SIMA Canadian Customs consultants Canada brokerage brokers

The following information is from the Anti-dumping and
Countervailing Directorate at the CCRA.

January 7, 2002

Legislation has received Royal Assent to allow the Canada
Customs and Revenue Agency to implement its Customs Action
Plan. The purpose of this letter is to provide you with more
detail on one of the initiatives that will affect goods
subject to the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA). This
relates to the harmonization of payment due dates and the
application of interest on SIMA duties (including refunds)
with the payment, refund and collection provisions of the
Customs Act.

The key changes to SIMA for the harmonization of payment and
interest are as follows:

The provisions of the Customs Act will apply for the
payment, collection and refund of any SIMA duty levied or
returned. The demand for payment by the Commissioner will no
longer be required.

The payment or the posting of security for SIMA duties will
be required at the time of accounting, in accordance with the
Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties
Regulations.

Any interest on SIMA duties owing or returned will be
applied under the Customs Act. This will allow for the same
rules to be followed in the application of interest on either
SIMA duties or other customs duties. Kindly refer to the
attached Appendix to this letter for details on how interest
will be calculated.

It is expected that criteria similar to those of other
customs duties will be used to reduce the interest rate from
the specified to the prescribed rate or to waive or cancel
interest. The criteria currently used under the Customs Act
are contained in Customs D Memorandum 11- 6-5.

At the time of writing this letter, it is anticipated that
the changes on the provisions of payment and interest related
to SIMA goods will be implemented on July 1, 2002. As the
timing becomes more definite, the implementation dates will
be posted on the SIMA web site
www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/customs/business/sima/index-e.html.

If you have any questions on the proposed changes, please
contact Adrienne Duff, Senior Policy Analyst, Anti-dumping
and Countervailing Directorate:

Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
Anti-dumping and Countervailing Directorate
19th Floor, Sir Richard Scott Building
191 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5
Phone: (613) 954-0036
Fax: (613) 954-2510
E-mail: adrienne.duff@ccra-adrc.gc.ca

The Customs Action Plan initiative related to SIMA