CANADA. In a move welcomed by the Frontier Duty Free Association (FDFA), Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Steven Blaney has streamlined duty free regulations that will reduce costs and the administrative burden on both the industry and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). This follows a lengthy Strategic Review of the duty free business by government, started in 2010.
The key changes include the lengthening of licensing terms for duty free shops from five to ten years and duty free shop owners will no longer need to notify the CBSA immediately upon receipt of goods, as they did before.
Importantly, the CBSA had placed a moratorium on the issuance of new duty free shop licences until the review was complete, though existing licences were renewed. That moratorium looks set to be lifted.
The new processes aim to eliminate outdated requirements for the 53 licensed duty free shops at Canada’s land borders and airports – and create a new legal and regulatory framework for the industry.
The changes, noted the government, also allow the CBSA to better focus its resources on its core mandate of safety, security and the facilitation of legitimate trade and travel. The CBSA will continue to monitor compliance to ensure that duty free products are sold for immediate export only and do not enter into the Canadian marketplace. These changes follow “extensive consultations with stakeholders,” the government said in a statement.
Minister Blaney said: “Changes to the Duty Free Shop Regulations will allow the duty free sector to continue to keep pace with today’s retail realities. They will also permit the CBSA to better focus its resources on safety, security and the facilitation of legitimate trade and travel. For the Canadian taxpayer, there is no requirement to impose strict regulations on duty free shops given their long-standing record of compliance.”
FDFA President Peter Brain said: “The Frontier Duty Free Association – which represents land border duty free shops across Canada – is very pleased that the government has completed its Strategic Review of our sector and will now implement related changes designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of store operations, to the benefit of government and duty free licensees. From the perspective of duty free licensees, completion of the review will enable FDFA Members to make long term investments under a secure legal and regulatory framework, in response to intense current market challenges.”
