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Managing CFIA data under Single Window

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will have new data requirements under Single Window. Prepare today to ensure compliance.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) enforces policies and standards, set by Health Canada, governing the safety and nutritional quality of all food sold in Canada. The Agency applies rigorous standards to regulate and monitor food, to prevent the introduction and spread of pests and diseases of plants, animals and their products and to eradicate or control those pests and diseases.

For Single Window, the following Program falls under CFIA jurisdiction:

  • All Programs (Animal Health, Feed, Fertilizer Safety, Food, Plant Health, Plants with Novel Traits, and Seed)

Certain commodities regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) require the submission of an Import Declaration Form (CFIA/ACIA 4560) at time of importation. While not a new requirement, past enforcement of the Import Declaration by the CBSA and CFIA has varied across regions. However, under the SWI, completion and submission of the Import Declaration at time of clearance will become consistent and mandatory.

Commodities subject to the CFIA Import Declaration include:

  • Dairy products
  • Processed fruits and vegetables
  • Maple products
  • Honey
  • Seed
  • Feed
  • Fertilizer

To comply, an Import Declaration, completed by the importer or the importer’s representative (i.e., customs broker), is required at time of importation.

To avoid clearance delays, we recommend that all importations of the above commodities be accompanied by a fully completed Import Declaration.

For information about the data element rationales for the Program, visit:
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/sw-gu/data/cfia-acia-eng.html#s1.

Program conditions

Conditions may apply to determine if data needs to be submitted to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for the above program. For details about these program conditions, please refer to the info sheet below.

More information

For more information about the Program overseen by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and data requirements under Single Window, refer to the ECCRD Addendum.

ECCRD Client Requirements Document
ECCRD Addendum 1.1 Oct 2019
ECCRD Addendum 2.2 Mar 2022
Regulated Commodities Criteria Tables
Import Declaration Form – Off-road CI/Large SI Engine
Import Declaration Form – Off-road CI/Large SI Replacement Engine

Trust Livingston with your Public Health Agency imports

The customs and trade experts at Livingston are here to help. With a full staff of Canadian regulatory affairs experts, we know the CFIA requirements in detail, and are ready to help ensure your compliance is maintained.

Livingston is committed to a seamless SWI integration process for our current customers, and we are ready to support new customers with their SWI needs, including their CFIA and other PGA requirements.

We endeavor to keep the information on this page up to date and correct, however some details may have changed since our last update. Content on this page was last updated on November 12, 2018.