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SHARING INFORMATION WITH YOUR SERVICE PROVIDER

Increased communication and sharing of information is a necessary part of the relationship between importer/exporters and their Customs service provider. It is an important element which is often overlooked and which if not attended to can lead to incorrect declarations, incorrect duty assessments, and delays in the effective clearance of your shipments.

Thompson, Ahern & Co. Ltd. must be kept in the loop by its clients, who on a regular basis should be providing up to date information on all matters involving their suppliers and the goods they purchase from them. Whenever a new supplier or product is contemplated, one of the first contacts should be with the customs broker to establish if any special requirements must be met, what the duty and tax implications are, and what if any, special documentation may be required. Shipments are not always made during regular hours, when any questions concerning a new supplier or goods may easily be resolved. However, a night clearance does not have this advantage and the lack of this information may be critical to its Customs release and could unduly delay its clearance, or at the very least cause the shipment to be incorrectly entered.

Whenever there is a change in legal entity, we must also be informed of the name change, as the name of the importer of record must correspond with the name under which the company is registered for its RM Account (Import/Export Account) number. Such changes may also necessitate the completion of a new General Agency Agreement (GAA) which is the power of attorney necessary for a customs broker to act on behalf of an importer or exporter and without which, that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) could refuse to transact business.

To quote from the physicist, William G. Pollard, “Information is a source of learning, but unless it is organized, processed, and available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not a benefit.” Let Thompson, Ahern & Co, Ltd. unburden you of the information that will ultimately be of benefit to each of us.

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