14th Annual
Customs Compliance
Best Practices for Regulatory Issues in Cross-Border Trade
Conference: January 20 and 21, 2009
Optional Workshops: January 22, 2009
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO
Conference Program Agenda - Day One
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
| 8:00 - 9:00 |
Registration and Continental Breakfast |
8:30 - 8:45 |
8:30 - 8:45
Welcome and Opening Remarks from the Chair
8:45 - 9:45
Navigating the Complex Web of Canada's Free Trade Agreements
Orlando Silva, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
- Key FTA issues impacting customs compliance
- Paralysis in multilateral trade negotiations at the WTO and the FTAA
- Update regarding recently concluded FTAs
- Update regarding FTAs currently being negotiated
- Overview and description of varying scope of Canada’s FTAs
- Highlights of some of the key differences in rules of origin under Canada's FTAs and compliance solutions
9:45 - 10:45
Product and Food Safety Initiatives: The Impact on Importers
Peter Kirby, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
- Summary of the key legislative changes that will affect importers (record keeping, worldwide incident reporting, civil and criminal liability etc.)
- Measures that importers need to consider to control and limit liability
- Implementing changes in-house: the expanded responsibility of the customs group
| 10:45 - 11:00 |
Networking Break |
10:45 - 11:00 |
11:00 - 12:00
Managing Cross-Border Transactions
Jaime Seidner, Senior Customs Consultant, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP
- Compliance expectations
- Classifying products and document logic
- Determining NAFTA and other preferential status and documentation logic
- Evaluating and documenting value for duty to be declared
- Assessing special situations for method of declaration
| 12:00 - 1:00 |
Luncheon Break |
12:00 - 1:00 |
1:00 - 2:00
Key Legal Issues to Address When CBSA Comes Knocking: A Lawyer's Perspective on Customs Audits
John Boscariol, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault, LLP
- Critical steps for preparation
- Managing the scope of the audit
- "Do I really have to answer that question?"
- Protecting trade secrets, confidential data and privileged information
- "We've got a problem, is voluntary disclosure still an option?"
- Laying the groundwork for appeal
2:00 - 3:00
Next Steps after a Customs Audit Decision
Jaime Seidner, Senior Customs Consultant, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP
- What happens when your organization receives an unfavourable audit decision?
- What are the next steps to take in order to prepare an appeal?
- Strategies for closing the file
| 3:00 - 3:15 |
Networking Break |
3:00 - 3:15 |
3:15 - 4:15
Customs Valuation Update
Jamie Wilks, Partner, Tax, Customs and Trade Law Group, McMillan LLP
- Analysis and commentary on recent cases
- Interesting developments in the case law
- Government policies, legislative and regulatory changes
- World Customs Organization Valuation Committee
- Update on CBSA valuation policies
- Transfer pricing and customs valuation
4:15 - 5:15
How to Avoid Customs Penalties: AMPS
Greg Kanargelidis, Partner, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
- Overview of AMPS
- Status of new, revamped AMPS structure
- How to avoid and mitigate penalties
- Voluntary disclosure program
- Penalty relief programs: Penalty Reduction Agreements (PRAs)
- What to consider when creating your penalty avoidance strategy
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