Customs Notice 20-24
CBSA reporting patterns IT limitations

This notice provides information on how to transmit high volumes of cargo reports. It is for the attention of carriers, freight forwarders, importers, brokers and service providers.

1. A high number of cargos per conveyance or a high number of Advance Commercial Information (ACI) supplemental or electronic house bills per primary cargo are a concern because they generate:

• long running transactions that fail to complete due to excessive processing
• reporting volumes that exceed peak hour expectations:
  • reporting of a high volume of trade documents within a short timespan
• slowing down operational workflow:
  • retrieval and consumption of large document to document relationships

2. In order to successfully transmit large amounts of data we recommend the following:

• transmit cargo, conveyance, house bill, supplemental reports and release information as early as possible in order to provide maximum time for customs review in advance of arrival
• consider sending large data transmissions outside of regular business hours, and in smaller batches
• be aware of the document reporting limitations, technical requirements and approved processes

When the number of reports on a conveyance exceeds 1,500, multiple electronic conveyance reports must be submitted and in highway mode, multiple eManifest lead sheets must be presented at arrival. Adhering to the prescribed limits and processes will help ensure smooth processing. Details on limits can be found in the Electronic Commercial Client Requirements Documents (ECCRDs).

Further, if more than 1,500 ACI supplemental reports would otherwise be related to a single air or marine cargo, additional cargos reports must be submitted so that no more than 1,500 are related to a single cargo report.

Consult Electronic Data Interchange requirements and limitations for important EDI reporting limitations to follow when transmitting high-volume shipments.

3. If you become involved in new movements of high-volume shipments on single commercial conveyances, consider communicating in advance with the CBSA office of arrival and/or of release. Advance communication contributes to operational readiness on the part of the CBSA, allowing for a streamlined border process.

4. For email support on eManifest policy and processes, contact the eManifest Help Desk at emanifest-manifestelectronique@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.

5. For additional information regarding eManifest requirements clients may visit the High-volume e-commerce shipments.

Date modified:

2020-09-29