Brand new tires stacked up and isolated on white background

On January 11, 2016, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) issued D-Memorandum D19-12-2 “Importation of Tires”, which sets out Canada’s border rules on the importation of tires.  Canada wants only safe tires imported for the purpose of sale in Canada.  Canada wants safe tires on the roads in Canada.

D-Memo D-19-12-2 contains 2 Appendices.  Appendix A applies to tires (new or used) imported for the purpose of resale  Appendix B applies to tires imported for personal or corporate fleet use.

If tires do not meet the requirements of Appendix A, the CBSA will not release the tires from customs clearance.  The CBSA will detain the tires until the proper documentation is provided.  Importers of tires for the purpose of resale must have proper approvals from Transport Canada.

The CBSA imposes requirements on the importation of (a) new on-road passenger vehicles, trucks, motorcycle, trailer or multi-purpose vehicles; and (b) used truck tires imported for retreading from countries other than the US.  The following data elements to be included in your electronic release package are:

(a) Manufactures name;
(b) Name, telephone number, postal code and email address of the company
(c) Brand name;
(d) Tire type/size and the quantity of tires of that size designation and type imported;
(e) Tire compliance indicator;
(f)Import reason code.

Used tires (including tires on imported vehicles) must be cleaned of any soil.  This means that the vehicle, including the tires (and tire treads) must be power-washed prior to loading into a shipping container destined for Canada.  Upon arrival at Canada, the tires will be inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (“CFIA”)  for soil and plant debris.  If the CFIA discovers soil or debris, the tires will be refused entry into Canada and the shipment will be returned.

If corporation is the importer and does not comply with the importation safety requirements rules for tires, it may be fined up to $250,000 for a summary conviction offense and fined up to $2 Million for an offense on indictment.  individuals face fines of between $4000 and $20,000.