Examining your shipment

You may not experience this step in the import process - we do not examine all shipments before releasing them. Under the Customs Act we have the authority to randomly select shipments for examination to verify compliance or to take samples in reasonable amounts. The frequency of examinations will depend on your compliance record and that of other persons or organizations involved with the shipment as well as the type of goods you are importing.

Why does the Canada Border Services Agency examine goods?

We may choose to examine your shipment for several reasons:

• to detect prohibited or restricted items (e.g., pornography, narcotics) or smuggled goods;
• to fulfil other government departments' legislative requirements (e.g., meat inspection, import permits); or
• to ensure the goods comply with customs legislation (i.e., to verify their description, value, quantity, and marking against the invoice information).

Offload policy for highway examinations

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has introduced a new offload policy for commercial highway shipments. According to this new policy, the CBSA has contracted an examination service provider who will offload and reload cargo that has been targeted for a customs examination.

Information Notice - Offload Policy for Highway Examinations