Duty deferral

Duty deferral

The Duty Deferral Program aims to improve the competitiveness of Canadian businesses by offering relief from the payment of most duties and taxes on imported goods that are ultimately exported, whether or not the goods are further manufactured in Canada. 

This program groups three sub-programs through which businesses can defer, relieve or refund the payment of duties on imported goods. These sub-programs are the following:

• the Duties Relief Program
• the Drawback Program
• the Customs Bonded Warehouse Program

You can use these three programs individually or in combination in the way that best suits your business needs. If you like, you can even move goods between programs without paying duties.

The Duty Deferral Program offers Canadian businesses many of the same duty and tax incentives as those in free trade zones around the world. For example, you don't have to pay duties and taxes on imported goods that you plan to export, even if these goods undergo a wide range of processing and manufacturing activities while you have them.

You can bring goods into Canada and store them tax- and duty-free until they are delivered in the Canadian market. If you have already paid duties and taxes on imported goods, you can use the Drawback Program to ask for a refund for goods imported within the last four years, as long as the goods have been exported from Canada. Finally, the Duty Deferral Program is portable and has no geographic restrictions. This means that you get to pick the most competitive and advantageous location for your business needs.

Review each option to find out the unique advantages for your business and which one best suits your needs. Using these programs may be a sound business move, enabling you to lower your costs and improve your cash flow.

As you know, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) affects the duty deferral programs offered by any NAFTA partner.

Want to know more?

To learn more about the Duty Deferral Program, visit the Canada Border Services Agency Web site or contact a trade compliance officer through the Border Information Service at 1-800-461-9999 for service in English and 1-800-959-2036 for service in French.

Technical Assistance

To access the Portable Document Format (PDF) version you must have a PDF reader installed. If you do not already have such a reader, there are numerous PDF readers available for free download or for purchase such as:

• Adobe Reader
• Foxit Reader
• Xpdf
• eXPert PDF Reader

If you have difficulty accessing a document in PDF format, please contact:

Publishing Services
Canada Border Services Agency
E-mail: Publishing.publication@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
Ottawa ON  K1A 0L8
Canada

By telephone or TTY