The Customs Act governs the administration and enforcement of customs laws.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force on January 1, 1994. One of the main results of the agreement is the elimination of tariffs between Canada, Mexico and the United States on nearly all qualifying goods. NAFTA provides Canadian business and entrepreneurs with access to the largest free-trade area in the world.

Article 307 of the Agreement states that you cannot be charged duties on a good that re-enters your territory if you exported it from your territory to the territory of another party to have the item repaired or altered.

The Tariff Items 9971.00.00 and 9992.00.00 Accounting Regulations implement Canada's obligations under NAFTA, CIFTA and CCFTA. The regulations describe the information that must be presented to Customs at the time goods or vessels are accounted for in order to take advantage of the free rate of duty that these goods or vessels may attract on the exported value as well as on the value of alteration or the non-warranty or warranty repairs carried out in the United States, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel or another CIFTA beneficiary.

For more information on the above, see departmental Memoranda D8-2-25 and D8-2-26.

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).