Why is it important to renew your certificates NOW?

In order for your Canadian or U.S. customers to claim duty-free status under the North American Free Trade Agreement, a properly completed NAFTA Certificate of Origin must be in our possession by no later than December 23.

Failure to renew your Certificates of Origin will result in the significantly higher MFN duty rate being assessed on your goods after January 2.

It is against Customs regulations to claim the NAFTA preferential duty rate when a valid certificate is not available at the time of import. Under Canada's new Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS), significant fines (ranging up to $5,000 per instance) can be assessed for using an incorrect tariff treatment or for the failure to have a valid certificate on hand at the time of import. Penalties for recordkeeping infractions of up to $25,000 may also be levied by Customs.

Our Policy:

To ensure that our clients are protected against Customs-assessed AMPS penalties, Buckland will not use the NAFTA preferential duty rate on imported goods unless we have a valid NAFTA Certificate of Origin in our possession at the time of import.

Your vendors who do not normally provide new "blanket" Certificates of Origin automatically should be contacted immediately and the NAFTA certificate requested.

New certificates obtained from your vendors should be reviewed to ensure basic accuracy (e.g., properly completed, signed, dated, etc.) and a copy then sent to our office by mail or fax. These can be transmitted individually as they are received or in batches.

We also request that you take this opportunity to review the vendor list and let us know if you are no longer dealing with particular companies. Your assistance in keeping us up-to-date with your suppliers will allow us to delete non-active vendors from our system and avoid unnecessary queries.

Buckland Clients - Canadian Exporters

Utilize the online forms and resources provided here to prepare blanket NAFTA Certificates of Origin for the goods you export on a regular basis to the United States and/or Mexico. Completed forms should be printed and then faxed or mailed to your U.S./Mexican customers or their customs broker. If you sell goods on a "landed" basis (i.e., you are the Importer of Record) and Buckland acts on your behalf clearing U.S. or Mexican Customs, then fax or mail your certificate(s) to our office.

U.S. Exporters (Buckland client vendors)

Utilize the online forms and resources provided here to prepare blanket NAFTA Certificates of Origin for the goods you export on a regular basis to Canadian companies.

It is critical that the instructions to complete the NAFTA Certificate are followed. Failure to do so may result in processing delays, possible shipment delays and may render the Certificate invalid by Customs. The Certificate is a legal document and should be signed by a person in your company who has full knowledge of the NAFTA rules and regulations.

Upon receipt of your certificate(s), the pertinent information will be entered into our system so you or your customer will continue to receive the benefit of lower or zero rated duties applied to your customs entries. Consistent with the recordkeeping requirements, we retain all blanket certificates throughout the five and six year statute of limitations for audit and verification purposes.

Note: To cover the cost of processing, review of certificate, document retention costs and updating our system for your eligibility, an annual administrative fee will be applied for each vendor Certificate of Origin received.

Need more information?

For a detailed analysis of your product's eligibility, assistance in reviewing your NAFTA process or our NAFTA solicitation services, please contact your customs compliance analyst at 1-800-991-4944.