Customs Brokerage News

CBSA has announced a phased decommissioning approach to the CBSA Accelerated Commercial Release Operations Support System (ACROSS). The decommissioning plan has been updated to reflect the initial go live date of April 1st to the new date of October 2019.

CBSA’s expectations have not changed and they are encouraging the Trade Chain Partners to continue submitting via SWI IID in order to increase transactional volumes and to avoid any potential delays at the border.

Schenker of Canada Limited will be moving forward with the implementation of SWI as of April 1st and will continue to move forward to CBSA’s requirement to transmit SWI data via the IID release process.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact us at Schenker.cs@dbschenker.com

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SWI decommissioning plan of the CBSA

Please be advised effective January 15, 2019 there will be changes to the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR)

They have implementation a new licensing requirements which may impact your food imports into Canada.

The SFCR has implemented this new regulation to ensure food safety by consolidating 14 sets of regulations into 1.

This will allow them to focus on risk management and prevention of unsafe food in the market place.

The regulations will require licensing as well as well preventive controls.  CFIA has announced a phased in approach for additional requirements over a 12 – 30 month time period depending on the type of food, type of activity and size of your business.

We encourage you to visit & review the listed links and their associated websites, which contain additional information on this important initiative. 

CFIA - Safe Food for Canadians Regulations

http://inspection.gc.ca/food/sfcr/eng/1512149177555/1512149203296

Getting started: Toolkit for businesses

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/sfcr/toolkit-for-businesses/eng/1427299500843/1427299800380

CFIA Timelines & Interactive Tools

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/sfcr/timelines/eng/1528199762125/1528199763186

Customs Notice 19-01: Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)'s Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) coming into force on January 15, 2019

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn19-01-eng.html

Please be advised that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a free trade agreement between Canada and the following 10 countries: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

The comprehensive tariff elimination will be implemented in a phased-in approach, as these countries ratify their agreements.

A new preferential tariff treatment (Code 33), called the ‘Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Tariff (CPTPT)’ will be applied to originating imports, provided that the required proof of origin (certification of origin) with required data elements is placed on any import documents.  This information may be completed by the importer, exporter or producer of eligible goods and the certification of origin must be in the importer’s possession in order to claim CPTPT benefits.

On December 30, 2018, the CPTPP entered into force for the first six countries, which have ratified the agreement (Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore).

The CPTPP will come into force for Vietnam on January 14, 2019.

The tariff elimination for the subsequent CPTPP countries will be communicated once those countries ratify the Agreement.

We encourage you to review the links below and their associated websites, which contain additional information on this important agreement.  

Global Affairs - Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)

https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/cptpp-ptpgp/index.aspx?lang=eng

CBSA Customs Notice 18-22 - Implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn18-22-eng.html

Surtax Imposition on Certain Products Originating in the United States- Customs Notice CN18-08 Effective July 1st, 2018

Effective Friday, March 23, 2018, US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) implemented the additional duties required by the Presidential Proclamations issued for articles of steel and aluminum.

U.S. Customs & Border Protection Increases MPF and Other User Fees and Extends PSC Filing Period.

Please note the following regulatory changes recently announced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

CBP Increases MPF and Other User Fees

 U.S. Customs & Border Protection announced an increase of the merchandise processing fee (MPF) and other user fees effective January 1, 2018. While the assessed rate of .3464 percent of the entered value of merchandise does not change, the minimum and maximum limitations for the MPF are adjusted. The minimum increases from $25 to $25.67 and the maximum increases from $485 to $497.99. The MPF for electronically transmitted informal entries increases from $2 to $2.05. Authorized by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) signed in December 2015, fees will be reviewed annually and may be adjusted to account for inflation.

CBP Extends PSC Filing Period

U.S. Customs & Border Protection announced it will provide additional time for importers to file post-summary corrections (PSCs). Effective November 1, 2017 a PSC may be submitted within 300 days of the date of entry or 15 days prior to the scheduled liquidation date, whichever is earlier. Previously, the PSC filing deadline was within 270 days of the entry date but not within 20 days of the scheduled liquidation date. PSCs are amendments to entry summary data for entries that have been fully paid, and are transmitted electronically via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI).

Please contact your local Schenker brokerage office if you have questions regarding these changes.

CBP regulatory changes (document)

Last modified: 11.12.2017

The Food Safety Modernization Act includes provisions for a program to verify the safety of imported food.

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FDA Food Supplier Verification Program

(PDF | 0,05 MB)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to release its new Import Trade Auxiliary Communications System (ITACS) functionality.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to release its new Import Trade Auxiliary Communications System (ITACS) functionality on Monday, September 18, 2017. To provide information regarding this new functionality the FDA is conducting three opportunities to join a webinar to learn about the following:

• An overview of current ITACS functionality
• Background and overview of the new ITACS account management functionality
• Creating an ITACS account
• Retrieving Notices of FDA Action from ITACS
• Managing ITACS account, users, and groups
• Where to find ITACS and ITACS account management resources

Current functionality does not require an account, and allows the trade community to check the status of entries with FDA data, the ability to submit entry documentation electronically, the ability to electronically submit the location of goods availability, and the ability to check the estimated laboratory analysis completion dates for entries which have been sampled.

The new account functionality will enable the electronic distribution of Notices of FDA Action via email and as downloads from within ITACS. This will allow for faster electronic receipt of Notices of FDA Action and the elimination of mailed paper copies.

More information can be found on FDA’s ITACS for Industry web page.

The dates, times, and WebEx registration links are provided below. To register, go to the link associated to the session and enter name and email address. A confirmation email will be sent with instructions for how to join the session.

Tuesday September 5, 2017, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST
To register for Tuesday’s session:
Go to https://fda.webex.com/fda/k2/j.php?MTID=t5bc49a5cd9ddccf2a9940470801d44b5

Thursday, September 7, 2017 1:00 – 3:00 PM EST
To register for Thursday’s session:
Go to https://fda.webex.com/fda/k2/j.php?MTID=t88127c27b0a67eab7807ee1f2bc5e600

Monday, September 11, 2017 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST
To register for Monday’s session:
Go to https://fda.webex.com/fda/k2/j.php?MTID=t2a6757a6a1675814ac90b0fdf5e9b809

We encourage all companies that import FDA-regulated products to join one of the sessions to learn about this new electronic method by which to communicate with the FDA. Please contact your local Schenker brokerage office if you have questions regarding your entries subject to FDA requirements.

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FDA Outreach Webinars - Enhanced Shipment Status Notification System

(PDF | 0,17 MB)
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Relevant contact

Schenker, Inc.
Heather Burke
Director, Trade Services
1501 Hughes Way, Suite 300
Long Beach, CA 90810
United States

Phone: +1 (310) 221-3224

Mobile: +1 (419) 280-8886

Send email

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be implementing several changes to the reconciliation entry program as part of the conversion to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

These changes will be deployed in January 2017 on a date yet to be determined by CBP. CBP will no longer enter a blanket flag in a participating importer’s profile, will no longer require an application to participate, and will require the electronic transmission of data that was previously submitted via a spreadsheet.

Importers currently participating in the reconciliation program should take immediate action to update their brokers regarding their entry summary flagging requirements.

For importers that require all entries to be flagged for reconciliation CBP previously set a blanket flag within its system. That flag eliminated the need for the broker to manually flag every entry summary at the time of transmission. These importers should now provide the instruction to their brokers to set their system profile to flag all entries.

For importers that require certain entries to be flagged (but not all), now is a great time to revisit those flagging criteria and communicate the requirements to all of their brokers.

Importers that wish to begin participating in the reconciliation program will no longer need to apply to CBP. However they will be required to have a continuous bond on file with a reconciliation bond rider.

Changes to the submission of the reconciliation entry will include the complete automation of the
data transmission. This eliminates the requirement to submit the line item spreadsheet as a paper
hardcopy and a soft copy on disc.

Some importers that have historically used the Importer Trade Activity (ITRAC) reports to identify
entries flagged for reconciliation and to have visibility to the line-item level detail for each
entry. Since CBP plans to eliminate ITRAC reports, these importers may wish to file in January
2017 a request for their calendar year 2016 data. Importers should prepare to utilize the reports
in the ACE portal.

If you are participating in the reconciliation program, please be sure to contact your Schenker
brokerage office by the end of December 2016 to provide entry summary flagging instructions. 

Last modified: 09.12.2016

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Changes to CBP Reconciliation Program

(PDF | 0,11 MB)

The Bioterrorism Act and Food Safety Modernization Act requires all domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the U.S. to register with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

FDA Food Facility Registration

(PDF | 0,10 MB)
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