Programs Designed to Save Your Revenue

The Duties Relief Program, 

is a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) program.

 This program is available to importers into Canada 

who can relieve themselves of the payment of customs duties, 

at the time of importation.

This relief is on imported goods 

that you will eventually export either in the same condition 

or after being consumed, expended or 

used in the processing of other goods.

As a result, under this program, you only pay the duties on your goods at a later date, after you have used them or exported them.

Instead of when they first arrive in Canada

 In two words, cash flow.
 

For many, the drawback process is used 

to recover the customs duties originally paid on goods 

that are exported out of the country.
 

This could take many months 

or in some cases over a year 

for you to recover your money. 

However, with this program,

 instead of paying the duties upfront 

upon the arrival of your goods, 

you only pay the duties when you 

use them or export them.

  Participation in this program requires approval from the CBSA. 

Once approved, you simply file a "Customs Duties Owed" 

monthly report to the government.
 

In order to minimize the time to obtain your approval 

and begin realizing the cash flow benefits of this program, 

based on our experiences we recommend the following approach:

1. Internal Systems GAP Analysis
2. Mock CBSA Assessment Test
3. Complete & Submit Duties Relief Program Application
4. CBSA On-Site Validation Support
5. Post Approval Monthly Reporting Verification to CBSA

We have assisted many companies in successfully incorporating this program into their business operation. 

Whether you are evaluating participating in this program 

or have already started the process and are in need of some assistance to complete the process, 

our team can help.
 

We will arrange a complimentary, no obligation meeting with you and your team to review where you are in the process, share our experiences with you, and discuss next steps.

Based on your needs, we can help you develop your program 

from the ground up, assist you with a specific portion of the application process, or we can file your monthly customs duties diversion report to the CBSA on your behalf, once you are approved. 

You decide how best to leverage our 

Customs Compliance Department resources.

 Do you use a current customs ruling 

to declare duties & taxes owed 

on similar type goods, and/or new products 

imported by your company?

Have you been negatively impacted by a 

Customs Administration's Trade Verification Review?

Do you have existing rulings which will, or 

have become invalid due to product design changes, 

or legislative changes, such as a change to the Customs Tariff?
 

If any of the above scenarios apply to you, 

then our Subsequent Rulings Program can help you 

to reduce your landed costs and protect your brand.

 Cost Certainty

Your duty rates will be confirmed in writing by the Customs Administration of the country where your goods are imported.

Predictability & Compliance

Your products will be protected by a customs ruling, binding the Customs Administration on how your products will be correctly reported.

Visibility to Government Changes in Policy

Policy changes not yet officially announced are legislatively required to be communicated to you, for the customs rulings obtained under this program.

You will be able to make proactive instead of reactive decisions, related to your global sourcing, supplier purchase orders, and landed cost/profit margin calculations.

  For your new & similar type products, or products with recent design changes, simply provide us with a listing of the product numbers and any relevant product information, our team will take care of everything else.

Where changes to government legislation could impact your products, we will analyze & determine the impact of these changes to your existing customs rulings, and we take care of everything else.

Our interactive and customizable reporting provides you with full visibility, and transparency to monitor our progress in real time. Allowing you the ability to provide us feedback or to ask us any questions when it is convenient for you. 

You can stay focused on your day-to-day activities, 

while monitoring the progress of our work, on your schedule. 

 Simply select your customs ruling filing frequency, 

and we take care of the rest 

Select from: 

annual, quarterly, monthly ruling filings 

or per specific request.

You can change your frequency at anytime

We will be transparent 

& communicate with you on a regular basis, 

so you know exactly the status 

of all your products managed under this program.

 For the vast majority of importers 

and their trade chain partners, 

the process in establishing the landed cost of your goods,

starts by analyzing your finished products 

to determine the best possible classification 

and duty rate available.
 

A Tariff Engineering Program takes the opposite approach, 

by examining the many stages of the 

product's design & development cycle 

with the lowest possible duty rates already identified.

With a slight product design modification, 

packaging adjustment, and/or marketing modification, 

this program can produce significant gains 

in market share for your products 

and savings in your landed costs.

 Did you know that a Customs Administration 

will look well beyond your physical product 

when determining the H.S. Classification and 

duty rate that you should be paying? 

They are trained to analyze and take into consideration 

many aspects of your product. Some examples include:

1. Marketing material 
2. Website content
3. Owners’ manuals and product instruction guides
4. How your product is packaged for retail sale
5. Other items that might be included in the retail package 

A Customs Administration’s primary function is to 

protect the government's revenue, so they will use 

Tariff Engineering techniques to determine 

the highest duty rates possible for your goods.

Our program simply takes these same techniques to 

identify the lowest possible duty rates for your products.

  Dominion's Rulings & Appeals Department is tasked with one simply goal, to ensure that the team understands 

the customs legislation & regulations better than 

the policy makers who wrote them. 

That is why this team is entrusted to deliver this program for you. 

Since they are communicating with Customs Administrations 

on a daily basis, they thoroughly understand what these administrations are specifically looking for 

when rendering a ruling decision, and use this information 

to build the strongest, most compelling position on your behalf.
 

Simply let us know which product lines you wish us to review, 

and our team will take it from there. 

We will deconstruct your product, its packaging 

and how it is marketed, to identify potential opportunities 

in lowering your duty rates.

  Select the products and/or product lines 

that you are interested in moving into our 

Tariff Classification Engineering Program 

and we take care of the rest 

Our interactive and customizable reporting 

provides you with full visibility, and transparency 

to monitor our progress in real time. 

Providing you with the ability to give us feedback, 

or ask to us any questions when it is convenient for you. 

You can stay focused on your day-to-day activities, 

while monitoring the progress of our work, on your schedule.

  Have you been using the same Customs Broker for many years and curious if the rates you are paying are competitive?
 

Has your business grown or evolved to the point 

that you are now questioning if there is a Customs Broker 

out there, that could be a better fit for your company?

Ae you unhappy with your current Customs Broker 

and feel its time for a change?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, 

then it might be time to conduct a 

Customs Brokerage Request for Proposal (RFP).

  The most common challenge is finding the time 

to conduct a Custom Brokerage RFP,  so many companies 

stay the course with their existing customs broker, 

even if they are unhappy.

With Dominion's Customs Brokerage RFP Program, you now have access to a team of former Customs Brokers who can help. 

Our program is fully scalable, so if you have already started 

your own RFP process and require assistance, or 

simply would like our team to manage the process 

from start to finish, we can help.

While we work with and support many 

different Customs Brokers, Dominion is not a Customs Broker.

Our role is to provide you with an unbiased perspective, 

to help you select the best Customs Broker for your operation.

  Given the many steps involved in conducting a successful Customs Brokerage RFP, communication and visibility is critical.

Our interactive and customizable reporting provides you 

with full visibility, and transparency to 

monitor our progress in real time. 

Allowing you the ability to provide us feedback, 

or to ask us any questions when it is convenient for you. 

Whether it be:

• Developing your Customs Brokerage RFP questionnaire
• Communicating with the RFP participants
• Reviewing, and analyzing the RFP responses
• Participating in final round presentations

our customized reporting will allow you to 

stay focused on your day-to-day activities, 

while monitoring the progress of our work, on your schedule.

  Our team is here to support you.
 

You simply advise our team, 

how we can best support your team during this process.

Our team of Customs Brokerage RFP resources 

collectively have over one hundred and fifty years 

of brokerage experience, that you can leverage 

throughout the process.
 

We will be transparent 

and communicate with you on a regular basis, 

so you know exactly where we are in the 

Customs Brokerage RFP process.