Government Provides Tariff Relief for Importers of Certain Medical Goods and PPE goods

May 7, 2020 – The Government of Canada continues to take immediate, significant and decisive action to protect Canadians’ health and safety, and to support Canadian jobs and the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Finance has announced action to further ensure Canadians have access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and other necessary medical equipment.

To keep Canadians safe, the government is waiving tariffs on certain medical goods, including PPE such as masks and gloves. This will reduce the cost of imported PPE for Canadian businesses, which face tariffs of up to 18 per cent in some instances, help protect workers, and ensure our supply chains can keep functioning well.

This action complements the government’s ongoing efforts to increase domestic PPE production by Canadian industry. Tariff relief for these goods will remain in place for as long as necessary to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

The announcement is part of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan – a comprehensive plan that is supporting Canadian workers and Canadian businesses, and ensuring Canada’s economy remains stable and ready to rebound when the time is right.

Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) has issued Customs Notice CN20-19 Certain Goods Remission Order, to provide the importing industry guidelines and information on the remission that allows for the relief of customs duties for eligible goods which were imported on or after May 5, 2020.

This relief can be claimed at the time of importation or within two years of the date of importation.

View Appendix A which list tariff items with descriptions where customs duty relief is applicable, and Appendix B which lists MFN duty-free goods with the description.

Where the remission order is applicable and an overpayment of customs duty has been identified on commercial importations, Form B2, Canada Customs – Adjustment Request may be filed in a regional CBSA office requesting a refund of the overpaid amount under section 74(1)(g) of the Customs Act.

Where the remission order was applicable and customs duty has been paid on non-commercial importations, Form B2G, Informal Adjustment Request may be sent to one of the CBSA’s five casual refund centres.

For more information contact:

Canada Border Service Agency’s (CBSA) Border Information Service (BIS)
Toll-free 1-800-461-9999

Please contact your Livingston account representative should you have any questions.