Cargo Containers Used in International Service

Eligibility Criteria

Summary

Tariff Item 9801.10.00

Under this tariff item, you can import cargo containers into Canada free of duties and taxes if you meet the following requirement:

• you use the cargo container for international commercial transportation of goods;
• the owner or lessor and importer are based in a foreign country;
• the cargo container must be exported from Canada within thirty (30) days; however, if its condition creates an obvious risk to safety, it may be kept in Canada for not more than 24 months while it is being repaired.

Cargo containers controlled under the Customs Post Audit System do not have to be reported on a Customs Cargo Control Document and may remain in Canada for up to six months. For more information, please refer to Customs Memoranda D3-1-6 and D3-7-1 .

International commercial transportation - any transportation which results in, or is intended to result in, the carriage of goods or passengers for hire or reward:

• from outside Canada to a place inside Canada;
• from inside Canada to a place outside Canada;
• from a place outside Canada in transit through Canada to another place outside Canada.

For more information, please refer to Customs Memoranda D3-1-5 and D3-7-1.

Tariff Item 9813.00.00

Under this tariff item, you can import goods, including containers, into Canada free of duties and taxes if:

• the goods or containers was manufactured in Canada, exported from Canada and returned to Canada without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any process of manufacture or other means, or combined with any article abroad.

Tariff Item 9814.00.00

Under this tariff item, you can import goods, including containers, into Canada free of duties and taxes if:

• the goods or containers were accounted for under section 32 of the Customs Act, exported from Canada and returned to Canada, without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any process of manufacture or other means, or combined with any article abroad

For both tariff items 9813.00.00 and 9814.00.00, the following applies:
"goods on which a refund of customs duty or drawback of customs duty has been made shall not be classified under this tariff item except on payment of the customs duty equal to the refund or drawback allowed".

Note:  There are special provisions for containers used in an interchangeable "bank system". For complete information on tariff item Nos. 98013.00.00 and 9814.00.00 and on the container bank system, please refer to Customs Memorandum D10-14-11.

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).

Manitoba Contact(s):
See National Contact.