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Sufferance Warehouse Program
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
Last Verified:
2006-02-20
Act: Customs Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 1, 2nd Supp.
Regulation: Customs Sufferance Warehouses Regulations, SOR/86-1065, as amended
To Whom Does This Apply?
Anyone wishing to operate a customs sufferance warehouse.Sufferance warehouses are privately owned and operated facilities licensed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for the control, short-term storage, and examination of imported goods until they are released by the CBSA or exported from Canada. This means that goods can be moved under Customs' control beyond the first point of arrival to a licensed facility for temporary storage pending Customs clearance.
Summary
The Customs Act governs the issuing of licences for the operation of any place as a sufferance warehouse for the examination of imported goods that have not been released.
To apply for a sufferance warehouse licence, the regulations require:
- a duly completed Form E400, Application for Licence to Operate a Customs Sufferance Warehouse;
- a site plan;
- a security bond; and
- an annual licence fee.
Other eligibility factors include:
- the applicant's good character;
- the volume and nature of the business activity; and
- proven financial stability.
There are approximately 1 200 licensed sufferance warehouses in Canada. There are five main types of licences, depending on what kind of goods are received and how they arrive.
- A Type A warehouse is one operated by an airline, marine, or railway company. A Type A warehouse may also be operated by a cargo handler acting under contract as an exclusive agent of an airline, marine, or railway company. Type A sufferance warehouses also include those located at a marine wharf and operated by a harbour commission or stevedoring company;
- A Type B warehouse is one used for the storage of imported goods arriving by highway in commercial motor vehicles;
- A Type C warehouse is one operated by a third party for the storage, deconsolidation and sorting of imported shipments; it is also used for the consolidation of shipments according to their destination;
- A Type S warehouse is one operated by a person or persons for the storage of specific classes of imported goods arriving by any mode of transportation; and
- Type PS warehouses are railway sidings owned or operated by an importer where carloads of imported goods are held pending release by the CBSA.
The CBSA must have free access to enter the warehouse and to open any package or container of goods for inspection.
Sufferance warehouse licensees are liable for all duties and taxes on the goods they receive unless they can prove the goods have been destroyed, or have been authorized for release by the CBSA. Licensees also have to keep records for six years and the records must be made available to the CBSA.
For details on sufferance warehouse regulations, please visit the CBSA Web site.
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).
*Note: To download publications in PDF format, Adobe Acrobat Reader is required (available free of charge).
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.
Quebec Contact(s):
See National Contact.
National Contact(s):
Border Information Service - BIS
Canada Border Services Agency
Telephone: 204-983-3500 or 506-636-5064
Toll-free (information): 1-800-461-9999
Web site: http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/menu-eng.html