Our Change Objectives Objective 1

• Transforming our customs services
• Transforming our tax services
• Transforming benefits programs
• Transforming appeals

Transforming our customs services

The modernization of our customs services began in 1998 with the release of the Customs and Trade Administration Blueprint. The Blueprint discussion paper enabled us to do in-depth consultations with our clients, stakeholders, and employees. We used the information gained over the course of these consultations to develop the Customs Action Plan, a business transformation program launched by the Minister in April 2000.

"The business transformation of our customs services is well underway and will continue at an aggressive pace with Customs Action Plan implementation."

Our priority is to implement the Customs Action Plan in line with the detailed commitments and timeframes set out in that document. Legislation to support action plan implementation is anticipated to be in place by the fall of 2001, and certain key initiatives are expected to be ready for implementation during 2001-2002.

We will also implement a customs Compliance Improvement Strategy to ensure we balance our efforts to facilitate trade and travel with responsible border management that protects the health and security of Canadians.

We will meet the commitments set out in the Customs Action Plan by:

• modernizing our approach to risk by streamlining processes for low-risk travellers and traders while intensifying our efforts with clients and goods of higher and unknown risk;
• adopting a fair and effective sanctions regime that imposes penalties according to the type and severity of the infractions; and
• achieving higher levels of compliance through the implementation of the Compliance Improvement Strategy, which focuses on priority areas ofnon-compliance.

As part of these initiatives, we will deliver the following in the first year of our three-year plan.

Over 110 million travellers were processed in 1999-2000. In the same year, 10.7 million commercial shipments were processed.

Key customs deliverables for 2001-2002

Customs Self Assessment, to reduce import release data requirements. We anticipate importer savings of about $23 million in the next year.

Administrative Monetary Penalty System, pending legislative changes, to improve enforcement with a wider range of options for sanctions and penalties to better reflect the severity of infractions.

Expedited Passenger Processing System, to allow pre-screened air passengers to undergo an automated primary inspection process using biometric technology.

Date modified:

2002-01-04