Tax & Trade Blog

There seems to have been an uptick in Canada Border Services Agency audits concerning the tariff classification of gloves, carrying costly consequences to potential importers not based on what their product is, but how it is used by their customers!

This is a function of the wonderful world of tariff classification, some of the complexities of which we tackled in a previous blog, here.  

The chief issue is whether imported gloves will be used “with protective suits in a noxious atmosphere” or whether they will be used in other circumstances/places which CBSA does not consider a “noxious atmosphere” (e.g. nail salons, restaurants, etc.). 

The CITT has announced an Expiry Review of its finding made on February 15^th, 2019 (NQ-2018-003) in respect of Carbon Steel Welded Pipe from Pakistan, the Philippines, Türkiye and Vietnam.

What is an Expiry Review

Expiry reviews are conducted jointly by the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (“CITT”) to review prior Anti-Dumping Duty (“ADD”) or Countervailing Duty (“CVD”) orders made by the CITT (“Orders”) under Special Import Measures Act (“SIMA”). They generally occur every five years following the original Order or subsequent renewal.

Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) resets its “audit priority areas” twice per year – designating certain tariff classification codes as priority areas for customs verifications.

Priorities are based on CBSA’s work in certain industries or on CBSA’s view of “significant risk” importations from a tariff classification, valuation, and origin compliance perspective.

With the January 2024 audit priorities around the corner, it is a good time to review the outcomes from the July 2023 update.

Tariff Classification Priorities

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears the two-year mark, now is an appropriate time to take stock of the variety of trade sanction measures which have been put in place throughout this year.

Background

Importers will recall the government’s swift decision to remove “Most-Favoured-Nation” (“MFN”) tariff status from both Russia and Belarus in March 2022.

When one feels mistreated at the border by Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) officers, can one really do anything about it? The answer is “yes”, because the CBSA can be held indirectly liable for negligence as well as Charter breaches (through its officers). 

As a recent case demonstrates, the road to judgement will usually be long and difficult and perhaps reserved for only the most egregious of cases, or where the matter is one of principle.  Extreme facts will generally be required to make out a negligence claim against government departments like the CBSA, and inappropriately short limitations periods exist for bringing these suits.