Tax & Trade Blog

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MAJOR CHANGES TO CUSTOMS LIABILITY!

"IMPORTER OF RECORD" WILL BE JOINTLY LIABLE FOR PAYMENT OF DUTIES AND TAXES

On January 1, 2026, amendments to subsection 17(3) of the Customs Act (“CA”) come into force that make the “importer of record” jointly liable with the owner of the goods for duties and taxes on imports.

This development will impact customs brokers in the freight forwarding industry who have enjoyed protection from customs liability for the past few years. 

Following the coming into force of these amendments, there may no longer be any escape of liability for duties when a broker identifies itself as the “importer” (i.e., using its name and business number to obtain release of an import from the Canada Borde Services Agency (the “CBSA”)). 

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RIGID RULES GOVERN CANNABIS AT THE BORDER

CBD PRODUCTS WHILE LEGAL, REMAIN TIGHTLY CONTROLLED FOR IMPORT/EXPORT

Since the Trudeau government largely decriminalized CBD and cannabis products in 2018, there has been a proliferation of both distribution and retail in this industry – but not all legal.

The legalization of CBD and cannabis products also comes with highly complex and difficult regulations which can lead to both civil and criminal enforcement where they are not strictly followed.

In a recent case, an unfortunate Ontario resident found this out, and also learned the extent to which CBSA and RCMP work together in these matters.

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears the two-year mark, now is an appropriate time to take stock of the variety of trade sanction measures which have been put in place throughout this year.

Background

Importers will recall the government’s swift decision to remove “Most-Favoured-Nation” (“MFN”) tariff status from both Russia and Belarus in March 2022.