A matter of responsibility
Often seen as a necessary evil in business, the customs process is somewhat misunderstood and neglected by international import-export companies. Since the year 2000, the burden of responsibility to comply with customs procedures has been put on the importer.
In the eyes of customs agencies, everything is considered to be in compliance up until it’s verified. At that moment, if your imports or exports are deemed non-compliant, penalties may apply in accordance with the Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS). In light of the fact that these financial penalties have become so severe, it stands to reason that a company’s finance and accounting department should be the one designated to ensure regulatory conformity. Despite its nominal authority over and influence on other departments, it is often the shipping and receiving department that, by default, assumes responsibility for customs compliance. Moreover, these other departments are so busy that they are not even aware of the activities of the shipping and receiving department.
Understanding the Customs Declaration
Some managers pay for customs brokerage services without having a clue as to what the information in their own customs declarations is. Failure to pay close attention has real risks. Basic training programs in customs activities can be very beneficial for businesses, alerting them to the financial consequences if certain seemingly mundane documentation details are overlooked.
W2C Customs Trade Management provides three options to meet all your needs:
- Essential training
- Specific training
- In-company customs training
Our essential training courses
No matter what type of business, the situation is often the same: people assume that the compliance of customs activities is overseen by the customs broker in charge of formalities. Usually, it only takes two or three questions to identify the possible risks companies face and explain the potential impacts.
In the current context of international transactions, proper global trade compliance training makes perfect sense. Your company and your employees need to be accountable and understand the high financial risks of customs non-compliance. As an experienced customs broker, W2C is proud to offer high-level import and export training courses on customs procedures based on your requirements.
Our essential training classes “Customs Compliance I – Overview” and “Customs Compliance II – Intermediate” are indispensable for a solid understanding of the subject matter. These training opportunities cover a wide range of topics, including Canadian and American customs activities, customs clearance import-export issues, customs classification and compliance management as part of your global business activities.
In addition, we offer a training course on “Tariff Classification” so that you can become familiar with the interpretation of the rules of origin and correctly classify your company’s products based on customs tariffs, allowing you to validate the work done by the customs broker.
Where are the essential training sessions held?
Our essential training sessions are held online or in-person.
Our specific training sessions
Our specific training sessions are shorter in duration than our essential training and are also held online or in-person. They will provide you with an overview of a subject related to customs. Our customs experts can enlighten you on different topics:
An introduction to CARM (CBSA assessment & revenue management) project
How to register as an importer on the CARM client portal (CCP)
CARM – Understanding the new financial security requirements
Importing into the United States – an introduction
CUSMA – How to compliantly manage your free trade claims
Our in-company customs training
As a business owner, if you don’t have time to devote to customs processes, you must still ensure that your employees who are responsible for them have all the knowledge necessary to manage customs activities.
In addition to the essential training courses and seminars, we also offer in-company customs training. No matter the number of people you wish to train, different options are available to you.
At W2C, in-company customs training is tailor-made and can be provided individually or in a group. It may also take the form of dynamic daily coaching with your team leaders. W2C knows that every industry and company has its own characteristics, which is why we pay particular importance to details that affect your customs processes (e.g. the nature of your products, your sales and purchases, your production and logistical operations).
Remember that, even though your customs broker acts as your agent, you are still legally responsible for your declarations. Given that you are an expert in your field, it is to your advantage to have a solid understanding of the customs process and to assist in the work of your customs broker.
Objectives
We can show you how to implement control mechanisms and train your employees so that they have a thorough grasp of all your commercial transactions and their implications, with regard to both incoterms and foreign and local customs regulations. We will help you understand customs declarations and implement an approval process for customs declarations and invoices from customs brokers. Remember that you are the one exposed to risk – not the customs broker.
We will take time to analyze the specifics of your operations and then guide you throughout the entire process so that you and your employees become autonomous in your customs management activities.
Our options
We offer the following 3 options for which we can move to your premises or in a room that we will take care to book for your team:
- Individual or group training (among three essential training courses that we offer)
- Training adapted to your company’s business realities, your commercial agreements and customs implications
- Turnkey training: Analysis of your commercial agreements in order to help you introduce a compliance procedure, including training and support for your staff. We will make sure you have all the tools necessary, such as job aids, to help you consistently process your customs transactions on a daily basis
No matter your budget, our international trade compliance training courses and seminars will definitely help you see things more clearly and unravel the complex field of customs activities.
For more information call : 1.514.368.2637 x112