The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) was informed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) the truck turnaround pilot for major Advanced Commercial Information (ACI) related offenses will be removed at all ports of entry on November 2, 2020 in the highway mode.

The truck turnaround policy was first put in place as a collaborative effort by CBSA and CTA in 2017, because of the frequency and severity of administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) that were being issued by CBSA to carriers crossing the border. The turnaround allowed carriers to avoid costly monetary penalties for failure to submit ACI data by allowing a truck driver to return to the U.S. and submit their paperwork before entering Canada.

Since the policy was first implemented, CBSA and CTA have been working jointly to address concerns around compliance and issues with the AMPs regime expressed by carriers across the country. During this time, compliance levels in the industry have continued to increase, with CBSA implementing additional measures and conducting extensive outreach to better educate and work with carriers, before monetary penalties are issued.

CBSA believes it has made the necessary changes to their compliance framework to address the concerns expressed by the trucking industry, including the central review of penalties and increased outreach on compliance issues, to effectively deal with the minority of carriers that have recurring issues. The Alliance will continue working with CBSA over the next several months to monitor CBSA’s approach to ensure that regression in compliance or the unwarranted issuing of penalties from the agency, do not become a recurring issue.

“CTA has significant concerns regarding the removal of this policy – especially during the pandemic and with the current border restrictions in place,” says Lak Shoan, CTA director of policy and industry awareness programs. “CTA appreciates the work done by CBSA to listen to the industry and revamp their approach to more effectively deal with the issuing of AMPs. CTA will be monitoring the situation in November and the following months to ensure the carrier community is not unduly penalized like it was prior to the implementation of the truck-turnaround policy.

“The challenge moving forward will be to ensure the framework being implemented by CBSA remains consistent, fair, and not punitive in its approach. The results so far have been positive. We look forward to working with CBSA to ensure high levels of compliance moving forward.”

CTA and CBSA intend to meet on a regular basis to discuss compliance and any ongoing concerns in the coming months. Issues such as excessive monetary penalty levels; how the AMPs system adversely impacts high volume and less-then-truckload (LTL) carriers; and the responsibility of other supply chain partners in ensuring compliance, among a number of other issues, will continue to be topics of discussion.

For further details on the announcement and additional solutions that have been put in place by the agency, please see the linked CBSA communications in both English and French.

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