Customs Notice 13-017

Ottawa, July 18, 2013

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Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Transforming Client Outreach

1. The purpose of this notice is to advise that:

• (a) The CBSA is transforming the service delivery model of its regional trade operations by consolidating activities and modernizing service delivery to better serve clients and achieve efficiencies and savings:
  • (i) Traditional client outreach services are no longer offered by senior officers trade compliance (SOTCs) in any region. As a result, SOTCs no longer provide walk-in counter service to the public, nor do they deliver seminars, information sessions or workshops, nor participate in trade shows.
  • (ii) Since April 1, 2013, trade services for all of Canada are provided through four regions: Quebec, Greater Toronto Area, Prairie and Pacific. The Atlantic and Northern Ontario regions no longer provide trade services.
• (b) Timely and relevant information will continue to be available to the trade and travel community through a number of channels:
  • (i) the CBSA Web site at www.cbsa.gc.ca;
  • (ii) the Small and Medium Enterprise Centre, which can be found at www.cbsa.gc.ca/sme-pme/menu-eng.html and by email at Contact@cbsa.gc.ca; and
  • (iii) the Border Information Service at 1-800-461-9999 (within Canada toll-free), 1-204-983-3500, 1-506-636-5064 (from outside Canada, long distance charges apply) or 1-866-335-3237 (TTY within Canada for those with hearing or speech impairments).
• (c) The CBSA is exploring opportunities afforded by technology to keep stakeholders informed. Over the coming year, the CBSA will enhance its Web site and develop self-service tools to provide the public with consistent, accurate and up-to-date information that will be available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
• (d) The four regional trade operations divisions in Quebec, GTA, Prairie and Pacific will continue to deliver trade services such as issuing advance rulings and national customs rulings and administering the trade incentives programs including duties relief, drawbacks, remissions and voluntary disclosures, as well as conducting compliance verifications. The trade services requests originating in the Atlantic Region should be forwarded to the Quebec Region for processing and requests originating in the Northern Ontario Region should be forwarded to the GTA Region. Clients can access a list of the mailing addresses for the regional trade operations divisions at: www.cbsa.gc.ca/sme-pme/cso-bsc-eng.html.

2. By re-defining how the Agency interacts with its clients, the CBSA can better focus its programs and services, streamline its internal operations, and achieve better results for Canadians. The CBSA remains committed to providing its clients with up-to-date information in the most user-friendly and cost-effective manner possible.

3. Client input is important as the CBSA develops its information-sharing tools. To convey your views, please visit the Agency’s Compliments, Comments and Complaints Web page at www.cbsa.gc.ca/contact/com-eng.html.

4. Commercial B2 adjustments resulting from compliance verifications or blanket claims pertaining to goods released from the Atlantic Region or the Northern Ontario Region should be forwarded to the applicable regional trade operations address at: www.cbsa.gc.ca/sme-pme/cso-bsc-eng.html.

5. Commercial B2 adjustments that report changes required to a tariff classification, origin, value for duty or tax status which are not the result of compliance verifications or blanket claims are to be forwarded to the applicable CBSA office set out in paragraphs 79-84 of Memorandum D17-1-5, Registration, Accounting and Payment for Commercial Goods.

6. Casual B2 adjustments for the refund of duties and taxes paid on non-commercial importations using the form B2G, CBSA Informal Adjustment Request, are to be forwarded to the applicable casual refund centre at: www.cbsa.gc.ca/contact/listing/indexpages/indextype29-e.html.

7. Please direct any questions regarding this notice to:

Rachel de Montigny-Williams
Acting Manager
Service Improvement Unit
Operations Branch
Canada Border Services Agency
191 Laurier Avenue West, 18th Floor,
Ottawa ON K1A 0L8

Email: Rachel.demontigny-williams@cbsa.gc.ca

or

Melody Kasak
Manager
Trade Operations Unit
Operations Branch
Canada Border Services Agency
191 Laurier Avenue West, 12th Floor,
Ottawa ON K1A 0L8

Email: Melody.Kasak@cbsa.gc.ca