Reporting and Accounting for Low Value Commercial Goods (Not Exceeding CAD$2,500)
Memorandum D17-1-2
Ottawa, September 10, 2013
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In Brief
On January 8, 2013, the low value shipment (LVS) threshold was increased to a value for duty not exceeding CAD$2,500.
This memorandum outlines the documentation requirements for the cargo reporting, release, and accounting of commercial shipments with a value for duty not exceeding CAD$2,500.
Legislation
The Regulations governing the guidelines and general information contained in this memorandum are presented in the Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties Regulations,which can be found at the Justice Canada Web site.
Guidelines and General Information
1. Section 12 of the Customs Act requires that all goods be reported to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) as explained in Memorandum D3-1-1 Policy Respecting the Importation and Transportation of Goods.
2. Low value commercial goods with a value for duty not exceeding CAD$2,500 may be released by the CBSA on presentation of any of the following:
- (a) a Form B3-3, Canada Customs Coding Form, type C or D, or a bonded warehouse B3 accounting document along with any applicable permits, licences, authorization and certificates (see Memorandum D17-1-5, Registration, Accounting and Payment for Commercial Goods); or
- (b) a Release on Minimum Documentation (RMD) package, or Pre-Arrival Review System (PARS), as explained in Memorandum D17-1-4, Release of Commercial Goods, consisting of:
- (i)a cargo control document (CCD) – two copies for paper releases;
- (ii)any applicable permits, licences, authorizations and certificates; and
- (iii)a commercial invoice, Canada customs invoice, current price list, bill of sale or other acceptable document giving the following information :
- (1) the vendor's name and address;
- (2) the consignee's name and address;
- (3) the purchaser's name and address (if other than consignee);
- (4) the importer's BN;
- (5) the unit of measure and quantity of goods;
- (6) the value of the goods and currency of settlement;
- (7) a detailed description of the goods;
- (8) 10-digit harmonized system (HS) code;
- (9) the country of origin of the goods;
- (10) the number of invoice pages; and
- (11) a transaction number in bar-coded format;
- (c) a Cargo Control Document (CCD) or approved Consist Sheet if the shipment qualifies under the Courier Imports Remission Order (CIRO); or
- (d) a Cargo/Release List (CRL) for approved Courier Low Value Shipment (LVS) Program participants (see Memorandum D17-4-0, Courier Low Value Shipment Program).
Note: RMD information must be submitted electronically by Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in accordance with the Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document (ECCRD) Chapter 16: Accelerated Commercial Release Operations Support System (ACROSS), unless otherwise exempted as specified in Memorandum D17-1-4.
3. Shipments that were originally reported in the Courier LVS Program through a Cargo/Release List (CRL), and subsequently rejected on a paper Y50 by the CBSA, must be re-submitted using a paper RMD.
Accounting for Released Goods
4. Low value commercial goods with a value for duty not exceeding CAD$2,500, must be accounted for according to Section 32 of the Customs Act and subsection 6(b) of the Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties Regulations. For details regarding the accounting requirements and procedures, refer to these Regulations and Memorandum D17-1-10, Coding of Customs Accounting Documents.
5. When claiming the benefits of a Free Trade Agreement, importers and brokers should refer to the policy guidelines in Memoranda D11-4-2, Proof of Origin, and D11-4-14, Certification of Origin.
References
- Issuing office:
- Commercial Border Programs Division
Border Programs Directorate
Programs Branch - Headquarters file:
- 7632-1
- Legislative references:
-
Customs Act
Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties Regulations - Other references:
-
D3-1-1, D3-2-2, D3-4-2, D3-5-2, D3-6-6, D8-2-16,
D11-4-2, D11-4-14, D13 series, D17-1-5, D17-1-10,
D17-1-4, D17-4-0 - Superseded memorandum D:
- D17-1-2, January 12, 2011
- Date modified: