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AMPS Penalty C378 - Highway 

 

 

AMPS penalty C378 is based on whether CBSA had an opportunity to properly assess the risk of the cargo and conveyance entering Canada.   The penalty can be significant and CBSA had issued many penalties prior to May 29, 2017 before introducing an Interim Turnaround Policy CN 17-19.  Between May 30, 2017 and November 3, 2020 CBSA allowed carriers to return to the United States if they didn't comply with the ACI requirements and carriers who still crossed were subject to AMPS penalties. A graph below indicates the number of penalties and amounts issued to carriers in all modes between January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2020.

 

 

CBSA issues AMPS Penalty C378 when a carrier fails to submit the required pre-load / pre-arrival information relating to their cargo and / or conveyance.  The prescribed information shall be sent in accordance with the timelines, technical requirements, specifications and procedures for electronic means as set out in the Reporting of Imported Goods Regulations, section 29 and the applicable Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document (ECCRD). 

 

Carriers using EDI can request a copy of Chapter 4 (i.e., the EDI version) of the ECCRD from CBSA's Technical Commercial Client Unit.  If a carrier uses the CBSA eManifest Portal they can download Chapter 7 from the CBSA website.  Staff submitting eManifest declarations should also be familiar with the Highway Pre-arrival Reporting Requirements published in Departmental Memorandum D3-4-2.

 

AMPS penalty C378 was updated in November 2017 to include maximum penalty amounts.  Prior to the update the penalty did not include maximum penalty amounts and some carriers were issued significant penalties.  Today the maximum total amount of penalties assessed for electronic pre-arrival cargo reports not transmitted must not exceed $10,000 for first level, $20,000 for the second level, and $40,000 for the third level. 

 

Some penalties include an escalation clause which can delay the next level of penalty for 30 days.  AMS penalty C378 does not include an escalation clause, so it is possible to incur second and third level penalties within a short period of time.

 

For example a carrier transporting a load with 4 shipments who fails to ensure a true, accurate and complete manifest and shipment declarations have been accepted by CBSA prior to their arrival at the border they may be subject to the maximum penalty amount based on the specific penalty level (i.e. one penalty for the conveyance and four for the cargo).  The penalty level is based on their compliance history for the previous 12 months. (AMPS Penalty C379 may be issued to carriers who successfully submit their eManifest declaration and arrive at the border prior to the one-hour prior notice period being met.)

 

To minimize the potential of incurring a penalty, robust processes must be in place to ensure their eManifest declarations are true, accurate, complete and accepted.  Staff submitting the e-manifest declarations should monitor whether customs systems are functioning properly.  Carriers can subscribe to customs e-mail services to receive messages related to planned and unplanned outages.  Occasionally during outages CBSA will advise carriers to follow CBSA’s System Outage Contingency Plan. To assist carriers eManifest Express system displays a notification to users when either CBSA's or CBP's system are having an outage. 

 

Professional Transport Operators / Drivers should only report to the border after the required prior notice period has been met.  Carriers and Drivers who assume their eManifest declarations have been successfully submitted can easily encounter incidents where their eManifest declarations have not been submitted, have been rejected or many not have met the one hour prior notice period due to system outages and / or delays.  Carriers should consider introducing some safeguards to their processes to minimize the potential of being issued penalties.

 

A few potential strategies may be:

  • If the cross-border conveyances positions are electronically monitored, consider creating geofences close to the borders as a tool to notify staff when a truck is approaching the border to ensure the eManifest is accepted and the prior notice requirement has been met.  
  • Only notify the Professional Transport Operator / Driver when they can cross the border after the eManifest has been accepted.  Ensure the Driver knows when the one-hour prior notice period will be or has been met.
  • If you send the Professional Transport Operator / Driver an ACI lead sheet send it only after the eManifest has been accepted.  Ensure the Driver knows when the one-hour prior notice period will be or has been met.
  • If the eManifest or any shipments requiring an ACI declaration onboard the conveyance are cancelled (i.e. deleted), cancelled and resubmitted, changed, corrected or modified such that the prior notice time period has been reset or the manifest doesn't exist within the CBSA system consider adding additional steps within your process.   Notify the driver that the manifest has been cancelled or changed and they can't report to the border until they receive further instructions.  Then after the manifest / shipment changes have been accepted taking into account whether the prior notice time clock has been reset resent the driver should be notified when they can report to the border and when the prior notice time period will be or has been met.

Note:  eManifest Express has incorporated a number of flags / warnings and automations into the eManifest Express ACI software designed to assist carriers in complying with the eManifest requirements.  To learn more about the eManifest solution, request a demonstration or partake in a 30 day free trial contact us to make arrangements.