Commercial carrier and freight forwarder identification and eligibility
Guidelines for the Use of BSF673 - House Bill, Cargo and Conveyance Manual Correction Request Form - Post Arrival - All modes

Clients are obligated to provide true, accurate and complete information to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), as per section 7.1 of the Customs Act. Corrections to a transmission must be made by the client as soon as it is known, at any time prior to or following the arrival of the conveyance in Canada.

There may be circumstances where amendments are required to the previously transmitted advance information after the report of the conveyance and/or goods in Canada. Clients are required to amend the advance information as soon as they become aware that the information is no longer accurate, and to electronically transmit amendments to any data element except those identified by the CBSA as a "key data element".

The BSF673 - House Bill, Cargo and Conveyance Manual Correction Request Form - Post Arrival - All modes (referred herein as Form BSF673) may only be used in situations where clients are not authorized to correct the data themselves, following arrival of the conveyance. Form BSF673 is not to be used to request changes prior to arrival of the conveyance in Canada. Changes required prior to arrival are to be transmitted by the clients without the CBSA's assistance.

The key data elements that cannot be amended by the clients post arrival are:

Document Type Data Elements
Conveyance Conveyance Reference Number (CRN)
Cargo Cargo Control Number (CCN)
Customs Self-Assessment (CSA) Indicator
House Bill House Bill Cargo Control Number (HB CCN)  
House Bill Close Message Previous Cargo Control Number (PCCN)

As per the Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document, "document" refers to electronic submission of pre-arrival data.

For post-arrival amendments which need to be made to key data elements on primary cargos (all modes), house bills and conveyance transmissions; or, if a cargo and/or conveyance arrival message was sent in error prior to the actual arrival, warehouse operators, carriers, freight forwarders and/or their services providers will be required to present two copies of the completed Form BSF673 to the local CBSA commercial office.

For the purpose of these guidelines, and to provide consistency and clarity within this document, the following definitions are provided:

Post arrival:
When the conveyance has arrived and reported, and all related cargo is in a "Reported status".
Amend:
Amendments can be transmitted by clients for non-key data elements. The amend function is the transmission of an entire new document replacing the entire document on file.
Correct:
Post-arrival corrections are completed by the CBSA on the key data elements that clients cannot electronically amend themselves. The correct function is the cancellation of a document in its entirety by the CBSA and a new transmission by the client.
Adjust:
Adjustments are completed by the CBSA on House Bill data only. This function allows adjustments of key data elements within a House Bill document post arrival.
Delete:
Deletions by the CBSA are completed post arrival only, as client can delete any document themselves prior to arrival. The delete function is the complete removal of a document or packages of documents.
House Bill:
A cargo control document submitted by a freight forwarder for shipments that have, or will be, deconsolidated from another cargo control document.
House Bill Close Message:
This message is provided by the freight forwarder to identify all House Bills related to a consolidated primary cargo document or a consolidated House Bill document for closure purposes.

Although Form BSF673 allows for amending certain information post arrival, the CBSA monitors all House Bill, Cargo and Conveyance documents for accuracy.

The CBSA may conduct verification in such circumstances where clients are requesting a higher than acceptable number of corrections/adjustments, or when there are concerns that the manual correction process is being misused by a carrier or freight forwarder.

The CBSA will work directly with carriers and freight forwarders who have been identified through CBSA monitoring activities as having an unacceptable history of amendments, corrections or adjustments post arrival for compliance and/or educational purposes. This could include the CBSA contacting clients to discuss their concerns and to provide guidance to assist them in determining the cause of the repeated errors.

The goal of the CBSA is to work directly with those clients to ensure compliance with section 7.1 of the Customs Act.

Carriers and freight forwarders are encouraged to submit a completed Form BSF673 to the CBSA as soon as the error is discovered. Clients are required to present two copies of the completed form to the local CBSA commercial office. In those circumstances where an immediate correction is required when the conveyance has been reported at the port of entry (e.g. driver is waiting) two completed copies of the CBSA Form BSF673 can be presented to the port to allow the conveyance to proceed.

The CBSA will validate the request and complete the bottom section of the Form BSF673 and return a copy to the client. In the case of a correction, the client has five business days to transmit the corrected document to the CBSA.

Clients must keep completed forms on file for three years, in accordance with the Transportation of Goods Regulations and section 22 of the Customs Act.

Corrections to a key data element in a conveyance document:

The CBSA will cancel the existing conveyance document on file to enable the client to transmit electronically the new CRN within five business days.

Please note that to correct the CRN for an air or a marine conveyance report, clients must first update each related Cargo document to reflect the correct CRN and then submit two copies of the completed CBSA Form BSF673 to the local CBSA commercial office.

Corrections to a key data element in a Cargo document:

Requests for a correction to a key data element in a cargo document post arrival for goods that are still under the control of the carrier, freight forwarder or sufferance warehouse operator will normally be processed by the CBSA. If the cargo document has been acquitted, additional documentary evidence may be requested.

Client must present two completed form BSF673 and supporting documents (if applicable) to the local CBSA commercial office. The CBSA will cancel the existing document on file to enable the client to transmit a corrected report within five business days.

In the highway and rail modes, once the corrected document has been transmitted, the client must then update the list of CCNs linked to the CRN by amending the list of CCNs on the conveyance report.

In the air and marine modes, clients must amend the cargo document information to quote the correct CRN in order to establish the link.

To change the CSA indicator on a highway cargo document from an N to Y, clients must present two completed Form BSF673 to the local CBSA commercial office and the following supporting valid documentation:

Adjustment to a key data element in a House Bill document:

Requests for an adjustment to a key data element in a House Bill document post arrival for goods that are still under the control of the carrier, freight forwarder or sufferance warehouse operator will normally be processed by the CBSA. If the cargo document has been acquitted, additional documentary evidence (e.g. release requests) may be requested. Clients requesting adjustments to a key data element in a House Bill document must ensure two completed Form BSF673 to be presented to the local CBSA commercial office indicating the correct information.

Correction when arrival messages for cargo and/or conveyance have been transmitted in error:

Clients requesting a correction when they have transmitted a cargo and/or conveyance arrival message in error must complete Form BSF673 and present two completed copies to the local CBSA commercial office, providing details in the "WACM / CACM" field.

For any questions, please contact the CBSA. Contact information for the CBSA BIS can be found at General information.

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