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HS 2012: Customs Tariff Amendments
WCO Changes & New Finance/StatsCan Measures
The Canadian Customs Tariff will undergo a major overall in 2012 as a result of international changes to the Harmonized System (HS) at the World Customs Organization (WCO), as well as simplification initiatives by both the Department of Finance and Statistics Canada.
HS 2012 includes 220 sets of accepted amendments, divided as follows:
• 98 relate to the agricultural sector;
• 27 to the chemical sector;
• 9 to the paper sector;
• 14 to the textile sector;
• 5 to the base metal sector;
• 30 to the machinery sector; and an additional 37 that apply to a variety of other sectors.
Environmental and social issues of global concern are the major feature of these amendments, particularly the use of the HS as the standard for classifying and coding goods of specific importance to food security and the early warning data system of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). HS 2012 amendments also feature new subheadings for specific chemicals controlled under the Rotterdam Convention and ozone-depleting substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol.
The Order Amending the Schedule to the Customs Tariff (Harmonized System Conversion, 2012), SOR/2011-191 is available in the October 12 edition of the Canada Gazette (refer to the Supplement at the end of the document).
Further changes to simplify the Customs Tariff, including the Schedule, were introduced into Parliament by the Minister of Finance on October 4th as Bill C-13. The proposed legislation upon approval will reduce the number of eight-digit tariff items by just over 1,100 and eliminate numerous end-use provisions. Details are available in Parts 3 and 4 as well as Schedules 1 to 3 of the Bill.
Statistics Canada has also been engaged in a simplification project that will remove approximately 7,000 ten-digit classification numbers from the Schedule to the Customs Tariff.
As changes are made at the eight-digit tariff item level by the Department of Finance, Statistics Canada must make the corresponding changes at the ten-digit classification number level. Statistics Canada has already undertaken this exercise with respect to the WCO-related changes to the HS. However, it is still working on the changes resulting from the proposed amendments contained in Bill C-13. The Canada Border Services Agency anticipates publishing all of the changes to the Schedule to the Customs Tariff with concordance tables by December 1, 2011 at the latest.
Depending on the types of products you export and import, you may need to change their classifications. Re-classification could potentially affect any associated licenses, authorizations and inspections. It may also affect how those products are treated under any preferential trade agreements, since reclassification may involve rules of origin.
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