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

Marginal note:Unclaimed goods forfeit

• 39 (1) Goods that have not been removed from a place of safe-keeping referred to in section 37 within such period of time after they were deposited therein as may be prescribed are, at the termination of that period of time, forfeit.

• Marginal note:Expenses of disposal

  (2) The importer of goods that are forfeit under subsection (1) and the owner of those goods at the time of forfeiture are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable for all reasonable expenses incurred by Her Majesty in right of Canada in the disposal of the goods if they are disposed of otherwise than by sale.

Goods of a Prescribed Class

Marginal note:Goods forfeit if not removed

• 39.1 (1) Goods of a prescribed class that have not been removed from a customs office, sufferance warehouse or duty free shop within such period of time as may be prescribed are, at the end of that period of time, forfeit.

• Marginal note:Goods in bonded warehouse forfeit if not removed

  (2) Goods of a class prescribed by regulations made under subparagraph 99(f)(xii) of the Customs Tariff that have not been removed from a bonded warehouse within such period of time as may be prescribed by regulations made under subparagraph 99(f)(xi) of that Act are, at the end of that period of time, forfeit.

Records

Marginal note:Importers’ records

• 40 (1) Every person who imports goods or causes goods to be imported for sale or for any industrial, occupational, commercial, institutional or other like use or any other use that may be prescribed shall keep at the person’s place of business in Canada or at any other place that may be designated by the Minister any records in respect of those goods in any manner and for any period of time that may be prescribed and shall, where an officer so requests, make them available to the officer, within the time specified by the officer, and answer truthfully any questions asked by the officer in respect of the records.

• Marginal note:Minister’s request

  (2) If, in the opinion of the Minister, a person has not kept records in accordance with subsection (1), the Minister may request that person to comply with that subsection in respect of the records.

• Marginal note:Requirement to keep records

  (3) The following persons shall keep at their place of business or at any other place that may be designated by the Minister the prescribed records with respect to the prescribed goods, in the manner and for the period that may be prescribed, and shall, where an officer requests, make them available to the officer, within the time specified by the officer, and answer truthfully any questions asked by the officer in respect of the records:

  • (a) a person who is granted a licence under section 24;

  • (b) a person who receives goods authorized for delivery to the person’s place of business in the circumstances set out in paragraph 32(2)(b);

  • (c) a person who is authorized under paragraph 32(6)(a) or subsection 32(7) to account for goods;

  • (d) a person who is granted a certificate under section 90 of the Customs Tariff; and

  • (e) a person who is granted a licence under section 91 of that Act.

• Marginal note:Minister’s request

  (4) Where, in the opinion of the Minister, a person has not kept records in respect of goods in accordance with subsection (3), the Minister may request that person to comply with that subsection in respect of the goods.

Marginal note:Detention of goods

• 41 (1) Any goods imported by or on behalf of a person to whom a request is made under subsection 40(2) at any time after the request is made may be detained by an officer at the expense of that person until the request is complied with.

• Marginal note:Disposition of detained goods

  (2) Goods that are detained under subsection (1) may be deposited in a place of safe-keeping in accordance with subsection 37(1) as if they were unclaimed and may be dealt with thereafter under sections 37 to 39.

Definition of dwelling-house

• 42 (1) In this section, dwelling-house means the whole or any part of a building or structure that is kept or occupied as a permanent or temporary residence, and includes

  • (a) a building within the curtilage of a dwelling-house that is connected to it by a doorway or by a covered and enclosed passageway; and

  • (b) a unit that is designed to be mobile and to be used as a permanent or temporary residence and that is being used as such a residence.

• Marginal note:Inspections

  (2) An officer, or an officer within a class of officers, designated by the President for the purposes of this section, may at all reasonable times, for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act,

  • (a) inspect, audit or examine any record of a person that relates or may relate to the information that is or should be in the records of the person or to any amount paid or payable under this Act;

  • (b) examine property in an inventory of a person and any property or process of, or matter relating to, the person, an examination of which may assist the officer in determining the accuracy of the inventory of the person or in ascertaining the information that is or should be in the records of the person or any amount paid or payable by the person under this Act;

  • (c) subject to subsection (3), enter any premises or place where any business is carried on, any property is kept, anything is done in connection with any business or any records are or should be kept; and

  • (d) require the owner or manager of the property or business and any other person on the premises or place to give the officer all reasonable assistance and to answer truthfully any question, and, for that purpose, require the owner, manager or other person designated by the owner or manager to attend at the premises or place with the officer.

• Marginal note:Prior authorization

  (3) If any premises or place referred to in paragraph (2)(c) is a dwelling-house, an officer may not enter that dwelling-house without the consent of the occupant except under the authority of a warrant under subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Warrant

  (4) On ex parte application by the Minister, a judge may issue a warrant authorizing an officer to enter a dwelling-house subject to the conditions that may be specified in the warrant, if the judge is satisfied by information on oath that

  • (a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the dwelling-house is a premises or place referred to in paragraph (2)(c);

  • (b) entry into the dwelling-house is necessary; and

  • (c) entry into the dwelling-house has been, or there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry into the dwelling-house will be, refused.

• Marginal note:Other access to document

  (5) If the judge is not satisfied that entry into that dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act but is satisfied that access to a document or property that is or should be kept in the dwelling-house has been or may be expected to be refused, the judge may

  • (a) order the occupant of the dwelling-house to provide the officer with reasonable access to any document or property; and

  • (b) make any other order that is appropriate in the circumstances to carry out the purposes of this Act.

Verifications

Marginal note:Methods of verification

42.01 An officer, or an officer within a class of officers, designated by the President for the purposes of this section may conduct a verification of origin (other than a verification of origin referred to in section 42.1), verification of tariff classification or verification of value for duty in respect of imported goods in the manner that is prescribed and may for that purpose at all reasonable times enter any prescribed premises.

Verifications under a Free Trade Agreement

Origin of Goods, Duty Relief and Drawback

Marginal note:Methods of verification

• 42.1 (1) Any officer, or any officer within a class of officers, designated by the President for the purposes of this section, or any person, or any person within a class of persons, designated by the President to act on behalf of such an officer, may, subject to the prescribed conditions,

  • (a) conduct a verification of origin of goods for which preferential tariff treatment under a free trade agreement, other than a free trade agreement referred to in subsection (1.1), is claimed

    • (i) by entering any prescribed premises or place at any reasonable time, or

    • (ii) in the prescribed manner;

  • (b) enter any prescribed premises or place at any reasonable time to verify the amount, if any, of

    • (i) a relief under section 89 of the Customs Tariff from the payment of any duties payable in respect of imported goods that are subsequently exported to a NAFTA country, or

    • (ii) a drawback under section 113 of the Customs Tariff of duties paid in respect of imported goods that are subsequently exported to a NAFTA country; or

  • (c) enter any prescribed premises or place at any reasonable time to verify the amount, if any, of

    • (i) a relief under section 89 of the Customs Tariff from the payment of any duties payable in respect of imported goods that are subsequently exported to a CUSMA country, or

    • (ii) a drawback under section 113 of the Customs Tariff of duties paid in respect of imported goods that are subsequently exported to a CUSMA country.

• Marginal note:Method of verification — certain agreements

  (1.1) Any officer, or any officer within a class of officers, designated by the President for the purposes of this section, or any person, or any person within a class of persons, designated by the President to act on behalf of such an officer, may, subject to any prescribed conditions, conduct any of the following:

  • (a) a verification of origin of goods for which preferential tariff treatment under CEFTA is claimed, by requesting in writing that the customs administration of the EFTA state of export conduct a verification and provide an opinion as to whether the goods are originating within the meaning of Annex C of CEFTA;

  • (a.1) a verification of origin of goods for which preferential tariff treatment under CUFTA 2017 is claimed, by requesting in writing that the customs administration of Ukraine conduct a verification and provide a written report as to whether the goods are originating within the meaning of Chapter 3 of CUFTA 2017;

  • (b) a verification of origin of goods for which preferential tariff treatment under CUFTA is claimed, by requesting in writing that the customs administration of Ukraine conduct a verification and provide a written report as to whether the goods are originating within the meaning of Chapter 3 of CUFTA;

  • (c) a verification of origin of goods for which preferential tariff treatment under CETA is claimed, by requesting in writing that the customs administration of the EU country or other CETA beneficiary of export conduct a verification and provide a written report as to whether the goods are originating within the meaning of the Protocol on Rules of Origin and Origin Procedures of CETA; and

  • (d) a verification of origin of goods for which preferential tariff treatment under CUKTCA is claimed, by requesting in writing that the customs administration of the CUKTCA beneficiary of export conduct a verification and provide a written report as to whether the goods are originating within the meaning of the Protocol on Rules of Origin and Origin Procedures of CETA as incorporated by reference in CUKTCA.

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of preferential tariff treatment

  (2) If an exporter, producer or prescribed importer of goods that are subject to a verification of origin under paragraph (1)(a) fails to comply with the prescribed requirements or, in the case of a verification of origin under subparagraph (1)(a)(i), does not consent to the verification of origin in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed time, preferential tariff treatment under a free trade agreement, other than a free trade agreement referred to in subsection (1.1), may be denied or withdrawn from the goods.

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of preferential tariff treatment under CEFTA

  (3) Preferential tariff treatment under a free trade agreement referred to in subsection (1.1) may be denied or withdrawn from the goods in any of the following circumstances:

  • (a) in the case of CEFTA, if the EFTA state of export fails to conduct a verification or provide an opinion as to whether the goods are originating;

  • (a.01) in the case of CUFTA 2017, if Ukraine fails to conduct a verification or provide a written report as to whether the goods are originating;

  • (a.1) in the case of CUFTA, if Ukraine fails to conduct a verification or provide a written report as to whether the goods are originating;

  • (a.2) in the case of CETA, if the EU country or other CETA beneficiary of export fails to conduct a verification or provide a written report as to whether the goods are originating;

  • (a.3) in the case of CUKTCA, if the CUKTCA beneficiary of export fails to conduct a verification or provide a written report as to whether the goods are originating;

  • (b) if an officer or other person designated under subsection (1.1) is unable to determine whether the goods are originating; or

  • (c) in any other prescribed circumstances.

Statement of Origin

Marginal note:Statement of origin

• 42.2 (1) On completion of a verification of origin under paragraph 42.1(1)(a), an officer designated under subsection 42.1(1) shall provide the exporter, producer or prescribed importer whose goods are subject to the verification of origin with a statement as to whether the goods are eligible, under the Customs Tariff, for the preferential tariff treatment that was claimed.

• Marginal note:Basis of statement

  (2) A statement referred to in subsection (1) must include any findings of fact or law on which it was based.

Effective Date of Re-determination of Origin

Definition of customs administration

• 42.3 (1) In this section, customs administration has the meaning assigned to that expression by Article 514 of NAFTA, Article E-14 of CCFTA, Article V.14 of CCRFTA or Article 5.1 of CHFTA, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Effective date of redetermination or further redetermination of origin of goods

  (2) Subject to subsection (4), a redetermination or further redetermination of origin does not take effect until notice of it is given to the importer of the goods and any person who completed and signed a Certificate of Origin for the goods if the result of the redetermination or further redetermination of origin made under subsection 59(1) in respect of goods for which preferential tariff treatment under NAFTA, CCFTA, CCRFTA or CHFTA is claimed and that are the subject of a verification of origin under this Act is that

  • (a) the goods are not eligible for that preferential tariff treatment on the basis of the tariff classification or value of one or more materials used in their production; and

  • (b) that tariff classification or value differs from the tariff classification or value applied to those materials by the NAFTA country from which the goods were exported, from Chile, from Costa Rica or from Honduras, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (3) A redetermination or further redetermination of origin referred to in subsection (2) shall not be applied to goods imported before the date on which the notice was given if the customs administration of the NAFTA country from which the goods were exported, of Chile, of Costa Rica or of Honduras, as the case may be, has, before that date,

  • (a) given an advance ruling under Article 509 of NAFTA, Article E-09 of CCFTA, Article V.9 of CCRFTA, paragraph 1 of Article 5.10 or paragraph 11 of Article 6.2 of CHFTA as the case may be, or given another ruling referred to in paragraph 12 of Article 506 of NAFTA, paragraph 12 of Article E-06 of CCFTA, paragraph 15 of Article V.6 of CCRFTA, or paragraph 15 of Article 5.7 of CHFTA, as the case may be, on the tariff classification or value of the materials referred to in subsection (2); or

  • (b) given consistent treatment with respect to the tariff classification or value of the materials referred to in subsection (2) on their importation into the NAFTA country, Chile, Costa Rica or Honduras, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Postponement of effective date

  (4) The date on which a redetermination or further redetermination of origin referred to in subsection (2) takes effect shall be postponed for a period not exceeding ninety days if the importer of the goods that are the subject of the redetermination or further redetermination or any person who completed and signed a Certificate of Origin for the goods establishes to the satisfaction of the Minister that the importer or the person, as the case may be, has relied in good faith, to the detriment of the importer or person, on the tariff classification or value applied to the materials referred to in that subsection by the customs administration of the NAFTA country from which the goods were exported, of Chile, Costa Rica or of Honduras, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Effect of detrimental reliance under CEFTA

  (5) If an exporter of goods from an EFTA state demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Minister, that it has relied, in good faith and to its detriment, on a ruling made by the Agency or the customs administration of an EFTA state with respect to the tariff classification or value of a non-originating material used in the production of goods, a redetermination of origin by the Agency in respect of goods for which preferential tariff treatment under CEFTA is claimed shall apply only to importations of the goods made after the date of the redetermination.