AMPS & Home Region Background

Since Revenue Canada announced their "New Business Relationship" in 1996 a number of initiatives have been introduced which are intended to streamline the way Customs operates. These include Periodic Verification audits and EDI, among others. These initiatives grew out of Customs need to "do more with less." The next two initiatives to be introduced are AMPS the Administrative Monetary Penalty System and Home Region.

AMPS (fall 1999)

Teeth for the compliance side of the New Business Relationship will be provided by AMPS. AMPS is integral to Customs post-audit system of enforcing compliance to their regulations and requirements. It represents a significant re-engineering of the old seizure-based penalty system. In short, the frequency of seizures will be reduced but there will be a plethora of monetary penalties for "paperwork" errors.
Incomplete NAFTA Certificates, not correcting an inaccurate classification, incorrect statistical information or any number of "paperwork" mistakes can result in a customs officer issuing a fine - separate from any duty reassessment. How big this fine would be or whether you just receive a warning is dependent upon how serious the infraction is and your history of compliance. Compounding the problem is the fact Customs can go back four years in your records and assess fines accordingly.      The underlying goal is to provide incentives to comply.
AMPS, in its present form, will require the importing/exporting community to be more knowledgeable and diligent than ever in making sure all the "i's" are dotted and "t's" are crossed. Customs brokers become invaluable in this new environment. Russell A. Farrow Limited continues its commitment to quality customs brokerage services that ensure the impact of the new Administrative Monetary Penalty System are kept to a minimum. A complete list of the proposed violations under AMPS is available at:
www.cscb.ca/listinfo/amps.htm

Home Region (Tentative Fall/Winter 1999)

Home Region will allow the corporate importer to deal with one regional customs office for all its service needs. This differs from the present system where companies must deal with various customs region offices depending on where a shipment was imported. The Home Region customs office, typically the region in which the corporate head office is located, will handle ruling requests, appeals and service inquiries as well as compliance audits, penalty assessments and importer history profiles.
Negotiations are still underway to determine how Home Region is to be implemented and no firm date has been decided. Issues to be settled include how a Home Region is determined, how it will be phased in and what impact the Customs and Trade Administration Blueprint will have. Nevertheless, Trade Administration officers are building information bases in preparation for implementation. Due to the tentative nature of the program there are many unanswered questions. If you are contacted by one of these officers and are concerned about their requests please call your local Russell A Farrow Limited representative who will be happy to assist you.