The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) requires the following information to process shipments of approved commodities under Extended Release Privileges (ERP) at Non-Terminal Offices (NTOs) in Manitoba.
The CBSA is currently issuing non-monetary (zero-rated) penalties to carriers who do not comply with eManifest requirements. Beginning January 10, 2016, carriers who do not comply with eManifest requirements have been advised that goods will not be allowed to proceed past the First Point of Arrival without Advanced Commercial Information and that they may be issued monetary penalties.
The Southern Manitoba District of the Canada Border Services Agency will continue operating with the current ERP approved importers/commodities. Those ports that are currently NTOs will remain as NTOs after January 10, 2016 (meaning that they cannot accept release information). However, NTOs will be able to accept the electronic cargo and conveyance data submitted by the carrier. Carriers will be required to begin transmitting their cargo and conveyance data within the prescribed time limits and the release information will continue to be transmitted and processed as it is today, at one of the two automated offices in the Southern Manitoba District – Emerson or Boissevain.
Non-compliant carriers that have been utilizing NTOs to transport commercial goods into Canada have recently been contacted by the CBSA advising them that they must become compliant with these new regulations. Information packages were sent stressing the importance and urgency of this initiative.
Carriers should contact the TCCU by telephone for any EDI and eManifest Portal technical support at:
- Within the U.S. and Canada (toll free): 1-888-957-7224, press 1 for EDI assistance or press 2 for technical eManifest Portal assistance
- Outside the U.S. and Canada (long distance charges apply): 613-946-0762 (service is available 24/7)
The Southern Manitoba District will continue with the current release procedures. The A8A is accepted at the NTO and is sent by the NTO to an automated port of entry, either Emerson or Boissevain. The entry is then recorded and forwarded to the associated broker. An electronic release is transmitted to the CBSA, the broker returns the A8A to the automated port of entry and the entry is released.
Note, at no time can the electronic release be submitted to the CBSA prior to the truck arriving at the First Point of Arrival. Submitting the electronic release prior to the truck’s arrival will create problems when the Border Services Officer at the NTO attempts to log the arrival of the truck. The Border Services Officer will receive an error message stating the port of arrival and the port of release do not match, which will in turn prevent the officer from continuing the process. It is essential that all brokers who work with clients that have been approved for ERP shipments at a NTOs understand this requirement.
In the coming months, management of the Southern Manitoba District will be reviewing all ERP importers and commodities and will be requesting that each importer/broker re-apply for Extended Release Privileges.