On July 31, 2008, two tobacco companies, (1) Rothmans Benson and Hedges ("Rothmans") and (2) Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. ("Imperial") ended cases going back 8 years relating to the cross-border smuggling of tobacco products. A...
On June 28, 2008, the CBSA signed an arrangement with U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding the mutual recognition of Canada's Partners in Protection program and the U.S. C-TPAT program. Partners in Protection (PIP)...
On July 1, 2008, the carbon tax that is being imposed by the government of the province of British Columbia comes into effect. The new provincial carbon tax adds almost 2.5 cents to a litre of fuel. The carbon tax...
On June 13, 2008, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) issued a new and improved version of D-Memorandum D13-4-12 "Commissions and Brokerage" The CBSA has indicated that the memorandum provides information on the...
Canada is increasing its focus on compliance with export declaration requirements. As a general rule, exporters are required to report to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) their exports of goods. If the goods are...
On June 2, 2008, I attended a tribute dinner for the Chief Justice of the Tax Court of Canada, Judge Bowman. He is a very talented judge and is retiring from Canada's specialized Tax Court. No doubt, he will be called...
The Department of Finance and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) have requested input from business on the sources of unnecessary paper or compliance work in the goods and service tax and excise tax systems, as well as any...
On March 20, 2008, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) issued Customs Notice CN-08-014 "NAFTA Rules of Origin - Disassembly as a Mode of Production That may Confer Origin". In Customs Notice CN-08-014, Canada updates...
On February 15, 2008, Bill C-43 "An Act to amend the Customs Act" was tabled for first reading in Canada's House of Commons. In the middle of Bill C-43 is the following innocuous provision:
"6. The Act is amended by adding...
On February 19, 2008, the Province of British Columbia announced in its the 2008 Budget that it proposes to introduce an escalating Carbon Tax over the next five years. The news release about the Carbon Tax includes the...
The Canadian "Purchaser in Canada" rules have been around and causing difficulties for the Canadian importing community for about 10 years. The Canada Border Services Agency's administrative policy has been and continues to...
On January 11, 2008, the Minister of National Revenue, Gordon O'Connor, announced that the Government of Canada would distributing $467,530,022 to the six provinces whose products are subject to the export charges under the...
January 31, 2008 is the due date for comments on the GST/HST Notice 225 "Draft Revised GST/HST Memorandum 3.3.1, Drop Shipments (September 2007). This administrative interpretation is very important because it will form the...
Effective midnight on January 1, 2008 (as the crystal ball finishes its drop in Times Square), the rate of Canada's federal goods and services tax (GST) will reduce from 6% to 5%. In anticipation of the reduction and to...
On November 29, 2007, the Canada Border Services Agency issued Customs Notice CN-07-034 "Reduction of the Fee for the NEXUS and Free and Secure trade (FAST) Commercial Driver Program Under the Presentation of Persons (2003)...
On December 7, 2007, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) issued Customs Notice CN-07-036 "Use of Business Numbers by Non-commercial Importers and One-time Commercial Importers" to remind the importing community that...
