Requirements for Commercial Clients

This section contains current information related to eManifest requirements, provided by commercial client type. When final, requirements for commercial clients will be made available through documents including:

• the Reporting of Imported Goods Regulations,
• Customs Notices,
• D-Memoranda, and
• the Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document (ECCRD).

It is important to note that information may be added or changed as eManifest is implemented. Please visit this section regularly for updates.

All Client Types

Carrier Codes

Effective April 1, 2011, the CBSA no longer accepts generic itinerant carrier codes for any mode of transportation. For information on obtaining a CBSA-issued carrier code, visit the Commercial Carriers section of the CBSA Web site. For information on how this may affect the release of goods in all modes, e-mail the Import Program Unit at release-mainlevee@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.

Exemptions and Exceptions

When fully implemented, eManifest will apply to most commercial goods entering Canada. Exemptions and exceptions to eManifest requirements are listed, where applicable, within each chapter of the Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document (ECCRD).

Manifest Forward and New Electronic Notices

New electronic systems to be deployed by the CBSA On June 9 2013, will introduce a Manifest Forward feature for house bill data. This feature will allow freight forwarders to identify other parties (e.g. carrier, freight forwarder, warehouse operator and broker) within the trade chain to whom the CBSA can forward an electronic copy of house bill data. Future CBSA electronic systems will expand the Manifest Forward feature to other data and other trade chain partners.

New completeness notices will also be introduced to indicate the level of completeness of trade data received by the CBSA. These notices will apply to house bill, close message, release, and highway and rail cargo data. Additional completeness notices will be introduced in future systems deployments.

Chapters 8 (eManifest Portal) and 11 (Electronic Data Interchange / EDI) of the ECCRD explain the Manifest Forward and completeness notices functionalities, outline the business requirements needed to successfully receive these notices, and detail the various processes as they relate to the notices and Manifest Forward feature.

A copy of the ECCRD – Chapter 8: ACI/eManifest House Bill Portal will be available on the CBSA Web site when finalized.  To request a copy of the ECCRD – Chapter  11: ACI/eManifest Notices, contact the eManifest Help Desk. Note: EDI transmission-related enquiries can be directed to the Electronic Commerce Unit. For all other eManifest policy-related enquiries, refer to eManifest client support and contact information.

Non-Compliance with eManifest Requirements

When eManifest requirements become mandatory, clients deemed to be non-compliant may be issued monetary penalties under the Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS).

When applicable, the CBSA may issue penalties for:

• providing information that is incomplete, inaccurate or untrue;
• failing to send the prescribed information within the prescribed time or in the prescribed manner; and/or
• failing to notify the CBSA that the data has changed.

Use and Protection of Pre-Arrival Information

The CBSA is leveraging sophisticated technology and analysis of information to automatically and rigorously risk assess commercial goods prior to their arrival in Canada, using the pre-arrival/pre-load electronic information.

The CBSA works in cooperation with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to ensure that all privacy issues have been identified and resolved, or mitigated in accordance with Government of Canada privacy legislation and policies. Visit the CBSA Privacy Impact Assessment section for more information.