April 2013

Sometimes the rumour mill churns news about a potential anti-dumping and/or countervailing duty case before it is officially initiated by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Importers and exporters ask how they can mitigate risk.

Importers and exporters have an opportunity to get organized and prepare their documentation in advance – the extra time may

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) expects Canadians returning to Canada to report cash, travelers cheques, personal cheques, money orders, bank drafts, promissory notes, stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills, and other monetary instruments that combined exceed $10,000.

Example 1: If a lawyer receives payment from a client in the United States (the bill was over

On April 1, 2013, the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement came into effect.  On March 18, 2013, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) issued Customs Notice CN-2013-005 “Implementation of the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement (CPAFTA)”.

A copy of the CPAFTA may be found on the Department of International Trade web-site. The CPATFTA was signed on

It does not happen often – but, from time to time, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) destroys detained goods by mistake. Goods that are being imported or that are being exported may be detained and destroyed in error.

One of our clients experienced a shock when the CBSA wrote to them to say that

Many importers/exporters are familiar with End Use Certificate requirements for export transactions, which are provided to give information for export controls / economic sanctions purposes.  It is important to realize that a different form of End Use Certificate may be required for import purposes when an importer has classified goods pursuant to special duty relieving

In the recent decision of Docherty v. Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, (2012 FC 723) Federal Court of Appeal judge Phelan wrote as the first line of the decision:

“This is a case of a traveller sailing too close to the legal winds. But for greed, this Applicant would not be in

Lately, a number of clients have called with incident reports involving either the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) confiscating NEXUS passes from business travelers because the traveler had commercial goods in the NEXUS line/lane. In all cases, the business traveler properly declared the value of the goods and/or