Licensing of Customs Brokers

To Whom Does This Apply?

• an individual (sole proprietorship);
• a partnership (of individuals or of corporations);
• a corporation.

Brokers must meet knowledge, age, financial, residency and character requirements before the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will license them (see Customs Memorandum D1-8-1).

Summary

What Is a Customs Broker?

Importers can clear their own goods (see the document Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties); but in the event they choose to have another party clear their goods, that party must be licensed by the CBSA.  Only a licenced customs broker may, on a commercial basis, account for goods and pay duties and taxes on behalf of an importer, under section 32 of the Customs Act.

There are approximately 260 customs brokerage firms in Canada operating at about 650 licensed offices. A licensed customs broker is the only entity that can clear commercial goods for importers. An importer must authorize the broker to conduct business. The authorization can be specific to a particular brokerage firm, or it can allow the initial brokerage firm to appoint one or more subagents to transact business at locations where the original broker is not licensed.

What Do Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations Prescribe?

Before you get a licence:

• application procedures to follow;
• qualifications required;
• examinations to pass.

After you get a licence:

• record keeping procedures to follow;
• provisions for renewing, suspending and cancelling a licence;
• terms and conditions of the licence (including fees).

To ensure that brokers meet the knowledge requirements, the department conducts the Customs Brokers Professional Examination.

A brokerage firm requires a licence at each CBSA Customs office where it wishes to conduct business manually and without the use of a sub-agent. Each brokerage firm must have a qualified officer.

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.