Procedure for Importing Critical Shipments

Date: June 1, 2007

Increased scrutiny by Canada Customs & Revenue Agency have at times delayed the Customs Clearance of goods being shipped to the University. In order to try and minimize delays of goods being imported by the University it is imperative that the following procedure be followed for critical or time-sensitive imports. The procedure does not guarantee that Canada Customs will not delay the shipment but will significantly increase our chances of clearing the shipment in a timely manner.

Background Information:

Shipment with a value of less than $20 are considered OIC (Order in Council) shipments and normally are not required to be cleared by our Customs Broker and Canada Customs. The courier companies submit a list of all negligible value (<$20) to Canada Customs who review the list of shipments and approve their importation into Canada. Significant delays in the clearance process occur when a Customs agent questions the value or description of the negligible shipment. Once the Customs agent requires clarification on a value or description they notify Brock University’s authorized Customs Brokerage firm (Thomson Ahern International ) with a request to provide the information being challenged. Thomson Ahern then contacts Brock University Customs/Purchasing to obtain the information we then in turn have to contact the person importing the goods, the shipper or both to get the information to forward to Thomson Ahern who then replies to the Canada Customs agent who challenged the information. The information is either accepted as is or new customs clearance paperwork is filed by PBB-Livingston to clear the shipment.

If a shipment has a value of greater than $20 but less than $1600 the shipment is considered a LVS Shipment (Low Value Shipment) by Canada Customs and they require that a customs broker file importation paperwork to clear the shipment. Since our broker is required to file paperwork they are immediately notified of LVS shipments and begin to work on our behalf to clear them in a timely manner. If the shipping documents do not have all the required information (e.g. vague or missing description or questionable valuation) they contact Brock for clarification before filing the customs clearance paperwork on our behalf to Canada Customs.

Critical/Time-sensitive Shipment Procedure:

With the above customs process it is imperative that critical or time-sensitive shipment into Canada must have at least a $20 value and the shipping documents must provide enough information to process the customs brokerage clearance or they will be delayed until the information is clarified. If the value is less than $20 there is no one working on the customs clearance and it is very possible that there will be significant delays in the process which may result in late shipments and possible shipment spoilage.

In order to facilitate tracking and expediting the clarification process if required we are requesting that if you have a critical or time sensitive shipment with a value of greater that $20 you complete the attached CUSTOMS INFORMATION FOR CRITICAL SHIPMENT form and fax it to Laura Robertson in Customs/Purchasing at 905-688-2789 so that she can notify Thomson Ahern of the impending shipment and assist them in importing your shipment in a timely fashion.

Reminder:
Please do not have personal shipments shipped to you at the University. Our Broker has been given instructions not to file customs clearance paperwork for personal shipments and therefore the shipment will be returned to sender.

CUSTOMS INFORMATION FOR CRITICAL SHIPMENT form

Laura Robertson
Customs/Purchasing
Brock University

Chuck MacLean
Manager- Purchasing Services
Brock University