Customs Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. 1 (2nd Supp.))

Marginal note:Agents

• 10 (1) Subject to the regulations, any person who is duly authorized to do so may transact business under this Act as the agent of another person, but an officer may refuse to transact business with any such person unless that person, on the request of the officer, produces a written authority, in a form approved by the Minister, from the person on whose behalf he is acting.

• Marginal note:Administrators

  (2) Any person who is duly authorized to administer the estate of another person by reason of death, bankruptcy, insolvency or incapacity or for any other reason may transact business under this Act on behalf of the estate but an officer may refuse to transact business with any such person unless that person satisfies the officer that he is duly authorized to administer the estate.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (3) The Governor in Council may make regulations in respect of any provision of this Act prescribing the circumstances in which a person may transact business under that provision as the agent of another person.

PART IIImportation

Persons

Marginal note:Presentation of persons on arrival in Canada

• 11 (1) Subject to this section, every person arriving in Canada shall, except in such circumstances and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, enter Canada only at a customs office designated for that purpose that is open for business and without delay present himself or herself to an officer and answer truthfully any questions asked by the officer in the performance of his or her duties under this or any other Act of Parliament.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any person who has presented himself or herself outside Canada at a customs office designated for that purpose and has not subsequently stopped at any other place prior to his or her arrival in Canada unless an officer requires that person to present himself or herself to the officer.

• Marginal note:Presentation of passengers and crew

  (3) Subject to this section, every person in charge of a conveyance arriving in Canada shall, except in such circumstances and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, ensure that the passengers and crew are forthwith on arrival in Canada transported to a customs office referred to in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Exception

  (4) Subsection (3) does not apply to any person in charge of a conveyance transporting passengers and crew all of whom have presented themselves outside Canada at a customs office designated for that purpose and have not subsequently stopped at any other place prior to their arrival in Canada unless an officer requires that person to comply therewith.

• Marginal note:Entry and departure

  (5) Subject to the regulations, subsections (1) and (3) do not apply to any of the following persons, unless an officer requires them to comply with those subsections:

  • (a) a person who enters Canadian waters, including the inland waters, or the airspace over Canada on board a conveyance directly from outside Canada and then leaves Canada on board the conveyance, as long as the person was continuously on board that conveyance while in Canada and

    • (i) in the case of a conveyance other than an aircraft, the person did not land in Canada and the conveyance did not anchor, moor or make contact with another conveyance while in Canadian waters, including the inland waters, or

    • (ii) in the case of an aircraft, the conveyance did not land while in Canada; and

  • (b) a person who leaves Canadian waters, including the inland waters, or the airspace over Canada on board a conveyance and then re-enters Canada on board the conveyance, as long as the person was continuously on board that conveyance while outside Canada and

    • (i) in the case of a conveyance other than an aircraft, the person did not land outside Canada and the conveyance did not anchor, moor or make contact with another conveyance while outside Canada, or

    • (ii) in the case of an aircraft, the conveyance did not land while outside Canada.

• Marginal note:Exception — alternative manner

  (6) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who

  • (a) holds an authorization issued by the Minister under subsection 11.1(1) to present himself or herself in a prescribed alternative manner and who presents himself or herself in the manner authorized for that person; or

  • (b) is a member of a prescribed class of persons authorized by regulations made under subsection 11.1(3) to present himself or herself in a prescribed alternative manner and who presents himself or herself in the manner authorized for that class.

• Marginal note:Powers of officer

  (7) Notwithstanding that a person holds an authorization under subsection 11.1(1) or is authorized under the regulations made under subsection 11.1(3), an officer may require a person to present himself or herself in accordance with subsection (1).

Marginal note:Minister may authorize

• 11.1 (1) Subject to the regulations, the Minister may issue to any person an authorization to present himself or herself in an alternative manner.

• Marginal note:Amendment, etc., of authorization

  (2) The Minister may, subject to the regulations, amend, suspend, renew, cancel or reinstate an authorization.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (3) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) prescribing classes of persons who are, and classes of persons who may be, authorized to present themselves in alternative manners;

  • (b) respecting alternative manners of presentation;

  • (c) respecting the requirements and conditions that are to be met before authorizations may be issued;

  • (d) respecting the terms and conditions of authorizations;

  • (e) respecting the amendment, suspension, renewal, cancellation or reinstatement of authorizations; and

  • (f) respecting fees or the manner of determining fees to be paid for authorizations.

• Marginal note:Service Fees Act

  (4) The Service Fees Act does not apply to a fee for an authorization issued under this section if it is a reciprocal fee under an international arrangement.

Marginal note:Designation of customs controlled areas

• 11.2 (1) The Minister may designate an area as a customs controlled area for the purposes of this section and sections 11.3 to 11.5 and 99.2 and 99.3.

• Marginal note:Amendment, etc. of designation

  (2) The Minister may amend, cancel or reinstate at any time a designation made under this section.

Marginal note:Entry prohibited

• 11.3 (1) No owner or operator of a facility where a customs controlled area is located shall grant or allow to be granted access to the customs controlled area to any person unless the person

  • (a) has been authorized by the Minister; or

  • (b) is a prescribed person or a member of a prescribed class of persons.

• Marginal note:Amendment, etc., of authorization

  (2) The Minister may amend, suspend, renew, cancel or reinstate an authorization.

Marginal note:Presentation and reporting — when leaving customs controlled area

• 11.4 (1) Subject to subsection (2), every person who is leaving a customs controlled area shall, if requested to do so by an officer,

  • (a) present himself or herself in the prescribed manner to an officer and identify himself or herself;

  • (b) report in the prescribed manner any goods that he or she has acquired through any means while in the customs controlled area;

  • (b.1) present those goods and remove any covering from them, unload any conveyance or open any part of it, or open or unpack any package or container that an officer wishes to examine; and

  • (c) answer truthfully any questions asked by an officer in the performance of his or her duties under this or any other Act of Parliament.

• Marginal note:Presentation and reporting — within customs controlled area

  (1.1) Every person who is in a customs controlled area shall, if requested to do so by an officer,

  • (a) present himself or herself in the prescribed manner to an officer and identify himself or herself; and

  • (b) answer truthfully any questions asked by an officer in the performance of his or her duties under this or any other Act of Parliament.

• Marginal note:Non-application of subsections (1) and (1.1)

  (2) Subsections (1) and (1.1) do not apply to persons who are required to present themselves under section 11 or report goods under section 12.

Marginal note:Regulations

11.5 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) prescribing the persons or classes of persons who may be granted access under paragraph 11.3(1)(b); and

• (b) respecting the manner in which a person must present himself or herself under paragraphs 11.4(1)(a) and (1.1)(a) and report goods under paragraph 11.4(1)(b).

• (c) to (e) [Repealed, 2009, c. 10, s. 4]

Marginal note:Designation of mixed-traffic corridor

• 11.6 (1) If the Minister considers that it is necessary in the public interest, he or she may designate as a mixed-traffic corridor a portion of a roadway or other access way that

  • (a) leads from an international border to a customs office designated under section 5; and

  • (b) is used by persons arriving in Canada and by persons travelling within Canada.

• Marginal note:Amendment, etc., of designation

  (2) The Minister may amend, cancel or reinstate at any time a designation made under this section.

Marginal note:Person travelling in mixed-traffic corridor

11.7 Every person who is travelling in a mixed-traffic corridor shall present themselves to an officer at the nearest customs office and state whether they are arriving from a location outside or within Canada.

Report of Goods

Marginal note:Report

• 12 (1) Subject to this section, all goods that are imported shall, except in such circumstances and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, be reported at the nearest customs office designated for that purpose that is open for business.

• Marginal note:Time and manner of report

  (2) Goods shall be reported under subsection (1) at such time and in such manner as the Governor in Council may prescribe.

• Marginal note:Who reports

  (3) Goods shall be reported under subsection (1)

  • (a) in the case of goods in the actual possession of a person arriving in Canada, or that form part of the person’s baggage where the person and the person’s baggage are being carried on board the same conveyance, by that person or, in prescribed circumstances, by the person in charge of the conveyance;

  • (a.1) in the case of goods imported by courier or as mail, by the person who exported the goods to Canada;

  • (b) in the case of goods, other than goods referred to in paragraph (a) or goods imported as mail, on board a conveyance arriving in Canada, by the person in charge of the conveyance; and

  • (c) in any other case, by the person on behalf of whom the goods are imported.

• Marginal note:Goods returned to Canada

  (3.1) For greater certainty, for the purposes of the reporting of goods under subsection (1), the return of goods to Canada after they are taken out of Canada is an importation of those goods.

• Marginal note:Where goods are reported outside Canada

  (4) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of goods that are reported in the manner prescribed under subsection (2) prior to importation at a customs office outside Canada unless an officer requires that the goods be reported again under subsection (1) after importation.

• Marginal note:Exception — entry and departure

  (5) Subject to the regulations, unless an officer otherwise requires, this section does not apply in respect of goods on board a conveyance

  • (a) that enters Canadian waters, including the inland waters, or the airspace over Canada directly from outside Canada and then leaves Canada, as long as

    • (i) in the case of a conveyance other than an aircraft, the conveyance did not anchor, moor or make contact with another conveyance while in Canadian waters, including the inland waters, or

    • (ii) in the case of an aircraft, the conveyance did not land while in Canada; or

  • (b) that leaves Canadian waters, including the inland waters, or the airspace over Canada and then re-enters Canada, as long as

    • (i) in the case of a conveyance other than an aircraft, the conveyance did not anchor, moor or make contact with another conveyance while outside Canada, or

    • (ii) in the case of an aircraft, the conveyance did not land while outside Canada.

• Marginal note:Written report

  (6) If goods are required by the regulations to be reported under subsection (1) in writing, they shall be reported in the prescribed form with the prescribed information or in such form and with such information as is satisfactory to the Minister.

• Marginal note:Certain goods not subject to seizure

  (7) Goods described in tariff item No. 9813.00.00 or 9814.00.00 in the List of Tariff Provisions set out in the schedule to the Customs Tariff

  • (a) that are in the actual possession of a person arriving in Canada, or that form part of his baggage, where the person and his baggage are being carried on board the same conveyance,

  • (b) that are not charged with duties, and

  • (c) the importation of which is not prohibited under the Customs Tariff or prohibited, controlled or regulated under any Act of Parliament other than this Act or the Customs Tariff

  may not be seized as forfeit under this Act by reason only that they were not reported under this section.