CBSA Advance Commercial Information – System Outages and Alternate Measures

As you are aware, eManifest requirements for Highway carriers are now mandatory. January 11, 2016, marked the beginning of the monetary penalty period, meaning carriers who do not comply with eManifest requirements may be issued monetary Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMP).

Due to recent CBSA system instability, a 90 day evaluation period will be in effect as of May 29, 2017 which will allow drivers in the highway mode, who arrive without Advance Commercial Information (ACI) to return to the United States to await transmission of both their conveyance and cargo information.

These occurrences will be shared with the Transporter Compliance Unit who will monitor the frequency of returns, and will contact carriers who continue to be non-compliant to provide outreach to improve compliance.

We (CBSA) anticipate that this 90 day period should further assist highway transporters most impacted by system outages due to their proximity to the border. Providing additional time will allow for an understanding of the depth of their non-compliance and afford an opportunity to take corrective actions and adapt their business practices to be prepared in the event of future system outages.

Carriers are reminded that they are required to transmit both cargo and conveyance data electronically to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) prior to arrival. Failure to do so may result in penalties assessed on each non-compliant element.

The CBSA would also like to remind carriers that with the implementation of eManifest, transmissions of highway pre-arrival cargo and conveyance data is in addition to the release requirements. If carriers are seeking the release of their goods at the first point of arrival (FPOA), they must contact the importer/broker prior to arriving at the FPOA to ensure the release request is submitted and accepted in the CBSA system. Having ACI /eManifest data on file as per the requirements, as well as the release request on file, will help ensure a faster, more efficient border crossing.

The Technical Commercial Client Unit (TCCU) sends messages via e-mail to clients advising them of system outages, as well as holidays, exchange rates, tariff updates, interest rates, etc. In order to ensure you receive timely notification of system outages, please send a request by e-mail to: tccu-ustcc@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.

Please be advised that the CBSA has a contingency plan in place for circumstances where system outages have occurred. The plan sets out the procedures for importing goods in the commercial stream that clients, including carriers, brokers/importers, freight forwarders and warehouse operators should follow in the event of a CBSA system outage. The plan can be found on the CBSA website here.