Exporters' and Producers' Records

Act: Customs Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 1, 2nd Supp.
Regulation: Exporters' and Producers' Records Regulations, SOR/93-556, as amended

To Whom Does This Apply?

This applies to all exporters of goods from Canada, which also includes Canadian exporters and producers under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) and the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA).

Summary

The Customs Act provides the legislative framework for administering and enforcing customs laws. Under section 97.2(1) of the Customs Act, every person who exports goods or causes them to be exported for sale or for any industrial, occupational, commercial, institutional or other use, or any person who has completed and signed a free trade agreement certificate of origin must keep records relating to that exportation. The records are to be kept for a specified time and at a specified location as set out in the regulations. Failure to maintain records in accordance with specified requirements will cause AMPS penalty C195 to apply.

The Exporters' and Producers' Records Regulations govern the keeping of records by persons who export or cause to be exported goods for sale or for any industrial, occupational, commercial, institutional or other like use, or by other persons who have completed and signed a free trade agreement certificate of origin. The records required to be kept under these Regulations may be kept on machine-sensible data media if the media can be related back to the supporting source documents and are supported by a system capable of producing accessible and readable copy.

If you require personal assistance contact the Customs Client Services Office closest to you (see Related Reading: Customs Offices - Supplement or from Canada Border Service Agency's Web site for a list of addresses).

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.

Manitoba Contact(s):
See National Contact.

National Contact(s):
Border Information Service - BIS
Canada Border Services Agency
Telephone: 204-983-3500 or 506-636-5064 (for calls outside Canada)
Toll-free (information): 1-800-461-9999 (for calls within Canada)
Web site: http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/menu-eng.html