CBSA trade compliance verification: what to do when the letter arrives
A trade compliance verification is the CBSA checking your past declarations: usually the tariff classification, the value for duty or the origin of specific goods. It starts with a letter that sets the period and the scope, and ends with a final report you have 90 days to act on.
- Startsnotification letter
- Correctionswithin 90 days
- Look-backup to 4 years
Customs rules change — confirm with the official sources on this page or with a licensed customs broker before you ship.
Two ways to get this done
Do it yourself
Everything you need is on this page, step by step, from official government sources.
Read the guideLet a broker handle it
A licensed broker organizes your answer to the CBSA, checks the final report and files the corrections on time. First look is free.
Request a free reviewIn short
What the CBSA checks, and what follows
The CBSA picks a subject (often a tariff classification, value or origin for certain goods) and asks for documents for a verification period stated in its notification letter: invoices, contracts, proof of origin, product descriptions.
Read the details
If it finds errors, it re-determines the declarations and sends a final report. You must then correct all declarations with the same issue: for the verification period and going forward, or back to the date you had specific information that they were wrong, up to 4 years.
Corrections for the same and similar goods are due within 90 days of the final report. An extension of up to 30 days can be requested within 45 days. Records must be kept for 6 years, so the documents should exist.
Handling a verification, step by step
Read the letter
Note the subject, the goods, the verification period and the date the CBSA expects your answer.
Gather the documents
Collect invoices, contracts, product specifications and proof of origin for the entries in the period. You must keep them for 6 years.
Answer on time
Send complete, organized answers by the date in the letter. Gaps lead to assumptions, rarely in your favour.
Read the final report
Check each re-determination: the code, the value or the origin decided, and the period it covers. You can ask for a review of a re-determination within 90 days.
Correct within 90 days
Submit the corrections for the same and similar goods within 90 days of the final report (an extension of up to 30 days can be asked within 45 days).
Fix it going forward
Update your product codes, origin files and procedures so the next entries are declared correctly.
It doesn’t stop at the goods they looked at
The correction duty covers every declaration with the same issue, not just the transactions in the sample. And a verification can also show errors in your favour: check whether some entries were overpaid and can be refunded.
Common questions
How far back will I have to correct?
For the verification period and going forward. If you already had specific information that the declarations were wrong, back to that date, up to 4 years.
How long do I have after the final report?
90 days from the date of the final report. You can ask for an extension of up to 30 days, no later than 45 days after the report.
Can I disagree with the result?
Yes. You can ask for a review of a re-determination within 90 days.
Can a broker handle the verification?
Yes: gathering documents, answering the CBSA and filing the corrections. Ask for help from a CBSA-licensed brokerage.
Find out what you can get back
A free review of your last 12 months of imports, by a CBSA-licensed brokerage. You keep your current broker.
Keep reading
The next steps most people take from here.
Customs duty refunds
How to claim back overpaid duty in CARM, and the deadlines.
Read →U.S. surtax remission
Which U.S. goods qualify to get Canada’s surtax back, and how to claim it.
Read →AMPS penalty
What a CBSA penalty means and the 90 days you have to challenge it.
Read →Duty recovery review
A free review of 12 months of entries to find duty you can still get back.
Read →