 |
It hardly sems possible
that another year has passed us by. Our preparation for the "new millennium" has
brought us all many challenges. Houever, we are on the verge of very exciting
times and our business and personal lives will change as the old becomes new and
traditions fade. I offer to all of you, our valued Clients, my heartfelt thanks
for your support this year and wish you and your loved ones success, good health
and prosperity during the next year. |
Y2K
A g a i n ! |
You've probably
read any number of articles about Y2K. This time we will review it from Customs'
viewpoint and suggest some precautions that may be in order to ensure smooth movement
of your freight in January.
Customs has developed
a detailed contingency plan in the unlikely event any or all of their systems
go down. Part of their plan is to try to ensure that all reports are printed and
backlogs are cleared out prior to their system shutdown on December 30, 1999.
Customs is also ensuring their offices are supplied with the means for releasing
goods manually with paper presentation of all documents.
Paper accounting
will certainly slow the whole system, so carriers will be encouraged to move goods
"in-bond" to inland ports wherever possible to reduce the congestion
at border sites.
Of particular
concern to importers are those goods that are subject to the control of other
government departments (OGD's). An extremely wide range of goods falls into this
category including foodstuffs, agricultural products, clothing and textiles, pharmaceuticals,
vehicles, radioactive materials, etc. According to Customs, the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency (CFIA) will be deploying staff to designated Customs offices
to make release decisions. This should help speed the release of shipments, especially
perishable goods.
Also cargo deemed
high-risk cargo will be directed to CFIA designated offices. Other departments
will have a list of emergency contacts.
However, if the
documentation is not in place prior to January 1, some goods may be detained or
delayed.
It is strongly
recommended that for shipments that are generally subject to OGD regulations that
you ensure that any licenses, permits, certificates or declarations are available
in paper format prior to January 1, 2000. Please contact one of our offices as
soon as possible with the details in order that we may get the necessary paperwork
in place. |
|
|
|
Customs has
a problem! With duty rates being reduced to zero in many cases, importers have
not paid as much attention to statistical data as Customs requires. This affects
the quality of data that Customs supplies to other government departments, which
can adversely affect a number of areas. For example, incorrect values can lead
to an incorrect balance of payment, which in turn distorts Canada's economic picture.
|
|
 |
|
Industry needs accurate
import data to better assess opportunities for expansion. Canada is legally bound
through an international treaty to supply the U.S. with trade data. At the present
time, Customs is very limited in their ability to enforce compliance, being restricted
to either issuing a warning or invoking the extreme penalties that are in place
currently, i.e. ascertained forfeiture, seizure and prosecution.
To address this problem, Customs has devised a monetary penalty system
to encourage importers and exporters to be diligent in ensuring the data they
supply are accurate. A draft proposal for the Administrative Monetary Penalty
System (AMPS) was presented to the members of the Customs and Trade Administration
Consultative Committee (C.T.A.C.C.) working committee early in October. The proposal
outlines the offenses and for the first time puts a monetary value to the penalties.
Penalties in general start with a warning, then proceed to a financial penalty
which increases in size until the maximum, which can be as high as $25,000.00,
is reached. Interim implementation is expected in the Spring of 2001, with full
implementation planned for January 2002.
Through Periodic Verification audits, Customs are identifying what
they perceive to be the shortcomings of industry and providing companies with
written reports. Importers are then expected to correct the deficiencies. Once
the penalties are finalized and the legislation is passed, importers will be expected
to comply with Customs' requirements or face the penalties.
Continued
on page 2
|
|
back
to top
