Postal Shipment (CBSA Cargo Exemption)
| This article is part of the Shipment Release Types Guide |
A Postal Shipment is a Canadian Shipment Type for goods to clear through the Canada Border Services Agency and as an exemption in an ACI eManifest. It allows for the release of mail moving via a contract carrier from a foreign postal service to Canada Post.[1]
To qualify the shipment must be moving directly from the foreign postal service, e.g. US Postal Service, to Canada Post, and must consist only of letter class mail or correspondence. Merchandise would require a formal or informal entry and would clear under other shipment types.
Reporting Postal Shipments in ACI eManifest
Loads consisting entirely of mail are exempt from ACI eManifest reporting requirements,[1] however carriers do have the option of preparing a manifest for them anyway. Mixed loads consisting of mail and other shipment types, e.g. PARS, must have the postal shipment reported on the manifest.
To report a postal shipment the carrier will need to set the Postal exception code on either the truck, trailer or container, depending on where the mail is loaded. This tells Customs that there is a postal shipment aboard. The carrier will not create an ACI Shipment to report the postal shipment, it must be reported using the exception code only. The example below shows how to report Postal shipments using BorderConnect's ACI eManifest software.
If the postal shipment is the only thing being transported, the carrier can transmit the ACI eManifest with only the trip (conveyance) portion, and no ACI Shipments attached. Otherwise, the other shipments can be added and the manifest can be transmitted normally.
| In order to comply with ACI eManifest requirements you are required to ensure that both your manifest and the broker clearance on any PARS shipments are on file with CBSA for at least one hour before the driver arrives at the border. |