In the commercial environment, the Customs Act establishes a legal obligation for the carrier to report goods to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The Customs Act further establishes a legal obligation for the operator of the conveyance (hereafter referred to as the "carrier"), if requested by a CBSA officer, to present the goods for examination by removing any covering from the goods, unloading any conveyance or opening any part of the conveyance, or opening or unpacking any package or container that a CBSA officer wishes to examine. All persons reporting goods bear full and exclusive responsibility for all costs associated with the offloading and reloading of the conveyance.
The carrier may engage any service provider to perform the offloading service provided they meet the requirements of the CBSA in that they have the appropriate equipment and their staff is security cleared as outlined in this document.
In order to facilitate the efficient performance of these services, the CBSA requires a qualified service provider (hereafter referred to as the "contractor") to be available to provide offloading services at the request of the carrier, should the carrier wish to use those services instead of another service provider, at the twenty (20) Designated Commercial Offices (DCOs) across Canada as listed in Appendix “B” - Designated Commercial Offices.
