We often have cargo consigned to us that we do not know of until we receive the arrival notice from the carrier in Canada. If eManifest is not properly filed and as per deadlines, who is responsible for the fines? Can the Canadian forwarder be exempted from fines in these situations?

We often have cargo consigned to us that we do not know of until we receive the arrival notice from the carrier in Canada. If eManifest is not properly filed and as per deadlines, who is responsible for the fines? Can the Canadian forwarder be exempted from fines in these situations?

There are several complexities in this question. When eHBL is mandatory (January 4, 2021):
  1. The AMP is against the company whose 8000 code was used to file the eHBL and Close Message. (For example, late transmission or not true and correct)
  2. If the shipment is a marine shipment, it will only load overseas if the eHBL data
    has been filed within the timeframes. If the eHBL was filed by a ‘foreign / nonCanadian’ forwarder under its 8000, that shipment could arrive in Canada and be Customs cleared and delivered before you even know about it. And you, the Canadian forwarder named on the master bill of lading, would still be liable to the steamship line as the consignee on that contract of carriage. CIFFA’s recommendation is that every Canadian forwarder instruct every agent not to consign cargo to your company without your express approval and your company determines whose 8000 code is used to file the eHBL.
  3. If air freight and the shipment arrives in Canada without the eHBL transmission within the timeframes (i.e.: 4 hours prior to Arrival) then i) there will be delays on arrival as there will be no risk assessment data available to the CBSA and ii) the CBSA may file an AMP for non-compliance, in which case the freight forwarder would have to argue that it had not received any alert from the origin.