CBSA spells out container reporting rules for highway carriers, with a separate cargo control document for each container

The Canada Border Services Agency has issued a customs notice setting out how carriers must report cargo containers through its Advance Commercial Information (ACI)/eManifest system.

Customs Notice 26-25, dated October 30, covers full containers, empty containers and containers that are part of consolidated shipments. CBSA says the purpose is to make sure every container is properly reported so the agency can do its risk assessments before the goods arrive.

What highway carriers have to send

For highway and rail, a container carrying cargo must have its container number included in the ACI cargo transmission for each shipment.

Some containers are empty shipper- or importer-owned equipment registered under an "Ottawa file" or a container bank number, such as tanks, pallets, racks, bins or totes used to move goods across the border. For those, carriers must report exception code 02 on the conveyance data.

Containers that are being imported into Canada to be sold are treated differently. CBSA says they are not containers in international commercial transportation. Each one needs its own ACI cargo transmission and must be released and accounted for with duties and taxes.

Listing an imported container's number inside the shipment's cargo transmission is not enough, the notice says, and penalties may apply.

In every scenario in the notice, CBSA says a separate cargo control document is required for each container. Carriers and freight forwarders that don't comply may face enforcement action or penalties under the Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS).

The one-hour clock still applies

The notice sits on top of the timing rules every highway carrier already works under.

Under CBSA's highway memorandum D3-4-2, cargo and conveyance data must be received and validated no later than one hour before the truck arrives at the first port of arrival. Data that arrives later is still accepted, but the carrier gets an "insufficient review time" warning and AMPS penalties may apply.

CBSA's guidance for highway carriers adds two points that affect how loads are dispatched.

First, corrections must be sent as soon as a carrier knows about them, including a change of port of entry. Drivers cannot use a different crossing unless the ACI is updated first.

Second, sending a correction does not restart the one-hour clock. Only cancelling and resubmitting the transmission does.

CBSA lists invalid tractor or trailer plate numbers, unclear cargo descriptions and late data among the errors that can draw penalties.

Where fleet software fits

Carriers can send ACI through electronic data interchange (EDI), through a service provider or through CBSA's eManifest Portal. CBSA says carriers that use EDI or a service provider can get a free portal account to check the status of their shipments.

Some Canadian carriers haul loads with their own trucks and also broker loads to other carriers. Prism TMS is transportation management software with a setup for that kind of operation: its website says teams that run both get separate asset and brokerage desks in the same platform. On the brokerage side, it says a carrier's insurance and authority are checked before a load is booked and carriers with expired paperwork are flagged. On the fleet side, it lists driver, truck and trailer assignments for company loads, and it works in Canadian and U.S. dollars.

The Prism website does not describe ACI or eManifest filing tools, so the transmission itself would still go through EDI, a service provider or the CBSA portal.

CBSA's notice does not set a new start date. It refers carriers to the existing highway, rail, marine and freight forwarder memoranda for the details of how to report.

Questions about the notice can go to the CBSA Border Information Service at 1-800-461-9999.