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MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ACT
Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations
Importation of a Vehicle Purchased in the United States
12. (1) The company contracted to the Department of Transport to
establish and operate the national program of vehicle inspection, certification and
registration, to be known as the registrar of imported vehicles, is the person designated
for the purposes of subsection 7(2) of the Act.
(2) Subsection 7(2) of the Act does not apply to a person who is a company referred to
in paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition "company" in section 2 of the Act.
(3) For the purposes of subsection 7(2) of the Act, a person may import into Canada a
vehicle referred to in that subsection where the following conditions are met:
(a) in the case of a vehicle other than a restricted-use motorcycle, a snowmobile or a
snowmobile cutter, the vehicle was manufactured by a company to conform to the applicable
United States federal laws on the date of manufacture, as shown on the American compliance
labels on the vehicle or on a written statement from each company that manufactured the
vehicle;
(a.1) in the case of a snowmobile, the vehicle was manufactured by a company to
conform, on the date of manufacture, to the applicable safety standards of the Snowmobile
Safety and Certification Committee, Inc., as shown on the certification label on the
snowmobile or on a written statement from the company that manufactured the snowmobile;
(b) any defect in the vehicle's construction, design or functioning, or in the
construction, design or functioning of its components, that was the subject of a notice of
defect or nonconformity under United States federal laws was corrected;
(c) in the case of an incomplete vehicle, truck, enclosed motorcycle,
multipurpose passenger vehicle, three-wheeled vehicle, passenger car or bus, the
vehicle was manufactured by the company that completed the main assembly of the
vehicle to conform to section 210 of Schedule IV;
(d) in the case of a school bus, the vehicle was manufactured by the company that
completed the main assembly of the vehicle to conform to section 222 of Schedule IV;
(d.1) in the case of a restricted-use motorcycle, the vehicle is designed to travel on
two or four wheels;
(e) where the person is importing the vehicle for sale or for any commercial,
industrial, occupational, institutional or other like use, the vehicle is imported at a
customs office designated in Schedule VIII; and
(f) the person registers the vehicle with the registrar of imported vehicles, and makes
a declaration, in the manner set out in subsection (6).
(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3)(c) a person may import a vehicle that does not comply
with section 210 of Schedule IV if, before being certified by the registrar of imported
vehicles, the vehicle can be made to conform to that section by changing a seat or the
seat tracks for a seat or seat tracks that are used in vehicles of the same make and model
that are manufactured for the Canadian market.
(5) The declaration referred to in paragraph (3)(f) shall be signed by the person
importing the vehicle or that person's duly authorized representative and set out
(a) the class, make, model and vehicle identification number of the vehicle;
(b) the date the vehicle is presented for importation;
(c) the name and address of the company or individual importing the vehicle;
(d) in the case of a vehicle other than a restricted-use motorcycle, a snowmobile or a
snowmobile cutter, where the vehicle bears the compliance labels referred to in paragraph
(3)(a), a statement that the vehicle bears those labels and, where required by United
States federal laws, the vehicle emission control label applied by the company that
manufactured the vehicle;
(d.1) in the case of a snowmobile, where the snowmobile bears the certification label
referred to in paragraph (3)(a.1), a statement that the vehicle bears that label;
(e) where a vehicle referred to in paragraph (d) does not bear the labels referred to
in that paragraph, a statement from each company that manufactured the vehicle or its duly
authorized representative that, on the date of manufacture, the vehicle conformed to the
applicable United States federal laws;
(e.1) where a snowmobile does not bear the certification label referred to in paragraph
(d.1), a statement from the company that manufactured the vehicle or its duly authorized
representative that, on the date of manufacture, the vehicle conformed to the applicable
safety standards of the Snowmobile Safety and Certification Committee, Inc.;
(f) where an American compliance label is applied to the vehicle, the name of the
company that manufactured the vehicle, as shown on the label;
(g) the month and year during which the main assembly of the vehicle was completed, as shown on the American
compliance label applied to the vehicle or on the statement by the company that completed the main assembly of
the vehicle or by its duly authorized representative; and
(h) a statement that the vehicle will be made to conform to all applicable standards
prescribed under these Regulations for that class of vehicle and will be taken, within 45
days after its importation, to an inspection station authorized by the registrar of
imported vehicles to carry out an inspection function to determine that a vehicle has been
made to conform to the Canada motor vehicle safety standards.
(6) A declaration and registration shall be made using the form provided by the
Minister:
(a) in the case of a person referred to in paragraph (3)(e), at a designated customs
office; and
(b) in any other case, at the nearest customs office that is open for business.
(7) An authorized inspection station shall determine that a vehicle referred to in
subsection 7(2) of the Act has been made to conform to the Canada motor vehicle safety
standards.
(8) A vehicle that has been determined to conform to the standards prescribed under
these Regulations and in respect of which a certificate of conformity has been issued by
the registrar of imported vehicles, shall bear a label in both official languages that
displays at least the following information:
(a) the name and address of
(i) the company or individual that imported the vehicle, and
(ii) the company or individual that altered the vehicle;
(b) the month and year during which the alteration of the vehicle was completed;
(c) a statement that all the necessary alterations have been made to make the vehicle
conform to the applicable standards prescribed under these Regulations at the time the
main assembly of the vehicle was completed;
(d) the vehicle identification number; and
(e) in the case of a passenger car, truck, multipurpose passenger vehicle,
low-speed vehicle, bus, trailer, trailer converter dolly, motorcycle or
three-wheeled vehicle,
(i) the gross vehicle weight rating of the vehicle expressed in kilograms, and
(ii) the gross axle weight rating for each axle of the vehicle, expressed in kilograms
and listed in order from front to rear.
(9) The label referred to in subsection (8) shall
(a) be permanently applied
(i) to the same surface as that to which a compliance label referred to in paragraph
(3)(a) is applied, or
(ii) where none of the compliance labels referred to in paragraph (3)(a) is applied to
the vehicle, in the appropriate location referred to in subsection 6(3);
(b) be resistant to or protected against any weather condition to which the label may
be exposed; and
(c) have lettering that is
(i) clear and indelible,
(ii) indented, embossed or in a colour that contrasts with the background colour of the
label, and
(iii) in block capitals and numerals not less than 2 mm in height.
(10) Where any compliance label referred to in paragraph (3)(a) is not applied to the
vehicle, a statement that indicates that the vehicle was manufactured to conform to the
applicable United States federal laws on the date of manufacture shall be displayed on the
label referred to in subsection (8) or on a label applied beside that compliance label.
Established by
SOR/95-147 21 March, 1995 pursuant to subsection 3(2) and sections 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 and
11 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, effective April 12, 1995.
amended by
SOR/96-90 23 January, 1996 pursuant to subsections 7(2) and 11(1) of the Motor
Vehicle Safety Act
Paragraph 12(3)(a); subsection 12(3) by adding paragraph (d.1); and paragraphs 12(5)(d)
and (e).
SOR/2000-304 27 July, 2000 pursuant to section 5 and subsection 11(1) of the Motor
Vehicle Safety Act, into force July 27, 2000
The portion of paragraph 12(8)(e) before subparagraph (i) is replaced.
SOR/2002-55 31 January 2002 pursuant to section 5 and subsection 11(1)
of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, into force February 13, 2003.Paragraph
12(3)(c) is replaced; paragraph 12(5)(g) is replaced.
SOR/2003-272 24 July, 2003 pursuant to section 5 and subsection 11(1) of the Motor Vehicle Safety
Act, comes into force 24 July, 2003.
Paragraph 12(3)(c) is replaced; The portion of paragraph 12(8)(e) before
subparagraph (i) is replaced.
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