Customs and Cooking

Recently, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), published Notices to Importers 80, 81 and 83 regarding accurate declaration of imports of Aluminum and Steel. (Links below) -  https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/controls-controles/notices-avis/1032.aspx?lang=eng -  https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/controls-controles/aluminum-aluminium/notices-avis/969.aspx?lang=eng See Section 4.3 or 4.5 with respect to the data elements that GAC requires. The notices refer importers to Appendix E of the CBSA Departmental Memorandum D17-1-10 which focuses on Metric Conversion -  https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d17/d17-1-10-eng.html#a10 Inaccurate Imperial to Metric Conversion can result in inaccurate Customs declarations as well as GAC permit applications. With the upcoming implementation of CARM, accurate Unit of Measure declaration is extremely important for compliance and risk mitigation. The complexity of converting the units of measure to the formats acc...

I wanted to start off by going back to a Blog post that I wrote in October of 2021. Not many are familiar with Gefilte Fish. Therefore, from a Customs perspective, not many may know how to properly declare Gefilte Fish to Customs. https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2021/10/smells-fishy.html As I just made a batch of gefilte fish (see picture), I thought I would bring up the Blog posting from October. That takes us to the current Customs issues. Proper classification of goods being imported under the HS/HTS nomenclature is always a hot topic within Customs compliance. The current focus in Canada, however, is the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management project (CARM). See  https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2021/05/cheese-cake-and-carm.html for some initial information about CARM. Very recently, I attended a webinar and a question about Customs compliance was posed: "What happens if our company does not have the budget for Customs compliance?" Goes without saying that t...

Change can occur quickly. For example... Take a look at the pictures below. The first one was taken just before take-off at the airport in Fort-Lauderdale. The second was taken just after landing in Montreal. Within about 3.5 hours, the change in weather was mind-boggling. In Fort-Lauderdale, it was a balmy 26 degrees Celsius. In Montreal, a frost-biting minus 14 degrees Celsius. A change of 40 degrees. Again, the change occurred in under 4 hours. That is the weather. Can you imagine leaving a cake in the oven for too long? The cake can go from being nice and spongy to black and burnt in a matter of minutes. (I'd rather not show any pictures of my cooking where the outcome was so disastrous that the place where the dish went was straight into the composting bin.) Monitoring a dish in the oven, on the stove top, or even the bar-b-q is essential because a slight deviation of the time used to cook/bake the dish can result in having to use Uber Eats for a "quick fix" ensuring...

I'll start off by recommending that the reader watches an excerpt from the movie "Men In Black". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3hAVT2sDqQ  The main message is that things are not always what they seem to be. Within the realm of Customs Compliance, there are many aspects that tend to be "hidden" from view. There are many examples to think about: - HS Codes (I probably have already mentioned this in previous Blog posts, but it is worth repeating. HS classification is not right or wrong. It is less accurate and more accurate.) Having various experts review HS classification data may identify opportunities to improve on HS compliance that could result in duty refunds, or at times, additional duties owed. - Participating Government Agencies (PGAs) : Thinking of importing a product into a specific jurisdiction? Customs is not the only agency that may be reviewing the products entering the country. Very recently, I received a call about importing a "lotion...

As we approach the Blog's one year anniversary, I thought it would be a good idea to initiate another Review of all the Blog postings to go over the topics discussed thus far. Welcome to Blog # 50 : "REVIEW # 2"! Thank you to all the readers and I look forward to another great year of Blogging!!! There are a variety of tasty treats on a charcuterie board. You can check it out on the August 10th, 2021 BLOG "All in the Presentation". https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2021/08/all-in-presentation.html Review # 2 February 3rd, 2022 Overage and Shortage https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2022/02/overage-and-shortage.html January 22nd, 2022 On your marks https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2022/01/on-your-marks.html January 16th, 2022 Leftovers https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2022/01/leftovers.html January 12th, 2022 Fasting https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2022/01/fasting.html January 4th, 2022 Guest https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/202...

Inventory management is a key aspect of a supply chain. A distributor orders 10,000 units of their best selling item. When the shipment arrives in their distribution center, it is identified that 11,000 units were received.  Their database is updated to reflect the 11,000 units so that the sales team can access the entire inventory and not just the 10,000 units originally ordered. OR... When the shipment is received, it is identified that only 9,000 were shipped... What courses of action does this distributor take? I am almost certain that when it is identified that only 9,000 units were received, the distributor will be demanding a credit note from their vendor for those 1,000 units not received.  Similarly, there should be communication with the vendor when an extra 1,000 units "appeared" in the shipment! Let's look at it from a Customs (Canada Border Services Agency -- CBSA) perspective... If there was an overage of 1,000 units, the importer is obligated to initiate a ...

In any race, you can feel that excitement just before the race begins. Whether it is NASCAR when you hear, "Drivers... Start your engines!" Or how about the Olympic 100 meter dash, when the runners are preparing themselves in the starting blocks. You feel the tension... Now, think about when Customs sends an importer an audit notification. The letter is basically advising and calling out to the importer to: Get Ready! Prepare your internal team to begin, what could be, quite a detailed and exhausting process. Prepare the mindset of how the verification will be handled. Engage the proper external resources to navigate the audit process. (Even the best racers need a pit crew and a coach.) And then the race begins. Have you ever seen a runner just remain in the starting blocks? Did you experience a race as an observer where the car just stayed in the park position on the race track? Then why are there numerous instances where an importer just disregards an audit notification? Or...