On April 1, 2019, increased penalty fees for 22 of the 152 AMPS contraventions were announced. Why? The Auditor General of Canada criticized the CBSA’s penalties for being too low to improve compliance with trade programs. The new stiffer fines are intended to keep commercial clients walking the straight and narrow.
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Blog Posts
The Government of Canada released its new Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations on January 15, 2019. Consolidating 14 sets of food regulations into one, the updates aim to overcome risks and challenges related to the speed, volume and complexity of current food production. Some requirements (such as licensing) will have to be met now, while other requirements will be phased in over a period of 12-30 months based on food commodity, type of activity, and business size.
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Reducing shipping costs is always top of mind when your business relies on moving goods. Whether you’re shipping within one country, across the border, or across the ocean, here are Cole’s top strategies to reduce shipping costs.
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What are Incoterms?
Published by the International Chamber of Commerce and recognized by governments, legal authorities and companies worldwide, Incoterms (or “Incoterms rules” or International commercial terms) are three-letter codes that convey the tasks, costs, responsibilities and risks associated with the transportation and delivery of goods.
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Our blog followers—and Canadian importers in general—will be well aware that the Single Window Initiative is inching closer to realization. Government and industry updates have probably been coming at you fast and furious for the past year or two. And for good reason! This is a major undertaking and it will affect the importing processes in a pretty big way.
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There's a lot to know about moving goods across the border. The customs landscape—riddled with complex processes and mired in legalese and industry lingo—can be perplexing and frustrating. Nevertheless, importers need to do it right—by knowing their roles and responsibilities and, sometimes, by seeking professional support.
[Read More]The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is part of Canada’s fabric. It’s the gatekeeper: Letting in the stuff we want and keeping out the things we’d rather stayed away. But maybe you’ve asked yourself…
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The Single Window Initiative (SWI) is a federal government process for gathering information on imports into Canada. We ran a blog on this back in January 2018.
[Read More]Becoming a non-resident importer—or NRI—is something you may want to consider if you or your company reside outside of Canada but want to enjoy the same ease at the border as Canadian importers do.
[Read More]Lumber, firewood, packing material, furniture, home décor… When bringing wood items into the country, importers need to know what’s required of them by Canada Customs and other regulatory agencies.
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