The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) continues to work with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to increase compliance with CBSA regulations while ensuring that greater fairness in the application of significant administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) remains a priority. We believe this can be addressed through volumetrics or mitigated for highly compliant operators such as those enrolled in Canada-U.S. border security programs.
Earlier this fall, CTA called on the Government of Canada to issue a moratorium on carrier AMPs penalties, allowing for both industry and government to address concerns with the current system. Many cross-border trucking fleets continue to be concerned by the potential application of punitive and unfair monetary penalties. This issue remains especially troubling to those enrolled in Trusted Trader programs and who show a high-level of dedication to border security processes and invest significantly to ensure compliance with CBSA regulations.
CTA has continued to work closely with the CBSA to communicate potential compliance concerns to members. This includes highlighting areas of emphasis within their operations or requiring improvement from fleets, and the significant outreach the CBSA compliance team has conducted to better educate trucking companies on requirements related to advance commercial information (ACI) submission or other reporting requirements.
Recently, CTA and other trade chain partners have continued to engage with CBSA officials on this complex topic, including the issuing of penalties and electronic processing of AMPs through the upcoming CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) initiative with the agency. CBSA remains committed to discussing these topics in more detail with stakeholders in 2024.
“While the Alliance will always promote the importance of compliance and education on regulatory requirements, we strongly believe the Government of Canada should focus its efforts on carriers who show a flagrant and consistent history of noncompliance, and not those who make an honest mistake or clerical error and remain compliant an overwhelming majority of the time,” says Lak Shoan, Director of Policy and Industry Awareness Programs for CTA.
“Implementing a temporary pause through a moratorium would allow both industry and government to address these concerns and ensure all parties remain aligned on our shared goal of a safe and secure border moving forward,” he adds.
Although the CBSA has not seen a recent increase in noncompliance with border regulations, including the issuing of AMPs, they recommend that cross-border operators continue to remain vigilant in the following areas:
- Carriers are reminded that if a seal is present on the load the seal number must be transmitted to the CBSA a minimum of one-hour prior to arrival (highway mode);
- The CBSA suggests that carriers perform routine checks to ensure they are meeting their data transmission requirements as prescribed in the Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document (ECCRD).
For the most current version of the ECCRD or to learn more about carrier compliance issues, please contact CBSA’s Technical Commercial Client Unit via email at tccu-ustcc@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca or 1-888-957-7224 during normal business hours.
Members can send their feedback and regarding AMPs or other compliance concerns to the attention of operations_safety@cantruck.ca.