Category Archives: Customs Law

One Face at the Border Update

By Susan Kohn Ross on June 17th, 2013 Posted in Border Security, Cross-border trade, Customs Law

At the AAEI Conference, the topic of one face at the border was discussed in the context of an update. The efforts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) take place through the Border Interagency Executive Council. Right now, the Council is co-chaired by CBP (Asst. Comm. Al Gina) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (Director,… Continue Reading

CBP Message, Primarily About Exports

By Susan Kohn Ross on June 17th, 2013 Posted in Border Security, Cross-border trade, Customs Law, Export Controls & Economic Sanctions, Transportation

At the AAEI Annual Conference going on in D.C. right now, CBP has made several statements about its direction which are hopeful, if not somewhat eye-opening. First, trade in the last fiscal year increased yet again. Exports totaled $1.3 trillion and imports $2.3 trillion. It was also refreshing to hear CBP acknowledge that an efficient… Continue Reading

Conflict Minerals Update

By Susan Kohn Ross on May 27th, 2013 Posted in Aerospace & Defence, Buy America, Corporate Counsel, Cross-border deals, Cross-border trade, Customs Law, Energy, Government Procurement, Trade Agreeements

With the first disclosures due on May 31, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has still not given industry a sense of when any guidance will be published. As such, publicly traded companies are still left to figure out how best to comply. The immediate impact, of course, is on those companies required to… Continue Reading

Customs Broker Convicted

By Susan Kohn Ross on May 27th, 2013 Posted in Criminal Law, Customs Law, FCPA/Anti-Corruption, NAFTA, Trade Agreeements, Trade Remedies

As Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues its efforts to modernize the regulatory framework which governs customs brokerage, disturbing news has again arise about misdeeds by one customs broker. Specifically, Alejandro Santos of Laredo, Texas has pled guilty to three counts: entry of goods falsely classified (misstating country of origin to reduce duty) (18 U.S.C…. Continue Reading

What Should You Do When You Hear A Rumour About An Antidumping Case

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on April 9th, 2013 Posted in Cross-border deals, Cross-border trade, Customs Law, Trade Remedies

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… Continue Reading

The Canada Border Services Agency Expects Canadians To Report Imports/Exports of Cheques Over $10,000

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on April 8th, 2013 Posted in Border Security, Cross-border deals, Cross-border trade, Customs Law, FCPA/Anti-Corruption

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… Continue Reading

Canada’s Tariff Treatments (as at April 1, 2013)

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on April 6th, 2013 Posted in Cross-border trade, Customs Law

Canada does not have a single customs duty or tariff rate for all imports. Over the years, Canada has entered into a number of preferential trading arrangements (e.g., NAFTA) and international agreements (e.g., WTO) that set preferential tariff rates. The following table sets out Canada’s tariff rate categories under the Customs Tariff (Canada) and the… Continue Reading

If the CBSA Seizes Your Goods and Mistakenly Destroys Your Goods, You May Seek Compensation

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on April 5th, 2013 Posted in Cross-border litigation, Cross-border trade, Customs Law

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 importer 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… Continue Reading

End Use Certificates For Imports Into Canada: Have Them Ready To Present

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on April 4th, 2013 Posted in Cross-border deals, Cross-border trade, Customs Law

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… Continue Reading

Sailing Too Close To The Legal Winds: Carrying Large Amounts of Cash Across the Border

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on April 3rd, 2013 Posted in Border Security, Cross-border trade, Customs Law, FCPA/Anti-Corruption

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 Court.”… Continue Reading

If You Have Commercial Goods, Do Not Use the NEXUS Line/Lane at Customs

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on April 3rd, 2013 Posted in Cross-border deals, Cross-border trade, Customs Law, NEXUS

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… Continue Reading

Easter Week-End Is A Busy Time for The Canada Border Services Agency And The Easter Bunny

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on March 31st, 2013 Posted in Customs Law

Every year at Easter, Canadians travel to the United States and abroad to visit family and friends for the holidays. Every year, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) steps up enforcement at the border because there are more travelers. Every year, some travelers fail to declare some goods purchased or acquired outside Canada. Every year,… Continue Reading

Canada Border Services Agency Has Difficulties With Cross-Border Private Sales

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on March 29th, 2013 Posted in Cross-border deals, Cross-border trade, Customs Law

When a Canadian resident purchases goods outside Canada, they must declare the goods when returning to Canada. When the individual is over the exemption limit ($800 for stays outside Canada exceeding 48 hours, $50 for same day), they must pay applicable customs duties, GST/HST, excise taxes and other imposts and charges. Many individuals purchase big… Continue Reading

Canadian Legal Provisions Applicable to Laptop and PDA Examinations at the Border

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on March 28th, 2013 Posted in Border Security, Customs Law

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) takes the position that the Customs Act (Canada) grants them wide search and examination powers. Section 98 of the Customs Act deals with search powers of the person. Section 99 of the Customs Act deals with examination powers respecting goods. The CBSA draws a distinction between “search” powers in… Continue Reading

Checklist for Tariff Classification?

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on March 27th, 2013 Posted in Customs Law

Under Canada’s customs laws, the importer of record is responsible to provide the correct tariff classification of the commercial invoice and the B3 “Canada Customs Coding Form”. While importers often rely on information provided by the exporter, they must do so understanding that they will have to pay the price for errors. The Canada Border… Continue Reading

2013 Economic Action Plan (2013 Budget) Removes Tariffs On Certain Consumer Goods

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on March 25th, 2013 Posted in Customs Law

On March 21, 2013, Canada introduced the 2013 Budget. While the 2013 Budget was characterized as an austerity budget, it offered customs duty relief (hopefully translating into lower retail prices) on certain imported consumer goods. The 2013 Budget permanently removed customs duties on baby clothes and sports equipment (excluding bicycles, which I should note have… Continue Reading

Canada Has Taken Steps To Empower Customs Officials To Stop Counterfeit Goods At The Border

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on March 11th, 2013 Posted in Canada's Federal Government, Cross-border litigation, Cross-border trade, Customs Law, Intellectual Property

On March 1, 2013, the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-56 “Combating Counterfeit Products Act” in the House of Commons. Bill C-56 provides copyright and trademark owners with a Canadian legal process to stop the import and export of counterfeit goods and take those goods out of the commercial stream. This legal process is an… Continue Reading

Canadian Resident NEXUS Travelers Should Bring Traveller Declaration Card to Report Purchases to CBSA

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on February 27th, 2013 Posted in Border Security, Customs Law, NEXUS

Many NEXUS card holders in the Trusted Traveler Program are not aware that there are electronic forms available on-line that they can complete prior to returning to Canada with their purchases. The declaration process is simplified by the NEXUS Traveller Declaration Card (TDC). Canadian residents who are members of the trusted traveler programs may complete… Continue Reading

Canadian International Trade Tribunal’s Jurisdiction Clarified

By Cyndee Todgham Cherniak on February 8th, 2013 Posted in Customs Law

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal has jurisdiction to determine whether the Canada Border Services Agency’s recapture of refunded customs duties is valid. In other words, if the CBSA issues a detailed adjustment statement (DAS) to claw back a refund, the affected importer may have a grounds for appeal if the DAS is issued too late…. Continue Reading

Where Are We Headed?

By Susan Kohn Ross on January 5th, 2013 Posted in Cross-border trade, Customs Law

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in December 2012 What happens in the regulatory arena over the next year depends in great measure on how disciplined Congress becomes. For example, where will budget cuts hit the various regulatory agencies? Will new laws be enacted which require agencies to take on significant new responsibilities but… Continue Reading

What Is Yet To Come?

By Susan Kohn Ross on January 5th, 2013 Posted in Cross-border trade, Customs Law, Legal Developments

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in November 2012 The 2012 election is over with – thank goodness! It was an election long on attack ads and generalities, short on well-articulated positions, and generally one of the most negative election cycles the country has seen in a very long time. Much hand-wringing will occur… Continue Reading

New Conflict Minerals Rules

By Susan Kohn Ross on January 5th, 2013 Posted in Customs Law, Legal Developments

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in October 2012 The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued the long-awaited conflict minerals regulations on September 12, 2012. See http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-09-12/html/2012-21153.htm for the full text. They take effect on November 13, 2012 and cover products that include tantalum, tin, gold or tungsten. The goal of the law is… Continue Reading

Where Are We Going?

By Susan Kohn Ross on January 5th, 2013 Posted in Customs Law, Export Controls & Economic Sanctions, Legal Developments

Originally published by the Journal of Commerce in August 2012 Last month, the L.A. County Bar’s Customs Law Committee had a meeting with the local U.S. Attorney. Perhaps the most interesting point which resulted was agreement among all parties that not enough prosecutions are taking place regarding purely import/export trade fraud cases. While this might,… Continue Reading