Customs and Cooking

I heard a great story from one of the leading indirect tax experts in Canada. A multi-national corporation was approached by one of their supply chain partners with an idea that could save them close to 8% of their total freight costs by creating a centralized worldwide distribution center. It took a number of years to set up this enhanced and updated supply chain process and the overall savings would definitely justify the upfront costs to initiate all the required changes. The thought process was that instead of shipping to final jurisdictions from various vendors around the world, creating smaller shipments with higher fees, this model would consolidate all shipments to one distribution center allowing for various products to be shipped together to their final destinations. This resulted in a savings of close to 8% for the freight costs associated with moving the same freight but in a different consolidated method. After the first year that this initiative was undertaken, the financ...

I should have been aware of this amazing saying long ago as it is attributed to the famous children's author of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland",  Lewis Carroll, a.k.a., Charles L. Dodgson and also to a  prominent Austrian writer  Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach. But never late than never... "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day." Wow! What a message that sends. Customs compliance is not something to be left to chance and best practices should not be measured because "it worked before so it will work again". Customs compliance should be based on proven processes and procedures that are documented and utilized by every individual and department within an organization. Just because a clock tells time accurately twice a day, does not mean that the clock is functioning in the best possible manner. Same goes with compliance. Navigating a compliance hurdle once or twice does not mean that the compliance program is best in class or does not need review ...

 If you never tried Challah bread, well... ...There is almost nothing like it. I have to admit that since my surgery, I have not eaten much Challah. Maybe a sliver here or there but, wow, how I miss it. Just the flavor and taste on its own is quite fantastic but my kids taught me that you can also enjoy a piece of Challah bread with some hummus, onion dip or babaganush spread over the slice. (Read the Blog about aspects of my health and surgery at: https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2022/11/drastic-measures.html ) The  process  of making Challah is time consuming. But the results are just fantastic. For those that want to try and make their own, here is the recipe that my wife uses... Ingredients - 1 tbsp. yeast - 1/4 cup of sugar - 1 cup warm tap water - 2 eggs for dough (plus 1 egg to be used to baste the top of the bread before putting it into the oven) - 1/2 cup of canola oil - 2 tsp. salt - 4 cups of flour - sesame seeds or almond shavings or other toppings...

What would it take for a corporation to understand that Customs compliance is important, should be a priority (if not a top priority), handled in a proactive manner and is to be taken seriously? To answer this question, let me take you on a personal journey of mine that began back in February of 2022. Admittedly, I am a foodie. (The Customs and Cooking BLOG says it all!)  Sitting down to a great meal with family and friends is something that I enjoy immensely. Yet, food can have many negative connotations as well! Too much food is alarmingly dangerous. Food without the proper nutrients can have adverse effects on ones health. Back in February, I was quite a bit overweight and being monitored by my GP for hypertension and the on-set of diabetes. Yes, there is quite a bit of personal information, but I wanted to outline why my last posting was in mid-July and I am only restarting now. As soon as I was prescribed my fifth medication, I put myself on the list for Bariatric Surgery. Tha...

It's summer vacation! All my kids are away at camp. This allows for a more relaxed schedule and maybe even allows for me to prepare some meals that we usually do not serve. Exhibit A CHICKEN WINGS!!! I defrosted a package of wings. (Thanks to my mom for buying the wings for us the last time my mom and dad came to visit!) Spray the grill lightly with some cooking spray before turning on the BBQ. Place wings on the BBQ at a low heat. Turn wings periodically. Increase heat, continue to turn. (BBQ temperature should be at about 250-275 degrees Fahrenheit.) Wings are ready when they are a dark golden brown. For the wings I made (see picture), it took just under 90 minutes. Place cooked wings in a large bowl. Add your choice of sauce. (I added a regular BBQ sauce.) Toss the wings and the sauce together until wings are covered in the sauce. Allow to cool a bit and serve. (Or keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.) My wife and I had the wings with some rice and frozen veggies. Wings t...

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...