Decommissioning Of Other Government Department (OGD) Release Service Options Is Fast Approaching!

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By Pacific Customs Brokers, Pacific Customs Brokers Feb 20, 2020

When goods are entered into Canada the electronic declaration made by the customs brokers (or importer) contains a service option indicator that defines to CBSA if the goods are regulated by an” Other Government Department” or not. The OGD Release Service Options are being replaced by The Single Window Initiative (SWI) which is a program implemented by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to streamline the sharing of data between the import community and the Canadian government.

You learned in our previous post, What is the Single Window Initiative, the amount of data reported in the current declaration to CBSA will increase under SWI when the commodities being imported are subject to Participating Government Agency (PGA) review. Therefore, the amount of information you will provide at the time of the import will increase to include any additional details the PGAs require.

The previously extended deadline as detailed in our post, Deadline Of Single Window Initiative Extended By CBSA has now been confirmed as final and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has sent out a reminder to importers that the Other Government Department Release Service Options (SOs) will be decommissioned on April 1, 2020, for certain Other Government Departments and specific programs within those OGDs.

Decommissioning means the CBSA will turn off the functionality for OGD Pre-arrival Release System (PARS) SO 463 and OGD Release on Minimum Documentation (RMD) SO471. When this functionality is turned off April 1, 2020, all goods regulated by

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) all programs
• Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Energy Efficiency Program only
• Transport Canada (TC) (Tire Program only)

will only be electronically released with the Single Window Initiative (SWI) using the Integrated Import Declaration (IID) Service Option 911. This also means that if are goods regulated by the above listed agencies are also co-regulated by another agency all of the data elements to satisfy both agencies will have to be provided at the time of release. Which means you can expect to have to provide more details to your broker to assist on the release of your shipments.

The decommissioning will affect over 50% of the imports into Canada! The good news for our clients is this should not affect your imports as we have already been preparing over 99% of our entries using the IID under SWI for the last year or so the transition should be streamless! In some cases, importers may have also been experiencing some of the benefits of certain transactions such as trailers or vehicles that are no longer required to be processed on a paper entry, or expedited release times.

Is your service provider ready? Check with your broker. If you are looking for a service provider who can assist with a seamless transition please contact us, we can assist with the electronic release of your shipment.

Are you ready? Do you know what details are required to support the release of your goods in IID? Contact one of our trade advisors for assistance.