Vol. 137, No. 43 — October 25, 2003

Regulations Amending the Proof of Origin of Imported Goods Regulations

Statutory Authority

Customs Act

Sponsoring Agency and Sponsoring Department

Canada Customs and Revenue Agency and Department of Finance

REGULATORY IMPACT
ANALYSIS STATEMENT

NOTICE

Under its terms, the Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement (CCRFTA) came into effect on November 1, 2002.

Description

The Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, which gives effect to the CCRFTA signed by Canada and Costa Rica on April 23, 2001, resulted in the introduction of new provisions and amendments to existing provisions in the Customs Act. These changes have resulted in the introduction of amendments to existing regulations under the Customs Act.

The Proof of Origin of Imported Goods Regulations are being amended to implement commitments made by Canada in the Agreement. These Regulations stipulate the types of documentation that importers must provide in order to claim the benefits of the various preferential tariff treatments that are applicable to imported goods.

The amended provisions of these Regulations detail the proof of origin requirements contained in Article V.2 of the CCRFTA. These added requirements have been blended with the proof of origin criteria for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA). As well, these changes prescribe the time and place for providing proof of origin for the purposes of claiming the benefit of preferential tariff treatment under the CCRFTA, while maintaining the same requirements for the purposes of the NAFTA and the CCFTA.

Alternatives

The amendments to these Regulations serve to implement Canada's obligations under the CCRFTA. There is no practical alternative to proceeding with them.

Benefits and Costs

The CCRFTA provides Canadian exporters immediate duty-free access for a wide range of Canadian exports to a market of 4 million people. Two-way trade between Canada and Costa Rica was $249 million in 2001. The Agreement is expected to accelerate this trade. There will be no additional costs to importers as a result of these changes as importers already comply with the obligations based on a Customs Notice issued by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) on November 1, 2002.

Consultation

The Government consulted widely with Canadian industry associations and individual companies during the negotiations of the CCRFTA. A number of consultations were also held with the Sectoral Advisory Groups on International Trade, as well as with the provinces and other interested parties.

Compliance and Enforcement

CCRA automated systems have been modified to provide monitoring and verification programs to ensure routine compliance and uniformity in the application of CCRA rulings, determinations, policies, and procedures.

Compliance measures will be taken to ensure the overall administrative integrity of the CCRFTA. Similar to the requirements of the NAFTA, the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA), and the CCFTA, commercial importers claiming CCRFTA benefits will be required to have in their possession CCRFTA Certificates of Origin signed by the exporter of the goods and will be required to present them to customs for verification on a selective basis.

CCRA officials will selectively review accounting documentation and, as provided in the Agreement, verification letters and questionnaires will be sent to exporters and producers, and on-site verification visits and audits will be conducted so as to ensure compliance by exporters and producers in Costa Rica. Specific verification activities may be initiated where there is significant risk of revenue loss; where it is unlikely that goods meet the rules of origin; in response to complaints of CCRFTA abuse from the trading community; or in support of Government trade policy initiatives.

As required by the CCRFTA, the customs service of each party is putting procedures in place to exchange written notices of information concerning any actual or prospective administrative measures that might affect the operation of the Agreement. This will provide opportunities for predictable and transparent administration by the parties involved.

Contact

Ms. Tia M. McEwan, Acting Manager, Legislative and Regulatory Development and Liaison Unit, Trade Incentives Programs Division, Trade Policy and Interpretation Directorate, Customs Branch, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, 150 Isabella Street, 4th Floor, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5, (613) 954-7109 (Telephone), (613) 952-3971 (Facsimile), TiaMaria.McEwan@ ccra-adrc.gc.ca (Electronic mail).

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is hereby given that the Governor in Council, pursuant to section 35.1 (see footnote a), paragraphs 164(1)(i) (see footnote b)  and (j), subsection 164(1.3) (see footnote c)  and paragraph 167.1(b) (see footnote d)  of the Customs Act (see footnote e), proposes to make the annexed Regulations Amending the Proof of Origin of Imported Goods Regulations.

Interested persons may make representations with respect to the proposed Regulations within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to Ms. Tia M. McEwan, Acting Manager, Trade Incentives Programs Division, Trade Policy and Interpretation Directorate, Customs Branch, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, 4th Floor, 150 Isabella Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5.

Persons making representations should identify any of those representations the disclosure of which should be refused under the Access to Information Act, in particular under sections 19 and 20 of that Act, and should indicate the reasons why and the period during which the representations should not be disclosed. They should also identify any representations for which there is a consent to disclosure for the purposes of that Act.

Ottawa, October 23, 2003

EILEEN BOYD
Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE PROOF OF ORIGIN OF IMPORTED GOODS REGULATIONS

AMENDMENTS

1. The heading before section 6 of the Proof of Origin of Imported Goods Regulations (see footnote 1)  is replaced by the following:

PROOF OF ORIGIN OF GOODS THAT ARE ENTITLED TO THE BENEFIT OF PREFERENTIAL TARIFF TREATMENT UNDER NAFTA, CCFTA OR CCRFTA

2. (1) Subsections 6(1) to (3) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

6. (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), where the benefit of preferential tariff treatment under NAFTA, CCFTA or CCRFTA is claimed for goods, the importer or owner of the goods shall, for the purposes of section 35.1 of the Act, furnish to an officer, as proof of origin, at the times set out in section 13, a Certificate of Origin for the goods, completed in English, French or Spanish.

(2) The importer and owner of goods are exempt from the requirements of subsection 35.1(1) of the Act if the importer or owner furnishes to an officer, at the time prescribed by paragraph 13(a), a written and signed declaration, in English or French, that certifies that the goods originate in the applicable NAFTA country, in Chile or in Costa Rica, as the case may be, and that the completed Certificate of Origin referred to in subsection (1) is in the importer's possession.

(3) Where the benefit of preferential tariff treatment under NAFTA, CCFTA or CCRFTA is claimed for casual goods, the importer and owner of the casual goods are exempt from the requirements of subsection 35.1(1) of the Act if the casual goods are entitled to preferential tariff treatment under NAFTA pursuant to the NAFTA Rules of Origin for Casual Goods Regulations, preferential tariff treatment under CCFTA pursuant to the CCFTA Rules of Origin for Casual Goods Regulations or preferential tariff treatment under CCRFTA pursuant to the CCRFTA Rules of Origin for Casual Goods Regulations, as the case may be.

(2) The portion of subsection 6(4) of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

(4) Where the benefit of preferential tariff treatment under NAFTA, CCFTA or CCRFTA is claimed for commercial goods that have an estimated value for duty of less than $1,600, the importer and owner of the commercial goods are exempt from the requirements of subsection 35.1(1) of the Act if

(3) Subparagraphs 6(4)(b)(i) and (ii) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

(i) a commercial invoice for the commercial goods, containing a written and signed statement, in English or French, from the exporter or producer of the commercial goods, that certifies that the commercial goods originate in the applicable NAFTA country, Chile or Costa Rica, as the case may be, or
(ii) a written and signed statement, in English or French, from the exporter or producer of the commercial goods, that certifies that the commercial goods originate in the applicable NAFTA country, Chile or Costa Rica, as the case may be.

COMING INTO FORCE

3. These Regulations are deemed to have come into force on November 1, 2002.

[43-1-o]

Footnote a 

S.C. 1997, c. 14, s. 37

Footnote b 

S.C. 1992, c. 28, s. 30(1)

Footnote c 

S.C. 2001, c. 28, s. 30

Footnote d 

S.C. 1992, c. 28, s. 31(1)

Footnote e 

R.S., c. 1 (2nd Supp.)

Footnote 1 

SOR/98-52

NOTICE:
The format of the electronic version of this issue of the Canada Gazette was modified in order to be compatible with hypertext language (HTML). Its content is very similar except for the footnotes, the symbols and the tables.

	Top of page
Maintained by the Canada Gazette Directorate	Important notices