Customer Advisories

July 20, 2016

Dear Valued Customers,

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) recently published the implementation dates of the eManifest House BL filing requirement for Freight Forwarders. Under the eHBL program, advance secondary data must be transmitted by Freight Forwarders/NVOCC's for cargo imported into, or moving in-transit through Canada.

• From November 7, 2016, to January 10, 2017, the CBSA will provide freight forwarders with a period of transition during which penalties for non-compliance will not be issued and the CBSA will work closely with freight forwarders on corrective measures.
• From January 11, 2017, to July 11, 2017, freight forwarders deemed to be non-compliant with eManifest requirements may be issued zero-rated penalties (non-monetary) under the CBSA's Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS).
• Beginning July 12, 2017, freight forwarders deemed to be non-compliant with eManifest requirements may be issued monetary AMPS penalties.

The general requirements are as follows:

• Freight Forwarders/NVOCC's must indicate on the Shipment Instructions given to the "K&rquot; Line office at origin that the shipment is "Consolidated".
• Freight Forwarders/NVOCC's will be required to transmit within the current 24HR Advance Manifesting time frames:
• Advance House Bill data which must be electronically transmitted to CBSA using the eHBL data set for import, in-bond and in-transit shipments. 
• Supplementary Cargo Data which must be electronically transmitted to CBSA using the Supplementary Cargo Report for all FROB cargo.
• Freight Forwarders/NVOCC’s will be required to transmit the House BL Close message set to CBSA to indicate all eHBLs have been transmitted to CBSA.
• Freight Forwarders/NVOCC’s must obtain a CBSA issued 8000 series carrier code (a four character code that begins with an 8). 
• Freight Forwarders/NVOCC’s can transmit advance House Bill data using either an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) method, CBSA’s eManifest Web Portal, or by using a 3rd party service provider.
• Freight Forwarders/NVOCC’s and their service providers who would like to become EDI clients and undergo acceptance testing must apply to the Electronic Commerce Unit (ECU).

All Freight Forwarders/NVOCC’s are urged to immediately investigate and take the necessary steps to ensure your ability to comply with this new requirement. Detailed information and contacts can be found at the following website: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/manif/reqfrfwdrs-extransitaires-eng.html