Clearit.ca's Blog on Customs Brokerage and News Updates

Are you a resident of Canada coming home from abroad? Maybe you were doing a little shopping online? Or perhaps you’re moving to Canada? You have duty exemptions available to you in all these cases -- but what those exemptions are change for each context. To save you the most money in duty fees at the Canadian border in any situation, we’ve put together this guide! Personal Duty Exemptions as a Resident Importing by mail Let’s start...

Some of the trickiest items for importers to get across the Canadian border are food products — after all, they’re ripe with opportunities to imperil human health! Improper packaging or supply chain delays can spoil items en route. Food advisories could fly under one’s radar. Lax suppliers might even forget to address potential hazards before your shipment ever gets out. Aside from the sheer number of food commodity categories with th...

It’s fair to say that nobody enjoys filling out and keeping track of multiple sets of paperwork, but when it comes to importation, it’s necessary to keep track and be aware of your paperwork at every stage in the process. There’s nothing more frustrating than having your shipment come to a screeching halt because of a missing document, or worse, a simple unchecked box or a blank space. That’s why having the mandatory forms in order, as...

Last time, in our continuing series on agricultural importing, we looked at the requirements needed to bring livestock across the Canada - USA border. Today, we’re going to focus on goods that are a wee bit smaller in stature — two things, in fact, that are vital to the livelihoods of Canadian farmers and ranchers, and which carry their own set of regulations. We’re, of course, talking about livestock feed and seeds (more specifically, t...

Every year, thousands of cattle are moved over the Canada - USA border. Whether they’re flowing into Canada or the United States changes based on a number of factors, but no matter what, importing cattle is a vital part of cattle ranching for farms in both countries. 2018, in particular, has proven to be a strong year for cattle importing -- nearly 15,000 head of feeder cattle were imported into Canada in May, which is close to double the numbe...

Last week, we discussed how Canadian IP holders can benefit from anti-counterfeiting measures in international trade. Protecting your own IP, however, is just one part of staying on the right side of international copyright law! While Canada has gained a reputation as a weak link in fight for stopping the trade of counterfeit goods, increasing pressure from trading allies means that Canadian importers should start brushing up on copyright comp...

The Canadian Border Services Agency has adopted new regulations in order to combat the growing counterfeit market. Prior to 2015, the CBSA had little power when it came to withholding or detaining these types of products, and no formal system for recording IP rights or information was in place, making it difficult to keep counterfeit products from entering the country. But while there were always steps that a CBSA officer could take if they we...

Importers work in a difficult industry, filled with strict rules and minute details. Amongst a barrage of required paperwork and governmental policies lies a potential problem for business owners in the import industry: human error. If the proper homework isn’t done beforehand, items could be held up by Canada’s Border Services Agency (CBSA). But even with all the severe repercussions that could occur if a document isn’t labelled properl...

It has been a little over a week since U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. USMCA dominated the news cycle with experts dissecting the deal, and there’s one point that stands out for Canadians. It directly impacts online shoppers in the north -- in a good way! What’s happening? Canadians have always had the benefit of shopping online from foreign countries, but the Canadian duty-free thre...

In late June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that October 17, 2018, would be the official date in which people in Canada could buy, sell and consume recreational cannabis, ending decades-long prohibition. Trudeau’s benchmark date for official legalization comes off the back of the Cannabis Act, which passed in Senate on June 20, 2018. The act will serve as the official document regulating the amount of cannabis a person can legally ...