PARS, RMD No Longer Accepted by Canada Customs

Starting Mon. Oct. 15, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will no longer accept paper release forms for Pre-Arrival Review System (PARS) or Release on Minimum Documentation (RMD) from brokers and importers on most shipments.

The new mandatory line release requirements, which require electronic submission via EDI, were imposed by CBSA at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor this past April and are now being expanded to all border crossings.

CBSA says elimination of paper at the time of release is a precursor to the e-manifest -- know as Advanced Commercial Information (ACI) -- in Canada. Some carriers are concerned about the impact of this change when importers and brokers are not available and electronic transmission of release documentation has not occurred.

CBSA says it is currently developing a protocol that trucking companies can follow should documentation not be immediately available. In the meantime, CBSA says it will not turn back trucks at the border because of a broker’s failure to send the e-manifest electronically.

Also, because EDI transmission is still compatible with certain existing parameters, CBSA will continue to temporarily allow documentation for goods that are subject to another government department and where there is no EDI link between CBSA and the other agency, according to Livingston International.

Also there are exceptions if the invoice represents more than 999 lines; if there is more than one warehouse sub location code; or goods moved into a bonded warehouse, among a few other scenarios.