The Road to an iPhone App – BorderPro Launches

Border Pro for iPhone“What do we need an iPhone app for?” Was the question asked when I suggested attending an iPhone Developer Course in the 2011. After some convincing, I registered and flew to Atlanta, Georgia to attend the course. A year later, Pacific Customs Brokers releases ‘BorderPro’ iPhone application v1.

As the General Manager of Information Technology for Pacific Customs Brokers, it was obvious from the beginning, Pacific’s commitment to technology. In the early 1990’s, Pacific’s primary focus was to be established on the internet, with email services and websites. Shortly after, we developed a PDF document system (www.formlink.com) that allowed our clients to submit customs documentation directly through an online forms system, which is still used by many of our clients today for both U.S. and Canadian documentation. Almost 20 years later the technology landscape is quite different.  The focus now is on services and website users expect more than just marketing material. The reach of internet is everywhere and smartphones, iPhones and iPads are now commonplace. Mobiles are becoming the platform (some might argue it has already became the platform) and Pacific Customs Brokers recognizes the need for an iPhone Application for carriers.

The concept was a fairly simple one, create an iPhone app that exposes our PARS and SCN tracking lookups.  Our existing website based tracking is heavily used by many carriers servicing our clients for tracking the release status of shipments. Our development focus over the past 10 years has been on web-based solutions.  Developing an iPhone app required a change in our development process, a change in technology and a re-tooling of our backend web-services to leverage the iPhone platform.  An iPhone application is quite different from the fluid nature of developing website based applications.  With a website we can tweak on the fly, make changes, test and fix. The iPhone development is much more stringent – it is about getting it right before it is released.  For us this meant rethinking our design process, our marketing process and our development process from the ground up.

The ‘BorderPro’ iPhone app is a first for Pacific Customs Brokers, and a first in North America for a purpose built customs brokerage tracking application.  It provides direct lookups for both PARS and SCN entries into our backend systems – giving the end user real-time clearance status updates.  It also provides the end user the ability to subscribe to a SCN or PARS tracking feed and receive SMS/Text messages with up to date tracking changes for any number of PARS or SCN numbers.  Any client can easily track and get tracking updates from any iPhone anywhere, anytime of the day or night.

The BorderPro iPhone app is the result of close to a year of planning, testing, design, and learning and is clearly a stepping stone into the future for Pacific Customs Brokers.  Our IT team has plans for the next version of our iPhone app that will add new features and functionality to this platform making it even more useful to our customers, clients and partners.

During that time, Pacific has taken many twists and turns, but always committed to technology.

Learn more about the BorderPro iPhone app »

 

Posted on January 24th, 2012 by Jeff Bourassa
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Posted in Canada Customs, Carrier, Transportation, US Customs
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Top 10 Reasons Why a Carrier Would Have to See a Customs Broker

Red truckA driver’s cross border journey is so much more than picking up freight and proceeding with delivery. Crossing international borders, especially with commercial freight, means complying with the rules of the governing country.

There are many aspects for the carrier to consider when planning their journey: transportation permits, routes, road conditions, hours and what customs requirements apply to the goods on board.

While most entries must be transmitted to the CBSA electronically for review, there are a number of exceptions to this rule. Here is a list of those exceptions to help give you a better understanding of some of the reasons you or your driver may have to stop your journey along the way:

  • Invoice lines in excess of 250 lines – When an invoice covers a large number of purchased goods, it can take a customs broker quite some time to key it line by line. This is why customs has allowed entries exceeding 250 lines to be presented as a paper entry to help expedite the clearance process.
  • Multiple Highway Cargo Control Numbers at Frontier
  • Courier Low Value Shipment rejected from consist
  • Other government department permit or certificate required – There are certain goods that cannot be released electronically because they require a permit, certificate or license to be presented to CBSA. An example of this would be vehicles that require Form 1 or fire arms that require a special permit.
  • System outage (ie. customs broker, CBSA or CFIA)
  • Shortages, Entered to Arrive, Value Included – These goods are reported when the quantity of goods originally reported to the CBSA is different from that received by the importer or broker.
  • Provisional – When the importer/owner or broker cannot establish a final value for duty of goods at the time of importation. In such cases, goods may be released under the interim accounting provisions.
  • Prime & ETAs – When an item is too large to fit on one truck and transportation of the goods will be split up onto a number of trucks.
  • Used self propelled vehicles – Goods that require US customs authorization to export before they will be CBSA released.
  • Used machinery requiring inspection – Goods that may have soil or dirt present must be inspected to ensure that the proper cleaning precautions have been taken.

In any of the above cases, the customs broker will instruct you or your driver to come into their office to collect a paper package, which they will have prepared in advance.  After obtaining instruction from the customs broker, you will proceed to the customs booth and advise the border service officer (BSO) that you need to see your customs broker. The border service officer will instruct you where to park while you take care of your documentation.

Once you’ve visited the customs broker and have obtained the paper package, those documents need to be presented to CBSA for their release decision. If release has been granted, Customs will stamp your paperwork released and you may then proceed with final delivery.

Do your due diligence and always ensure that your entries are good to go before proceeding to the border. By doing this, it gives you and the customs broker an opportunity to communicate any special instructions to each other.

 

 

Posted on January 9th, 2012 by Sonia Stanton
Posted in Canada Customs, Carrier, Your Broker Knows
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2 Simple Rules to Lending Carrier Codes

Blue TruckThe rules for the lending of carrier codes are fairly straightforward.

Two Simple Rules:

  • Bonded highway carriers may lend their code out to non-bonded carriers
  • Non-bonded highway carriers cannot lend their code to any other carriers

Bonded highway carriers may contract with other non-bonded carriers to transport goods on their behalf because they have posted maximum security of $25,000. The bonded carrier must issue a Letter of Authorization to the non-bonded carrier in order for the non-bonded carrier to be able to proceed with the load. The contracting carrier (carrier borrowing the code) must produce, upon request, the Letter of Authorization signed by the originating carrier (the bonded carrier) at time of report. The Letters of Authorization must be printed on company letterhead and must adhere to the format outlined by the Canada Border Services Agency.

The bonded carrier lending his carrier code maintains full liability for the goods and the performance of the carrier they are lending it to. Any tracers or penalties will be issued to the authorizing bonded highway carrier. The bonded carrier is also responsible for controlling the distribution and validity of Letters of Authorization of being issued.

Before you lend or borrow a carrier code, do your due diligence and be aware of the rules and responsibilities involved.

For more detailed information and a sample of the Letter of Authorization.

Are you a non-bonded carrier that’s interested in becoming bonded? Visit Border Pro for Carriers  and/or call our Carrier Relations Liaison toll-free at 855.542.6644 for more information.

 

Posted on January 4th, 2012 by Sonia Stanton
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Posted in Canada Customs, Carrier, Transportation, Your Broker Knows
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Help ! My Shipment is Stuck at the Border

Always OpenMany times, we as customs brokers receive phone calls from importers, shippers, dispatchers and carriers frantically trying to find out why their shipment is “stuck at the border”. Lucky for them, we are ALWAYS Open 24/7, with live reception and no voice mail.

Sometimes it is a very simple answer and other incidence’s are more complex. Below are some of the most common reasons why a shipment may be stuck at the border.

1. Documents make no mention of who the customs broker is to assist with the clearance.  “Customs Clearance- contact Pacific Customs Brokers 888.538.1566”

2. Documents are hard to decipher who the actual Importer of Record is. The Importer of Record (IOR) can be;

  •  The receiver of the goods – usually called “consignee”
  • The shipper (acting as a “Non-Resident Importer” (NRI) and already set up with a Canadian customs broker)
  • A third party having their shipments drop shipped from another location and in most cases will also be acting as a “Non-Resident Importer”

3. Neither the shipper or the consignee have not set up anything formally with a Canadian customs broker to effect customs clearance.

4. The driver/freight company picking up freight only has a Bill of Lading and is not given any other documents such as a commercial invoice or Canada Customs invoice.

5. Documents/commercial invoice does not have enough information to be able to prepare the entry for presentation and clearance with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Some of the information that can hold this up is:

  • not enough information to  classify the goods (Tariff Classification)
  • total value or individual values are missing
  • country of manufacture is missing
  • total number of pieces is missing
  • weight is missing
  • commercial invoice document only shows product numbers or abbreviated number & item name (no general description of what the goods are). See below for examples.

For example: – 1956842ftp clr scn/cpy/prnt (not an acceptable description)

-   1956842ftp – Scanner/copier/printer unit (an acceptable description)

6. The document is not the correct document to obtain a customs clearance (i.e. purchase order or pick ticket)

7. A few more reasons freight crossing the border is often delayed may be due to the actual commodity being shipped. Perhaps there are other government agencies that are involved in approving the goods for Customs clearance, such as items that are under control of Canadian Food Inspections Agency (CFIA).

They require CFIA approval and some commodities are under quota and require an Import Permit. Perhaps the goods are listed on the Import Control List and require an Import Permit, such as some steel items.   Meat shipments and those requirements are also extensive.

It is always a good idea to check with a customs broker for any special requirements or extra documentation and / or extra steps that may need to be taken to properly clear the goods across the border prior to ordering or shipping.

When in doubt, be sure to contact your customs broker. They’ll properly advise on what you need to do and what they need in order for your shipment (s) to avoid delays and have a seamless Customs clearance process.

 

 

 

Posted on January 3rd, 2012 by Allison Douglas
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Posted in Canada Customs, Carrier, Transportation, Your Broker Knows
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What To Do When Your PARS Is Not On File

Border crossingThere are instances when a shipment hasn’t been processed by the time a carrier arrives at the border. While the delays are frustrating there are usually specific reasons as to why this has occurred. Some of which you may be able to avoid with a better understanding of what causes them and what procedures you can follow to help ease your experience at the border.

The first step is to understand some of the reasons why your shipment hasn’t been set up:

  • The customs broker never received the paperwork – Did you confirm with the customs broker that they received your fax or email?
  • The customs broker was not given ample processing time – Did you send your paperwork at the time you picked up the freight? Doing this gives the customs broker the maximum time to process the entry. The type of commodity imported and size of the entry also determines how much time is required to process it.
  • There is pertinent release information missing – No invoice has been provided, country of manufacture is missing for all or some of the items, complete description of goods is not clear, licenses, permits or certificates are required and missing etc.
  • The goods being imported can’t be set up under the PARS – Some examples: Prime & ETA, goods requiring inspection, used self propelled vehicles.

In any of these cases the driver will be directed (by the customs officer) to see the customs broker for further assistance. When arriving at the customs broker’s office you need to present them with all of the documents that you have:

  •  The referral slip (yellow) from CBSA – Form E67(08)
  • Canada Customs or Commercial Invoices
  • Bills of lading
  • Any licenses, permits or certificates

The customs broker will need to resolve the issue and resubmit to the CBSA for their release decision. These entries can be resolved either by electronic transmission or in the form of a paper package. ‘Failed PARS’ shipments are either released at the border or forwarded in bond for release at a later date.

To avoid a duplicate release of these shipments, the cargo control number (CCN) submitted with the PARS request must be re-used on a cargo control document. The CCN must be handwritten or typed on a blank cargo control document, Form A8A(B). This form is free and can be obtained from CBSA, your dispatch or the customs broker handling the clearance.

Carriers using their own pre-printed cargo control documents should cross out the existing bar-coded number and type or neatly handwrite the original failed PARS number in the “Previous cargo control No.” field. In either instance, the notation “Failed PARS” must be marked in the description field of the cargo control document.

Please note that handwritten/typed CCNs on A8A(B) forms will only be accepted when a PARS procedure fails. Carriers will be subject to a penalty under the Administrative Monetary Penalty System if they fail to comply with the bar-code requirements for all other reporting and release processes.

Failed PARS shipments should not happen regularly. If this is the case, please check with your customs broker to identify and resolve the problem.

 

 

 

 

Posted on December 21st, 2011 by Sonia Stanton
Posted in Canada Customs, Carrier, Transportation, Your Broker Knows
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