Foreign Vendors Sending Free Samples - Maybe Not
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Foreign Vendors Sending Free Samples - Maybe Not

Every commodity that crosses the border requires specified details for customs clearance, including the free of charge commercial samples. Through the course of business, importers commonly receive commercial samples from suppliers and vendors from both the U.S. and overseas.  

Many vendors would deem these shipments as zero value (free of charge) to their Canadian clients. But for Canada Customs purposes, the shipper must declare a fair market value. If not, improper declaration may lead to penalties (Administrative Monetary Penalty System - AMPS) or possible seizures by Canada Border Services Agency.  When in doubt, we highly recommend speaking with your customs broker.

AMPS - How Would This Affect Your Bottom Line?
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Disclaimer: While reading, kindly note the date of this blog. At PCB we do our due diligence to write on the most relevant topic every week and naturally content may become dated as developments in a certain program/topic occur. For this reason, we greatly appreciate your readership and hope you continue reading with the posting date in mind. For the latest information on this topic please use our website's search function, or better yet, subscribe to our "Trading Post" newsletter to receive these updates directly to your inbox.
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About the Author
Gloria Terhaar
CCS (CA/US), CTCS, LCB

Gloria Terhaar began her customs brokerage career in 2002 and soon after joined PCB Global Trade Management. Since her start date in 2007, Gloria Terhaar has forged an impeccable reputation working progressively from an operations role to her current responsibilities as Trade Compliance Supervisor and a Regulatory Analyst. In these roles her in-depth knowledge of regulatory requirements relating to imports into Canada ensures that our company’s practices are developed and updated to operate within government regulations. She is a dependable, approachable problem-solver and critical thinker with the resilience to tackle and handle many job responsibilities in an agile manner. Gloria enjoys educating others about Importing and has spoken at talks for MNP, the Surrey Board of Trade, TFO Canada, the BC Produce Marketing Association and various importers. She also represents PCB on the Canadian Produce Marketing Association Government Issue Management Committee and participates in annual advocacy events, where she advocates to Government officials for the Canadian produce industry. Recently, she was also accepted to participate on the CSCB task force related to the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) initiative. Gloria's passion for customs brokerage is shown in her commitment to educating trade chain partners about the industry and keeping abreast of the ever changing landscape of Acts, Regulations and policies that affect trade.

While we strive for accuracy in all our communications, as the Importer of Record it is incumbent upon your company to ensure that you are aware of the requirements under the new regulations so that you maintain compliance as always.