Technical guide for the Canadian Export Reporting System (CERS) portal — Appendix E: Bulk load—File structure and record layout

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File structure

The source text file for “bulk load” can be assigned between 1 to 200 export declarations (maximum file size = 4 Megabytes (Mb)). This text file must be assigned file extension “.txt”. Please see Appendix F for sample text files. Within the text file, each export declaration must be represented by a set of data records consisting of fixed-length data fields. There are 5 unique types of data records, each of which is assigned a unique prefix character in the first position of the record.

Prefix value	Record type	Minimum occurrence (per export declaration)	Maximum occurrence (per export declaration)	Inclusion criteria
H	Header	1	1	(Mandatory) Include one Header record for each Export declaration
D	Detail	1	999	(Mandatory) Include at least one Detail record for each Export declaration. Position the Detail record(s) underneath the Header record
P	Permit	0	999	(Conditional) Include one or more of these records in order to supply any permit number(s), container number(s), and/or exporter reference number(s) that are applicable to the Export declaration. Position these records underneath the Detail record(s). Keep records of the same type grouped together
C	Container	0	999
R	Reference	0	999

Each export declaration needs to be assigned one Header record, which provides essential information regarding the export transaction (for example, exporter name and address; consignee name and address; etc.)
Each export declaration needs to be assigned at least one Detail record, which provides information regarding the identity and properties of the goods being exported from Canada (for example, product description; HS code; country of origin; quantity; etc.)
Each exporter declaration can be assigned between one to 999 Permit records in order to supply information regarding any applicable export permit number(s)
Each exporter declaration can be assigned between one to 999 Container records in order to supply information regarding any applicable container number(s)
Each exporter declaration can be assigned between one to 999 Reference records in order to supply information regarding any applicable exporter reference number(s)

At a minimum, the text file needs to be assigned one Header record and at least one Detail record for each export declaration:

The Header record needs to be positioned before the Detail record(s)
The text file needs to be assigned one Carriage return / Line feed entry in order to separate the end of the Header record from the beginning of the Detail record(s)
The prefix values for the Header record (H) and the Detail record (D) need to be supplied in the first position of a line in the text file
- Do not include any blank/white spaces in front of the prefix value

If required, an export declaration can be assigned one or more Permit, Container, and/or Reference records to supply applicable commercial information:

These 3 types of records can be positioned in any order, provided that records of the same type are kept together, and all three types of records are positioned underneath the Export declaration's Detail record
The text file needs to be assigned one Carriage Return / Line Feed entry in order to separate the end of the Detail record from the beginning of a Permit/Container/Reference record
The text file needs to be assigned one Carriage Return / Line Feed entry in order to separate the end of one Permit/Container/Reference record from the beginning of a separate Permit/Container/Reference record
- Do not supply additional Carriage Return / Line Feed entries between record types, since it may negatively impact the interpretation of the draft Export declaration's contents

Example 1

The following text file contains 2 export declarations

Long description

The first export declaration contains a Header record (H) and a Detail record (D). The second export declaration contains a Header record (H) and a Detail record (D).

Example 2

3 export declarations — The following text file contains 3 Export declarations. The first export declaration is assigned one Detail record, one Permit record, and two Container records. The second Export declaration is assigned three Detail records. The third export declaration is assigned one Detail record and one Reference record.

Long description

The first export declaration contains a Header record (H), Detail record (D), Permit record (P), Container record (C), Container record (C). The second export declaration contains a Header record (H), Detail record (D), Detail record (D), Detail record (D). The third export declaration contains a Header record (H), Detail record (D) and Reference record (R).

French-language characters

The “bulk load” text file (*.txt) can be assigned French language characters (for example, décembre). However, in order for these characters to be interpreted correctly, it is necessary to save the text file using UTF-8 encoding.

Record layout specifications

The following material provides technical specifications regarding the format and positions of business data elements within the various record layouts. (Refer to Appendix A for additional information regarding the business data elements.) Note that the positions of the record layouts and their business data elements need to be respected in order for the CERS Portal application to be able to interpret the contents of a source text file.

When using the bulk load method, if the CERS Portal application detects one or more syntax errors present within a source text file, then the application will not proceed with transferring any of the enclosed Export declarations into CERS. Instead, CERS will respond by displaying an error report to provide guidance regarding the detected syntax errors. The user is expected to correct all syntax errors present in the source text file and then retry the bulk load operation.

1.1.1.1 Header record layout

The field details for completing a header record layout
Field number	Starting position	End position	Fieldname	Entry length	Data type	Reporting condition	Formatting requirements
1	1	1	Record type	1	Code	Mandatory	H
2	2	7	<Not used>	6		N/A
3	8	13	Exporter authorization ID	6	ID	Mandatory	Specify the Authorization ID of the associated exporter (Format: ZZ9999)
4-5-6	14	17	Related party indicator	4	Code	Mandatory	Y or N
7	18	28	Form key	11	Alphanumeric	Optional	If desired, supply a unique identifier that will enable you to identify the draft Export declaration within the CERS Portal - Bulk Uploads section. Examples: 1 ED1 FORMKEY1
8	29	98	Exporter name	70	Text	Mandatory
9	99	113	Exporter business number	15	ID	Mandatory	Specify the exporter Business Number of the associated exporter (Format: 999999999RM9999)
10	114	183	Exporter street	70	Text	Mandatory
11	184	218	Exporter city	35	Text	Mandatory
12	219	221	Exporter province/state code	3	Code	Conditional: Must be supplied when exporter country is Canada or the United States	Refer to Appendix J
13	222	251	Exporter province/state	30	Text	Conditional: A free-text entry can be supplied when exporter country refers to a country other than Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, or the US Virgin Islands
14	252	253	Exporter country code	2	Code	Mandatory	Refer to Appendix J
15	254	273	<Not used>	20		N/A
16	274	288	Exporter postal/zip code	15	Text	Conditional: Must be supplied when exporter country is Canada or the United States	Do not supply more than 9 characters. For a Canadian or US address, supply a valid Postal/ZIP code entry. Canadian Postal Code Format: Z9Z9Z9
17	289	298	Exporter telephone	10	Numeric	Optional	Format: 9999999999
18	299	302	Exporter telephone extension	4	Numeric	Optional	Format: 9999
19	303	312	Exporter fax	10	Numeric	Optional	Format: 9999999999
20	313	382	Consignee name	70	Text	Mandatory
21	383	452	Consignee street	70	Text	Mandatory
22	453	487	Consignee city	35	Text	Mandatory
23	488	517	Consignee province state	30	Text	Optional
24	518	519	Consignee country code	2	Code	Mandatory	Refer to Appendix J Note: The Consignee country cannot refer one of the following: Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, or the US Virgin Islands
25	520	539	<Not used>	20		N/A
26	540	545	Service provider authorization ID	6	ID	Conditional	If applicable, specify the Authorization ID of the associated customs service provider (Format: ZZ9999)
27	546	615	Service provider name	70	Text	Conditional	If applicable, specify the name of the customs service provider who is completing the Export declaration submission
28	616	685	Service provider street	70	Text	Conditional: Must be supplied if the Export declaration submission is being completed by a customs service provider
29	686	720	Service provider city	35	Text	Conditional: Must be supplied if the Export declaration submission is being completed by a customs service provider
30	721	723	Service provider province/state code	3	Code	Conditional: Must be supplied when Service Provider country is Canada or the United States	Refer to Appendix J
31	724	753	Service provider province/state	30	Text	Conditional: A free-text entry can be supplied when Service Provider country refers to a country other than Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, or the US Virgin Islands
32	754	755	Service provider country code	2	Code	Conditional: Must be supplied if the Export declaration submission is being completed by a customs service provider	Refer to Appendix J
33	756	775	<Not used>	20		N/A
34	776	790	Service provider postal/ZIP code	15	Text	Conditional: Must be supplied when Service provider country is Canada or the United States	Do not supply more than 9 characters. For a Canadian or US address, supply a valid Postal/ZIP code entry. Canadian Postal Code Format: Z9Z9Z9
35	791	800	Service provider telephone	10	Numeric	Conditional: Must be supplied if the Export declaration submission is being completed by a customs service provider	Format: 9999999999
36	801	804	Service provider telephone extension	4	Numeric	Optional	Format: 9999
37	805	874	Certifier name	70	Text	Mandatory
38	875	944	Certifier street	70	Text	Mandatory
39	945	979	Certifier city	35	Text	Mandatory
40	980	982	Certifier province/state code	3	Code	Conditional: Must be supplied when Certifier country is Canada or the United States	Refer to Appendix J
41	983	1012	Certifier province/state	30	Text	Conditional: A free-text entry can be supplied when Certifier country refers to a country other than Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, or the US Virgin Islands
42	1013	1014	Certifier country code	2	Code	Mandatory	Refer to Appendix J
43	1015	1034	<Not used>	20		N/A
44	1035	1049	Certifier postal/zip code	15	Text	Conditional: Must be supplied when Certifier country is Canada or the United States	Do not supply more than 9 characters. For a Canadian or US address, supply a valid Postal/ZIP code entry. Canadian Postal Code Format: Z9Z9Z9
45	1050	1059	Certifier telephone	10	Numeric	Conditional: Must be supplied when Certifier country is Canada or the United States	Format: 9999999999
46	1060	1063	Certifier telephone extension	4	Numeric	Optional	Format: 9999
47	1064	1073	Certifier fax	10	Numeric	Optional	Format: 9999999999
48	1074	1143	Certifier company name	70	Text	Mandatory
49	1144	1144	Certifier status	1	Code	Mandatory	Supply 1 if the Export declaration submission is being completed by a member of the exporter company. Otherwise, supply 2 for "Other".
50	1145	1154	Commodity gross weight	10	Numeric (Maximum decimals: 3)	Mandatory	Examples: 9 9999999999 9.999 999999.999
51	1155	1157	Commodity gross weight unit of measure code	3	Code	Mandatory	Refer to Appendix J
52	1158	1207	<Not used>	50		N/A
53	1208	1223	<Not used>	16		N/A
54	1224	1239	Freight charges	16	Numeric (Maximum decimals: 2)	Mandatory	Examples: 9 9.9 9.99 9999999999999999 99999999999999.9 9999999999999.99
55	1240	1242	Commodity currency of declared value code	3	Code	Mandatory	Only CAD or USD is applicable
56	1243	1292	<Not used>	50		N/A
57	1293	1293	Mode of transport code	1	Code	Mandatory	Refer to Appendix J
58	1294	1313	<Not used>	20		N/A
59	1314	1315	Reason for export code	2	Code	Conditional: Must be supplied if goods are not sold	Pad field with blank spaces if Reason for Export = Goods Sold. Otherwise, supply a valid Reason for Export code (Refer to Appendix J).
60	1316	1365	<Not used>	50		N/A
61	1366	1395	Vessel name	30	Text	Conditional: Must be supplied if mode of transport is marine
62	1396	1397	Country of final destination code	2	Code	Mandatory	Refer to Appendix J
63	1398	1417	<Not used>	20		N/A
64	1418	1425	Date of exportation	8	Numeric	Mandatory	Format: YYYYMMDD
65	1426	1429	Place of exit	4	Code	Mandatory	Refer to Appendix J
66	1430	1479	<Not used>	50		N/A
67	1480	1483	<Not used>	4		N/A
68	1484	1533	Certifier email address	50	Text	Mandatory	Format: Z@Z.ZZ
69	1534	1537	Number of packages	4	Numeric	Mandatory
70	1538	1540	<Not used>	3		N/A
71	1541	1560	Kind of packages	20	Text	Mandatory
72	1561	1595	Name of exporting carrier, freight forwarder or consolidator	35	Text	Mandatory
73	1596	1620	Carrier Code and Unique Carrier-Assigned Code	25	Text	Mandatory
74	1621	1630	<Not used>	10		N/A
75	1631	1649	<Not used>	19		N/A
76	1650	1652	<Not used>	3		N/A
Note: The reporting condition column is included for reference only. Actual validation is done as part of export document validation on CERS Portal (Refer to Appendix A). The service provider information needs to be supplied if the export declaration submission is being completed by a customs service provider on behalf of a client. Otherwise, do not supply any service provider information (leave blank) and use the exporter fields to supply information the exporter of the goods.

1.1.1.2 Detail record layout

The field details for completing a detail record layout
Field number	Starting position	End position	Fieldname	Entry length	Data type	Reporting condition	Formatting requirements
1	1	1	Record Type	1	Code	Mandatory	D
2	2	3	Country of origin code	2	Code	Mandatory	Refer to Appendix J
3	4	23	Not used	20		N/A
4	24	25	Province of origin	2	Code	Mandatory	Refer to Appendix J
5	26	55	Not used	30		N/A
6	56	65	HS code	10	Numeric	Mandatory	Supply an 8-digit Canadian Export Classification - HS Code (Format: 99999999)
7	66	320	Goods description	255	Text	Mandatory
8	321	350	Conveyance Identification Number	30	Text	Mandatory, for certain HS codes
9	351	364	Not used	14		N/A
10	365	367	Not used	3		N/A
11	368	417	Not used	50		N/A
12	418	431	Quantity	14	Numeric (Maximum decimals: 3)	Mandatory, and cannot be zero.	Examples: 9 9.9 9.99 9.999 99999999999999 999999999999.9 99999999999.99 9999999999.999
13	432	434	Unit of measure code	3	Code	Mandatory	Refer to Appendix J
14	435	484	Not used	50		N/A
15	485	500	Value FOB point of exit	16	Numeric (Maximum decimals: 2)	Mandatory	Examples: 9 9.9 9.99 9999999999999999 99999999999999.9 9999999999999.99
Note: The reporting condition column is included for reference only. Actual validation is done as part of Export document validation on CERS Portal (See Appendix A). The "Province of Origin" field must be mapped to a Canadian province/territory, even if the country of origin is not Canada. If the goods are of Canadian origin, specify the province in which the goods were grown, mined or manufactured. If the goods are not of Canadian origin, specify the Canadian province in which the goods were further processed. If the goods are not of Canadian origin, and were not further processed in Canada, specify the Canadian province from which the goods begin their export movement (this may be different from the province from which the goods will leave Canada).

1.1.1.3 Permit record layout

The field details for completing a permit record layout
Field number	Starting position	End position	Fieldname	Entry length	Data type	Reporting condition	Formatting requirements
1	1	1	Record type	1	Code	Mandatory	P
2	2	36	Permit number	35	Text	Mandatory
Note: The reporting condition column is included in the table below for reference only. Actual validation is done as part of export document validation on CERS Portal (see Appendix A). This type of record is not mandatory. If record is provided, the remaining data elements are mandatory.

1.1.1.4 Container record layout

The field details for completing a container record layout
Field number	Starting position	End position	Fieldname	Entry length	Data type	Reporting condition	Formatting requirements
1	1	1	Record type	1	Code	Mandatory	C
2	2	26	Container number	25	Text	Mandatory	First 17 characters are processed as Container Number and the rest is ignored.
Note: The reporting condition column is included for reference only. Actual validation is done as part of export document validation on CERS Portal (see Appendix A). This type of record is not mandatory. If record is provided, the remaining data elements are mandatory.

1.1.1.5 Reference record layout

The field details for completing a reference record layout
Field number	Starting position	End position	Fieldname	Entry length	Data type	Reporting condition	Formatting requirements
1	1	1	Record type	1	Code	Mandatory	R
2	2	36	Reference number	35	Text	Mandatory
Note: The reporting condition column is included for reference only. Actual validation is done as part of Export document validation on CERS Portal (see Appendix A). This type of record is not mandatory. If record is provided, the remaining data elements are mandatory.