – Person failed to submit the prescribed pre-load/pre-arrival information relating to their cargo and/or conveyance;
C379 – Person failed to submit advance information in the prescribed time or prescribed manner to the Agency;
C381 – Person failed to notify the Agency within prescribed timeframes and without delay of any correction to any pre-arrival or pre-load information sent to the CBSA; and/or,
C382 – Person submitted information prescribed by the Reporting of Imported Goods Regulations that was not true, accurate and complete.
Highway carriers who arrive at the First Port of Arrival (FPOA) without ACI cargo and/or conveyance data provided within the prescribed timeframes, or with incomplete/inaccurate/untrue ACI data, will not be permitted to move beyond FPOA. In scenarios where ACI requirements are not met, the authority to determine the course of action in reference to the conveyance and cargo at the border rests with the CBSA.
The Carrier, Postal and Courier Compliance (CPCC) Unit, a centralized compliance team within the CBSA, will review all non-compliance for ACI post arrival to determine whether a penalty is warranted. The CPCC works closely with carriers of all modes to ensure the requirements of ACI/eManifest are clearly understood and can be followed by carriers prior to any ACI monetary penalties being applied. The CBSA will only apply penalties when warranted.
The CBSA will work closely with carriers of all sizes to ensure compliance of ACI/eManifest requirements can be met. Highway carriers must ensure they meet the requirements of ACI/eManifest prior to arriving in Canada. In situations where compliance with regulations cannot be met by a carrier, the circumstances should be raised with the CPCC upon discovery of the non-compliance.
In situations where a carrier disagrees with the issuance of an ACI penalty, an appeal process is available. In addition to the appeal process, carriers may request a Penalty Reinvestment Agreement (PRA) whereby, upon consultation and approval, they could be permitted to reinvest the equivalent of all or a portion of a penalty otherwise assessed by reinvesting into their systems and processes so as to support future compliance.
Carriers are reminded that technical assistance including urgent technical matters, is available through the Technical Commercial Client Unit (TCCU). Questions or concerns related to commercial ACI compliance activities can be directed to the Carrier, Postal and Courier Compliance (CPCC) Unit: [email protected]
Changes for WACM and Sub-Location Codes
As of November 1, 2020, the sub-location code will be a mandatory data element on a Warehouse Arrival Certification Message (WACM). After this date, any WACM transmission that does not include the sub-location code, will be rejected and the cargo will not be arrived.
Failure to transmit a sub-location code in the Warehouse Arrival Certification Message (WACM) will result in a delay in the arrival of the cargo and a delay in the release of the shipment.
For more information see Customs Notice 20-28 – R2 Release.
For more information on transmitting the WACM and the sub-location code data element, refer to Chapter 21 of the Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document. To request Chapter 21, please contact the Technical Commercial Client Unit via email at [email protected]
For non-technical related questions, please contact the eManifest helpdesk at: