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

With a weaker loonie and Canadian customers that keep on turning up to do their shopping online and cross-border; it's the perfect mix of events for any business owner looking to tap into the Northern market. Although exporting goods to Canada comes with its series of various fees and tariffs, there is one way that exporters can achieve exporting goals and developing a larger presence in Canada. Using Your Unfair Advantage In reality, your unfa...

So you've finally found the car of your dreams: the curves, the power, and just the perfect color. But there's one small problem, the seller is located in the U.S. which means you'll need to bring the car into Canada, which might sound easy...but it's a bit more challenging than that. Importing a vehicle into Canada is regulated by several different government agencies. Transport Canada itself has quite an exhaustive definition for what exactl...

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) offers the opportunity to importers, via their customs brokers, to submit shipment release information for approval through the Pre-arrival Review System (PARS). The process speeds up the release of the shipment or referral for examination at the moment the goods arrive at the border. But to ensure that this process is executed flawlessly, without too many headaches, all partners need to do their bits. Te...

In early May 2015, Jim Balsillie, co-founder of Research in Motion (now BlackBerry Ltd.), published an editorial in the Globe and Mail in which he said: “Canada’s terrible record of commercializing its ideas won’t change until we build proper infrastructure to help our entrepreneurs succeed on the global stage, where the real money is made.” Balsillie‘s main reproach was that policies required for the innovation economy in Canada are...

As part of its action plan to support the Canadian agri-food manufacturing industry, the new Trudeau Government's first budget included clear intentions to eliminate duties on imports of certain food manufacturing ingredients, excluding supply managed products. Budget 2016 aims to make agri-food manufacturers more competitive on both the international market and domestically. For importers of food manufacturing ingredients, this represents an imp...

As a business owner with an eye on international trade, you might be heading into a sea of complications filled with rules and regulations, agreements and so many different forms. Having a customs broker on your team is a great idea and it may seem like a fairly easy thing to choose, but really, not all brokers offer the same services. You’ll want to choose carefully in order to have someone who can really contribute in the long term success of...

As a Canadian importer you can take advantage of Canada's position on the global marketplace to access a vast array of products from various suppliers in countries around the world. To get your hands on their goods there is also a great choice of modes of transportation and carriers from which to choose from, so it would make sense to use different customs brokers to help you out wouldn't it? That might not be so true and so let's explore why. ...

In order to import any shipment into Canada you'll need a Canada Customs Invoice (CCI) form. In order to avoid having your shipment delayed at the border, a properly filled form with correct and accurate information is your best tool.   Required Fields The CCI form is composed of various sections – some of which are absolutely required in order to obtain customs clearance. The below information needs to be declared at the time of rele...

Traveling abroad and thinking about bringing back a few items with you? Make your re-retry into Canada a lot easier by following the simple steps noted below. They'll help you get through customs with much more ease at mind. Coming home from a day trip across the border? If your trip was less than 24 hours, there are no personal exemptions for cross-border shoppers. Returning after 24 and 48 hours If you're returning after 24 and 48 hours, y...

More and more Canadian are flocking to online stores to buy the goods they desire. Canadians are massively looking towards merchants based outside of Canada because a majority believe that the prices are better and the variety of goods offered is much more interesting than what’s available back home. In 2015, 70% of purchases by Canadians were from merchants based outside the country. The phenomena can be explain by the fact that a vast majo...