Your Broker Knows Blog

The Drayage Directory

Have you ever heard of the term drayage and wondered what it meant? Professionals in the industry refer to drayage as delivery or ground shipping services which some can misconstrue. To narrow it down, Drayage is the crucial link in the last leg of transporting goods domestically.

November 8, 2022

Global Shipping Crisis And The Role Customs Brokers Play

Cynthia Valencia

The global shipping crisis has become everyone's problem as a direct result of international issues, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, war, more restricted policies, and unstable market demand.

November 3, 2022

Canada’s Trade Incentive Programs

Jan Brock

Canada has a number of Trade Incentive Programs to allow Canadian companies to remain competitive in the ever increasing global competitive market and to entice foreign investors to invest in Canada. Trade incentives permit companies to waive, postpone or refund some or all of the duties and taxes that would otherwise be payable. Before reviewing the many programs, let's take a look at Canada’s Foreign Trade Zone Program.

September 20, 2022

Canada’s Duty Drawback Program

Jan Brock

Canada’s Duty Drawback program is administered by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and is one of their Trade Incentive Programs which we explained in a previous blog post Canada’s Trade Incentive Program.

September 8, 2022

The CBSA Voluntary Disclosure Program

Jan Brock

CBSA has a program whereby commercial clients can correct inaccurate or incomplete information or disclose previously unreported information. When this is done voluntarily CBSA may grant monetary relief to the client. This program is known as the Voluntary Disclosure Program.

August 30, 2022

Have You Left Your CARM Account Dormant?

Jan Brock

The delay of the Canada Border Services Agency Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) Release 2 came with a sigh of relief from many Canadian importers that had not yet gone through the process of setting up a CARM Client Portal. However, for those proactive users who did, this delay presented an annoying challenge of having their GC Key deactivated for lack of use. In this blog we will explore why this is happening and how to avoid it whilst still being prepared for CARM in 2023.

August 25, 2022

CBSA Valuation

Jan Brock

Importers must provide to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) a “value for duty” for all goods imported into Canada. Value for duty must be determined in accordance with the Canada Customs Act regardless of the circumstances of the importation. CBSA will assess the duty and taxes payable on the value for duty of the importation. Importers must use one of the six methods identified in sections 48 - 53 of the Customs Act. You must use the methods in sequence as listed i.e if you can not use the transaction value as per Section 48 then you proceed to section 49 and on and on until you identify the appropriate method. Before we begin to review the methods of valuation we need to understand a few terms.

August 12, 2022

Small Business Importing 101: Paying Duties And Taxes

Jan Brock

If you are new to importing, you may be wondering how duties and taxes are paid to CBSA. In this blog we will walk you through the process as well as a few must-knows.

July 20, 2022

Summer Cross-Border Recreation Travel

Gloria Terhaar

The sun is out and so are our plans to see the world! If you are someone who likes to adventure north of the border and explore all the wilderness adventures Canada has to offer, you may wonder what you can and cannot bring with you. Do you need to formally import anything? Are any things I want to bring prohibited? Do I require specific documentation? In this blog, we will review common items that are packed up and brought along with you on your journey through Canada.

July 15, 2022

How To Import A Live Horse Into Canada

Taryn Hannah

Over the years, live horse import has become highly regulated. Canada and the US have regulations governing the movement of horses across their shared border. This has led to importers being required to prepare well in advance of their trip.

July 8, 2022