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Importation of Engines, Vehicles, Vessels, Machines and Equipment
Memorandum D19-7-4

ISSN 2369-2391

Ottawa, February 9 2023

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In brief

  1. This memorandum has been revised to align its content with regulatory text (consistency), to update hyperlinks throughout the document as well as the contact information in paragraph 25.
  2. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) assists Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in the administration of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 and On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations, Off-road Compression-Ignition (Mobile and Stationary) and Large Spark-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations, Off-Road Small Spark-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations, Marine Spark-Ignition Engine, Vessel and Off-Road Recreational Vehicle Emission Regulations, Passenger Automobile and Light Truck Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations, and Heavy–duty Vehicle and Engine Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations. This memorandum outlines the requirements for the importation of regulated engines, vehicles, vessels and machines.
  3. The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 and the above cited regulations prohibit the importation of certain engines, vehicles, vessels machines and equipment unless they meet specific requirements. Companies importing regulated products are required to submit to ECCC certain information such as an importation declaration which includes a statement of conformity. Companies are also required to submit information to the CBSA to satisfy importation requirements under the Customs Act.

Legislation

Canada Border Services Agency Act – Sections 5(1) and 5(2)

Customs Act – Sections 12, 31, 99, 101, and 107

Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA)– Sections 153, 154 and 155

On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations – Sections 39 - 42.1

Off-road Compression-Ignition (Mobile and Stationary) and Large Spark-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations – Sections 44 - 48

Off-Road Small Spark-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations – Sections 19 - 22

Marine Spark-Ignition Engine, Vessel and Off-Road Recreational Vehicle Emission Regulations – Sections 37 - 39

Passenger Automobile and Light Truck Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations – Refer to applicable sections in On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations

Heavy–duty Vehicle and Engine Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations – Refer to applicable sections in On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations

Guidelines and general information

Definitions

1. For the purpose of this memorandum, the following definitions are used:

Engine: Means any prescribed internal combustion engine, but does not include

Vehicle: Means any prescribed self-propelled vehicle, but does not include

Vessel: Means any prescribed boat, ship or craft designed, used or capable of being used solely or partly for navigation in, on, through or immediately above water.

Machine: Means anything, including a vehicle, device, appliance or implement, powered by a prescribed engine.

Equipment: Means any prescribed equipment that is designed for use in or on a vehicle or engine.

Company: Means a person who:

2. For further definitions and detailed description of the regulated engines, vehicles, vessels and machines, please refer to section 1 of the following regulations:

Requirements under the engine, vehicle, vessel and machine emission regulations

3. Regulations listed in paragraph 2 apply to all companies in the business of manufacturing, distributing or importing (new or used) prescribed classes of engines, vehicles, vessels, machines or equipment for sale, and to all persons who import them for their own use.

4. The regulations require importers to submit importation declarations to ECCC, as follows:

5. In accordance with sections 153 and 154 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, no company or person shall import any engine, vehicle, vessel, machine or equipment unless:

6. The import requirements apply to the following regulated engines, vehicles, vessels, machines and equipment:

7. The implementation of the SWI enables importers to satisfy ECCC’s requirements to file an importation declaration by integrating the declaration with other data submissions required by the CBSA and other participating government agencies (PGAs), through a single electronic portal utilizing the Integrated Import Declaration (IID). For additional information on the benefits of using SWI, please refer to the paragraph Implementation of the CBSA SWI below.

Exceptions

8. According to subsection 155(1) of CEPA, sections 153 and 154 do not apply in respect of the importation of any engine, vehicle, vessel, machine or equipment if:

Roles and responsibilities of the Canada CBSA

9. The CBSA assists ECCC in administering CEPA 1999 and its regulations as they relate to the commercial and non-commercial importation of engines, vehicles, vessels, machines and equipment.

10. The CBSA may detain engines, vehicles, vessels, machines and equipment under the authority of the Customs Act and refer them to ECCC for an examination or enforcement action either as a result of an ECCC request or when the border services officers find/determine suspected contraventions of CEPA 1999 and its regulations.

Roles and responsibilities of ECCC

11. ECCC is responsible for the administration and enforcement of all ECCC legislation.

12. ECCC may identify to the CBSA certain goods that may contravene ECCC legislation or pose a potential risk to human health or to the environment. ECCC may request the CBSA to detain these goods at the time of importation.

13. ECCC enforcement officers may examine goods detained by the CBSA, review documentation related to the detained goods, and, when applicable or necessary, administer penalties under CEPA 1999. Please refer to the Penalties section of this document.

Implementation of the CBSA SWI

14. On , the CBSA SWI launched a new release service option (IID service option 911) that allows importers and customs brokers (must be registered with the CBSA) to submit and obtain electronic release for goods regulated by PGAs.

15. As of , importers of engines, vehicles, vessels, machines and equipment have an option to submit release requests to the CBSA electronically by using an IID. The data elements required in the IID vary depending on the prescribed product(s) being imported and the applicable regulations. All of the data elements (optional, conditional, and mandatory) included in the IID for the importation of engines, vehicles, vessels, machines, and equipment can be found in the Appendix B3.4 of the SWI IID Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document (ECCRD).

16. ECCC will receive the IID information at the time of release of each shipment. For more information about the SWI, please refer to the CBSA website Single Window Initiative. The SWI IID ECCRD provides technical and system requirements information.

Using the CBSA SWI

17. When a SWI submission is received by the CBSA, the CBSA will transmit applicable data elements directly to the ECCC for their review and retention. This allows ECCC to receive the data in real time, allowing the department to engage with stakeholders as needed.

18. If importers use the SWI and complete all of the required fields accurately, they will not have to submit transactional or bulk importation declarations to ECCC, i.e., using the SWI will reduce the number of paper declarations to be submitted to ECCC and will facilitate and simplify compliance with regulatory requirements.

19. SWI also provides the added benefit of reducing the effort to produce mandatory annual reports required for certain regulations. The SWI optional data elements can be used to assist with the completion of ECCC’s annual reporting requirements. This means that, if importers choose to provide information in those optional fields of the SWI, they will still have to provide an annual report to ECCC; however, the required data will be more easily accessible (e.g., data dump). Otherwise, importers would have to collect this information long after the importation has occurred.

Penalties

Administrative monetary penalty system (AMPS)

20. The Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) authorizes the CBSA to impose monetary penalties for non-compliance with the Customs Act, the Customs Tariff and the regulations under these Acts, as well as contraventions of the terms and conditions of licensing agreements and undertakings. Please refer to the Memorandum D22-1-1 Administrative Monetary Penalty System for details.

Penalties under canadian environmental protection act (CEPA)

21. The Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations (AMPs Regulations) designate violations under CEPA, and associated regulations, that may be enforced by means of an AMP. The AMPs Regulations also specify the method used to calculate the amount of an AMP, including baseline penalty amounts for different types of violations and violators, and aggravating factors that, if applicable, increase the amount of the penalty.

22. For information on operational aspects of the AMPs regime, please refer to “Policy Framework of the Administrative Monetary Penalty System at Environment and Climate Change Canada to Implement the Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Act”.

23. The following table represents the monetary penalty regime under the Environmental Enforcement Act that amends the fines, sentencing provisions and enforcement tools of six acts administered by ECCC, including CEPA.

Fine Regime under the Environmental Enforcement Act
Offender Type of Offence Summary Indictment
Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
Individuals Most serious offences $5 000 $300 000 $15 000 $1 M
Other offences N/A $25 000 N/A $100 000
Small Corporations & Ships under 7500 t Most serious offences $25 000 $2 M $75 000 $4 M
Other offences N/A $50 000 N/A $250 000
Corporations & Ships over 7500 t Most serious offences $100 000 $4 M $500 000 $6 M
Other offences N/A $250 000 N/A $500 000
 

24. The courts may impose penalties in accordance with the penalty regime specified in CEPA, section 272 and onwards.

Additional information

25. For further information concerning import requirements under the CEPA 1999 and its regulations, please contact the Transportation Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada at infovehiculeetmoteur-vehicleandengineinfo@ec.gc.ca or 1-844-454-9017.

26. For more information regarding the CBSA’s programs and services, please contact the Border Information Service (BIS) line. Within Canada, you can call BIS toll-free at 1-800-461-9999. From outside Canada, please call 204-983-3500 or 506-636-5064 (long-distance charges will apply). Agents are available Monday to Friday (08:00 – 16:00 local time, except holidays). TTY is also available within Canada at 1-866-335-3237.

References

Issuing office
Other Government Department Programs Unit
Program and Policy Management Division
Commercial Program Directorate
Commercial and Trade Branch
Headquarters file
TBD
Legislative references
Canada Border Services Agency Act,
Customs Act
Canadian Environment Protection Act, 1999
Other references
D22-1-1
Superseded memorandum D
D19-7-4 dated
Date modified: