CBSA Published Rulings

• Get updates on trade, Customs and regulatory changes
• Stay informed on trade compliance seminars,
  workshops and industry events

x

Canadian Society of Customs Brokers Aug 25, 2010

CBSA Members may not be aware that CBSA has recently started to publish rulings on their website http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/ar-da/recent-eng.html.

The CSCB has asked CBSA to provide the criteria used to determine which rulings are published, and their response to our question follows.

Advance rulings for publication are selected on the basis of being precedent decisions or in the interest of providing clients with examples illustrating a significant classification principle, for example the application of GIRs 3(b) and 3(c). As this is a recent endeavour, we have tried to cover a wide variety of products covered by as many HS headings as possible.

It is important that a published ruling have sufficient information to fully describe the goods and provide a rationale for the classification. There are sometimes a number of advance rulings issued to different importers for the same product, or similar goods. In such cases, we publish only one representative ruling for those goods; for example, many rulings have been issued on electric contact grills from various manufacturers; we have published only one (http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/ar-da/grill-gril-eng.html).

On the other hand, where similar products are classifiable in different headings, we will publish multiple rulings, in order to alert clients to the impact that small differences might have on the classification; for example: "Fabric, spunbond, polypropylene nonwoven, weighing not more than 25 g/m2" (http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/ar-da/235404-eng.html) and "Fabric, spunbond polypropylene nonwoven, weighing more than 25 g/m2 but not more than 70 g/m2 " (http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/ar-da/235405-eng.html).

In some cases, the product information is such that the goods cannot be described generically in HS/Tariff terms, and could therefore identify a unique product or importer. At present, we are not publishing these types of rulings.