Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1038)

Importation

Vehicles Imported Under Sections 5 and 6 of the Act

• 11 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 5(1)(b) of the Act, a person that imports a vehicle of a prescribed class must, before importation, produce evidence that the vehicle conforms to the standards set out in these Regulations by providing the Minister with the following information:

  • (a) the importer’s name, mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number and email address and, if the importer is a company, the contact information of a contact person at the company;

  • (b) the name of the manufacturer of the vehicle;

  • (c) the date on which the vehicle is to be presented for importation;

  • (d) the prescribed class, make, model, model year and vehicle identification number of the vehicle;

  • (e) the status of the vehicle;

  • (f) the month and year of the date of manufacture of the vehicle; and

  • (g) a statement indicating that the vehicle bears an information label or compliance label, as the case may be, or, if the importer is an individual, a statement from the manufacturer that the vehicle conformed to the standards — prescribed under these Regulations — that were applicable on the date of manufacture.

• (2) Despite subsection (1), a person that imports at least 2,500 vehicles annually is not required to provide the information referred to in subsection (1) unless the Minister makes a written request and, in that case, the person must provide that information to the Minister within 30 days after the day on which the request is made.

• (3) Subsection 5(3) of the Act does not apply to a vehicle sold at the retail level in the United States or a prescribed vehicle from Mexico, if the vehicle does not meet the condition set out in paragraph 7(2)(a) of the Act.

• (4) A company that imports a vehicle under subsection 5(3) of the Act must provide the Minister, before importation, with the information referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) to (d) and the following information:

  • (a) a list of the applicable requirements of these Regulations to which the vehicle does not conform;

  • (b) a statement from the manufacturer that completed the main assembly of the vehicle indicating that the vehicle, when completed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, will conform to the standards — prescribed under these Regulations — that were applicable on the date of manufacture;

  • (c) a statement indicating that the vehicle will be completed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions; and

  • (d) the name of the company that will complete the vehicle.

Vehicles Imported Temporarily for Special Purposes

11.1 For the purposes of paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Act, the prescribed purposes for which a vehicle may be imported temporarily are the following:

• (a) exhibition;

• (b) demonstration;

• (c) evaluation;

• (d) testing;

• (e) further manufacturing prior to export;

• (f) the conducting of works or operations that require a specially designed vehicle for entertainment industry productions, civil engineering projects or similar works or operations;

• (g) in the case of an armoured vehicle, use by a law enforcement agency; and

• (h) in the case of a vehicle that is licensed in the United States, a visit to Canada by its owner, if the owner has a residential address in Canada and is the holder of a driver’s licence issued in Canada.

11.2 For the purposes of paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Act, a vehicle imported temporarily for special purposes must have a vehicle identification number that conforms to the requirements of section 115 of Schedule IV or, if there is no vehicle identification number, a serial number.

• 11.3 (1) The declaration referred to in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Act must be filed with the Minister, be signed by the person importing the vehicle and contain the following information:

  • (a) the vehicle identification number or, if there is no vehicle identification number, the serial number;

  • (b) the importer’s name, mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number and email address and, if the importer is a company, the contact information of a contact person at the company;

  • (c) the date on which the vehicle is to be presented for importation;

  • (d) the name of the manufacturer of the vehicle;

  • (e) the month and year of the date of manufacture;

  • (f) the type of vehicle;

  • (g) the prescribed class, make, model and model year of the vehicle;

  • (h) the purpose for which the vehicle is being imported and a statement that it will be used only for that purpose;

  • (i) a statement indicating that the vehicle will remain in Canada for a period of not more than one year or the period specified by the Minister, as applicable;

  • (j) a statement indicating that the vehicle will be exported or destroyed before the end of the one-year period or the period specified by the Minister, as applicable;

  • (k) a statement that the vehicle conforms to the requirements of section 11.2; and

  • (l) if the declaration is signed by a representative, a statement by the importer indicating that the representative is authorized to sign.

• (2) Despite subsection (1), a person that imports at least 2,500 vehicles annually is not required to include the information referred to in paragraphs (1)(a), (c), (e) to (g) and (k) in the declaration but must provide that information to the Minister within 30 days after the day on which a written request is made by the Minister.

11.4 For the purposes of subsection 7(1.02) of the Act, a person that imports a vehicle imported temporarily for special purposes may donate the vehicle to a public museum or to an educational institution designated by the Canada Revenue Agency, under the terms of an agreement that describes how the recipient will ensure that the vehicle will not be driven or drawn on public roads.

11.5 A person who imports fewer than 2,500 vehicles annually must provide, as applicable, evidence of the exportation, destruction or donation of any vehicle imported temporarily for special purposes to the Minister within 30 days after the day on which the period referred to paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Act ends.

Vehicles Imported Under Subsections 7(2) and (2.1) of the Act

General

• 12 (1) The person designated for the purposes of subsections 7(2) and (2.1) of the Act is the entity with which the Department of Transport has entered into a contract to operate the national program for the registration, inspection and certification of imported vehicles, known as the registrar of imported vehicles.

• (2) For the purposes of subsections 7(2) and (2.1) of the Act, a passenger car, multi-purpose passenger vehicle, truck or bus that is a “used vehicle” as defined in Article 2.1 of Chapter 2 of CUSMA is a prescribed vehicle from Mexico.

Vehicles Sold at the Retail Level in the United States and Prescribed Vehicles from Mexico

• 12.1 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 7(2)(a) of the Act, the prescribed requirements that a vehicle sold at the retail level in the United States or a prescribed vehicle from Mexico must meet are the following:

  • (a) in the case of a vehicle sold at the retail level in the United States — other than a restricted-use vehicle or a snowmobile — or a prescribed vehicle from Mexico, the vehicle conformed to the federal laws of the United States that were applicable on the date of manufacture, as indicated

    • (i) by the vehicle’s American compliance label, or

    • (ii) in a statement from the manufacturer of the vehicle or, if there is more than one manufacturer, from each manufacturer indicating that the vehicle conformed to the requirements of Parts 541, 565, 571 and 581, chapter V, Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations of the United States that were applicable on the date of manufacture;

  • (b) in the case of a snowmobile sold at the retail level in the United States, it conformed to the standards published by the Snowmobile Safety and Certification Committee, Inc. that were applicable on the date of manufacture, as indicated

    • (i) on the Snowmobile Safety and Certification Committee, Inc. certification label,

    • (ii) in a statement from the manufacturer indicating that the snowmobile was certified by the Snowmobile Safety and Certification Committee, Inc., or

    • (iii) in a statement from the manufacturer indicating that the snowmobile conformed to the standards referred to in section 1201 of Schedule VI on the date of manufacture; and

  • (c) in the case of a restricted-use vehicle designed to travel on two or four wheels and sold at the retail level in the United States, it conformed to the requirements of sections 108 and 115 of Schedule IV on the date of manufacture.

• (2) For the purposes of paragraph 7(2)(b) of the Act, the prescribed requirements that a vehicle sold at the retail level in the United States or a prescribed vehicle from Mexico must meet to be certified by the registrar of imported vehicles are the following:

  • (a) any defect or non-compliance with respect to the vehicle’s design, construction or functioning that was the subject of a notice of defect or non-compliance was corrected;

  • (b) the vehicle conforms to the requirements of subsections 101(4) and (6) and sections 102 and 108 of Schedule IV;

  • (c) the vehicle conforms to the requirements of subsection 114(4) of Schedule IV or was fitted with an electronic immobilization system on the date of manufacture or is fitted with an immobilization system that conforms to the National Standard of Canada CAN/ULC-S338-98, entitled Automobile Theft Deterrent Equipment and Systems: Electronic Immobilization (May, 1998), published by the Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada;

  • (d) in the case of a vehicle equipped with a fuel system that uses LPG as a source of energy for its propulsion, it conforms to the requirements of section 301.1 of Schedule IV;

  • (e) in the case of a vehicle equipped with a fuel system that uses CNG as a source of energy for its propulsion, it conforms to the requirements of section 301.2 of Schedule IV;

  • (f) in the case of a school bus, it conforms to the requirements of section 111 of Schedule IV and, if applicable, section 301.1 or 301.2 of that Schedule;

  • (g) in the case of a truck or multi-purpose passenger vehicle, it conforms to the requirements of section 111 of Schedule IV;

  • (h) in the case of a trailer with a GVWR greater than 4 536 kg, it conforms to the requirements of section 905 of Schedule IV;

  • (i) in the case of a low-speed vehicle, it conforms to the requirements of section 500 of Schedule IV;

  • (j) in the case of a C-dolly, it conforms to the requirements of section 903 of Schedule IV; and

  • (k) in the case of an enclosed motorcycle, motor tricycle, limited-speed motorcycle or three-wheeled vehicle, it conforms to the applicable requirements of Schedule IV.

• 12.2 (1) The declaration referred to in paragraph 7(2)(b) of the Act, made by a person who imports a vehicle sold at the retail level in the United States or a prescribed vehicle from Mexico, must be signed by that person and contain the following information:

  • (a) the vehicle identification number;

  • (b) the importer’s name, mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number and email address and, if the importer is a company, the contact information of a contact person at the company;

  • (c) the date on which the vehicle is to be presented for importation;

  • (d) the name of the manufacturer of the vehicle;

  • (e) the type of vehicle;

  • (f) the make, model and model year of the vehicle;

  • (g) the status of the vehicle; and

  • (h) a statement indicating

    • (i) in the case of a vehicle whose status is salvage and repairable or an equivalent status, that, within one year after the day on which it is imported, the vehicle will be brought into conformity with the applicable requirements of subsection 12.1(2), will be taken to the registrar of imported vehicles for inspection and will not be presented for registration under the laws of a province unless a Canadian certification label is issued in respect of the vehicle by the registrar of imported vehicles, or

    • (ii) in any other case, that, within 45 days after the day on which it is imported, the vehicle will be brought into conformity with the applicable requirements of subsection 12.1(2), will be taken to the registrar of imported vehicles for inspection and will not be presented for registration under the laws of a province unless a Canadian certification label is issued in respect of the vehicle by the registrar of imported vehicles.

• (2) In the case of a vehicle sold at the retail level in the United States, the declaration must also contain the following information:

  • (a) a statement indicating that the vehicle was sold at the retail level in the United States;

  • (b) in the case of a vehicle other than a restricted-use vehicle or snowmobile, a statement indicating that the vehicle bears an American compliance label or a statement from the manufacturer indicating that the vehicle conformed to the requirements of Parts 541, 565, 571 and 581, chapter V, Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations of the United States that were applicable on the date of manufacture;

  • (c) in the case of a snowmobile, a statement indicating that it bears a Snowmobile Safety and Certification Committee, Inc. certification label or a statement from the manufacturer indicating that the snowmobile was certified by the Snowmobile Safety and Certification Committee, Inc. or that the snowmobile conformed to the standards referred to in section 1201 of Schedule VI on the date of manufacture; and

  • (d) the month and year of the date of manufacture.

• (3) In the case of a prescribed vehicle from Mexico, the declaration must also contain the following information:

  • (a) the odometer reading;

  • (b) the name of the country in which the vehicle was last registered for use on public roads;

  • (c) a statement indicating that the vehicle bears an American compliance label or a statement from the manufacturer indicating that the vehicle conformed to the requirements of Parts 541, 565, 571 and 581, chapter V, Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations of the United States that were applicable on the date of manufacture; and

  • (d) the month and year of the date of manufacture.