Notice to industry – Changes to the submission process concerning original phytosanitary certificates
Importers submitting a Request for Documentation Review (CFIA/ACIA 5272) to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) National Import Service Centre are no longer required to send by mail the original hardcopy of the phytosanitary certificate which accompanies the e-mail or fax submission of the form.
Instead, importers will be required to the keep the original phytosanitary certificate and make it available to the CFIA upon request for a minimum of 2 years from the date the shipment entered Canada.
Requiring importers to keep the original will facilitate access to these documents when needed (for example, for verification or re-exporting purposes) and will lower the burden on both the CFIA and the importers.
Note that the CFIA will be updating the instructions in the appendix to form CFIA/ACIA 5272 to account for these changes. For more information on the submission of import documentation, please communicate with the National Import Service Centre.
Source: Government of Canada
View Farrow’s Customs Consulting page.
