Canada Proposes Advance Notice On Cargo

The official summary of the Customs Act (C-43) states, “This enactment amends the Customs Act to clarify certain provisions and to make technical amendments to others. It also imposes additional requirements in customs controlled areas, amends provisions respecting the determination of value for duty, and modifies the advance commercial reporting requirements. Finally, it provides that regulations may incorporate material by reference.”

The relevant portions of the Act include Clause 16, section 164(b) which requires the “owner or person in charge of a conveyance” to give advance notice of the time and place of arrival in Canada and “other information relating to its passengers and goods....”

The Act states that the Governor in Council may make regulations requiring persons to give information about the arrival and persons and goods on board the conveyance, and it provides for establishment of rules governing the information that must be given, who can and should provide that information and the time and manner in which the information must be given.

The Act itself, however, does not establish those criteria.