Vol. 147, No. 13 — June 19, 2013

Registration

SOR/2013-116 May 31, 2013

CUSTOMS ACT

Regulations Amending the Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties Regulations

P.C. 2013-611 May 30, 2013

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, pursuant to subsection 11.1(3) (see footnote a) of the Customs Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties Regulations.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE ACCOUNTING FOR IMPORTED GOODS AND PAYMENT OF DUTIES REGULATIONS

AMENDMENT

1. (1) Paragraphs 10.5(2)(a) and (b) of the Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties Regulations (see footnote 1) are replaced by the following:

(2) Paragraph 10.5(3)(b) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

COMING INTO FORCE

2. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issue

To participate in the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) Customs Self-Assessment (CSA) program, importers must ordinarily reside in Canada. Amendments to the Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties Regulations (the Regulations) are necessary to extend the CSA program in Canada to American resident importers in order to meet a commitment made under the Beyond the Border Declaration.

Background

The CBSA launched the CSA program in December 2001. The CSA program offers participants streamlined clearance of eligible goods in situations involving a CSA authorized importer, CSA authorized carrier and registered driver, as well as streamlined accounting, payment, and adjustment processes for all imported goods.

The Beyond the Border Action Plan,released on December 7, 2011, was intended to provide a framework for the implementation of the principles contained in the Beyond the Border Declarationmade on February 4, 2011, by the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of the United States (U.S.) [e.g. “[I]ntend to work together in cooperation and partnership to develop, implement, manage, and monitor security initiatives, standards, and practices to fulfill our vision” and “[V]alue and respect our separate constitutional and legal frameworks that protect privacy, civil liberties, and human rights and provide for appropriate recourse and redress.”]. Therein the Beyond the Border Action Plan was a commitment to “[e]xtend membership in self-assessment programs to non-resident importers between Canada and the United States.”

Objectives

Presently, to participate in the CSA program, importers must ordinarily reside in Canada or, in the case of corporations, have their head office in Canada or operate a branch office in Canada. The carriers participating in the CSA program are not subject to this residency stipulation; a carrier qualifies for CSA authorization if it has its head office in Canada or the U.S. or operates a branch office in Canada or the U.S.

As part of the Beyond the Border Action Plan commitment, Canada and the U.S. agreed to extend membership in their respective self-assessment programs: American resident importers will be allowed to participate in Canada’s CSA program and Canadian resident importers will be allowed to participate in the U.S.’s Importer Self-Assessment Program.

Description

Subsection 10.5(2) of the Regulations enumerates the requirements that an importer must meet in order to receive an authorization to participate in the CSA program. Paragraphs 10.5(2)(a) and (b) require an importer to ordinarily reside in Canada or, in the case of corporations, to have its head office in Canada or operate a branch office in Canada.

The amendments to the Regulationswill expand these requirements to participate in the CSA program to include importers who are residents of the U.S. and Canada that have their head office in the U.S. or operate a branch office in the U.S.

Finally, the word “cooperative” will be removed from paragraphs 10.5(2)(b) and 10.5(3)(b) as it is already included in the meaning of the word “corporation.”

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this proposal, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this proposal, as there are no costs for small business.

Consultation

The Government engaged in extensive consultations while preparing the Beyond the Border Action Plan in 2011, and the CBSA has also held consultations with stakeholder groups informing them about the regulatory amendments. Although Canadian businesses will not be impacted by the expansion of the CSA program, the Border Commercial Consultative Committee (BCCC) has informed its members and discussed the pending expansion of the CSA program to American importers in March and November 2012. Members of the BCCC Trusted Traders sub-committee include Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, Association of International Customs and Border Agencies, Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters, Canadian Courier and Logistics Association, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Shipping Federation of Canada. A number of American importers have already expressed interest in joining the CSA program.

Rationale

The CSA program is a trade facilitative measure of which the requirements are enumerated in the Regulations, and regulatory amendments are required to modify the residency requirements that an importer must meet in order to receive an authorization to participate in the program. The amendments to the Regulationswill further Canada’s commitment made under the Beyond the Border Action Plan to extend membership in self-assessment programs to non-resident importers between Canada and the United States.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

These amendments will not have any impact on the way the program is administered and will not affect the CBSA’s mandate to support national security and public safety priorities while facilitating the free flow of persons and goods across Canada’s borders. American resident CSA-approved importers will receive all the benefits the program has to offer; they will be able to use their own business systems and processes, which must meet the CBSA’s requirements, to forward trade data and to report and remit payment of taxes and duties once a month to their own financial institutions. This self-assessment option will represent significant cost savings because the American CSA-approved importers, like the Canadian CSA-approved importers, will no longer have to provide data at the time of each shipment in order to get their goods released.

Contact

André Lamoureux
Acting Manager
National Trusted Traders
Canada Border Services Agency
150 Isabella Street, 4th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0L8
Telephone: 613-941-2713