Administrative Monetary Penalty System
C033

Guidelines

Non-compliance occurs when goods have been reported under subsection 12(1) of the Customs Act, are under CBSA control, and the goods or traveller’s baggage are moved, removed, or delivered without CBSA authorization. For example:

• Removed from a CBSA office without release/authorization;
• Removed from a customs-controlled area (e.g., international airport, sufferance warehouse) without authorization;
• Delivered directly to the consignee or traveller without release/authorization; or,
• Moved to another customs-controlled location without authorization.

Goods or travellers’ baggage may be non-bonded, bonded, or in-transit.

Applied against a carrier, freight forwarder or a sufferance warehouse operator.

Applied per shipment. For example, if five shipments were moved without authorization, five penalties would be applicable at the same penalty level.

• For the International to Domestic (ITD) process, a shipment is defined as a single inbound international flight. Therefore, all recalled baggage which fall under the guidelines of this contravention which are on the same conveyance count as one shipment and are only subject to one penalty assessment.

C033 is issued to the Carrier where a carrier:

• has been directed to present baggage in the ITD process to the CBSA but fails to do so, and baggage is subsequently transported on a domestic flight without first being inspected by the CBSA at the FPOA.

C033 is issued to the Carrier or Freight Forwarder where a carrier or freight forwarder:

• removes reported goods from a CBSA office or highway frontier examining warehouse without CBSA authorization;
• has reported goods to the CBSA upon arrival at FPOA and the release of the goods will be effected at an CBSA inland office (the FPOA authorizes the bonded carrier or bonded freight forwarder to move the goods in-bond to an inland location for release) but the carrier or freight forwarder directly delivers the goods to the importer/consignee rather than reporting to the inland office or sufferance warehouse;
• moves in-bond goods from FPOA directly to a location, other than what is indicated on the original cargo transmission; or,
• has been directed to present the goods to a CBSA examining warehouse on form Y28 (Report to Warehouse), but fails to do so.

C033 is issued to the Sufferance Warehouse Operator where a sufferance warehouse operator:

• has received in-bond goods and allows the removal of in-bond goods from the warehouse prior to release or authorization by CBSA.

In all cases, this penalty applies only if the contravention is found during a CBSA examination, tracing procedure or an audit, and there is evidence to support that a contravention to section 31 of the Customs Act has been made.

• The act of reviewing documentation and matching it to previously submitted documents constitutes an examination.
• Other monitoring activities conducted by a BSO also satisfies this requirement.

This penalty will not be applied in situations where a carrier, freight forwarder or sufferance warehouse operator voluntarily discloses non-compliance to CBSA in accordance with D11-6-4 Relief of Interest and/or Penalties Including Voluntary Disclosure.

Voluntary disclosure only applies if the disclosure is made by the party responsible for reporting the goods and in accordance with the terms articulated in D11-6-4.

• For greater clarity, a pattern of repetitive non-compliance with C033 negates the ability of the carrier, freight forwarder or sufferance warehouse operator to avoid penalties through the voluntary disclosure process unless the responsible party demonstrates the means to avoid future non-compliance.
• Furthermore, the submission of a V-type accounting entry by a broker or importer does not preclude a carrier, freight forwarder or sufferance warehouse operator from receiving a C033 penalty.

This penalty will not be applied in circumstances involving domestic goods bound for export.

For transporting goods from point to point within Canada without the appropriate bond or security prior to release, see C036.

For removal of goods from a CBSA bonded warehouse or duty free shop, see C066.

References

Legislation

Customs Act, section 31

D-Memo

• D2-5-13, International to Domestic Connections Process
• D3-1-1, Policy Respecting the Importation and Transportation of Goods
• D4-1-4, Customs Sufferance Warehouses
• D11-6-4, Relief of Interest and/or Penalties Including Voluntary Disclosure

Other

• Reporting of Imported Goods Regulations
• Transportation of Goods Regulations
• Customs Sufferance Warehouses Regulations