Marine spark-ignition engine regulations technical guidance: chapter 10

10 Importing an Engine, Vessel or Vehicle

• 10.1 What information must be provided in the importations declaration?
• 10.2 Is there a special form for the importation declaration specified in section 37 of the Regulations?
• 10.3 What is the business number required in subparagraph 37(1)(d)(i) of the Regulations?
• 10.4 Is there any suggested wording for the statement under subparagraph 37(1)(d)(ii) of the Regulations?
• 10.5 Who is eligible to sign the import declaration as the "duly authorized representative" of the company?
• 10.6 What is the procedure to provide bulk declarations of imported engines, vessels or vehicles in a "form and manner satisfactory to the Minister," as referred to in subsection 37(3)?

Only engines, vessels or vehicles that comply with the Regulations are eligible for importation. Under section 37 of the Regulations, any person importing an engine, vessel or vehicle must submit a signed declaration to the Minister prior to importing the engine, vessel or vehicle. Subsection 37(2) of the Regulations provides that persons who are not companies under CEPA 1999, and who import at most 10 of any combination of engines, vessels and vehicles, are not required to submit the declaration referred to in subsection 37(1) of the Regulations.

10.1 What information must be provided in the importations declaration?

Subsection 37(1) of the Regulations sets out the information that must be included in the importation declaration. This declaration must contain the following:

• the importer's name and civic address and, if different, their mailing address;
• the manufacturer's name, the number of engines, vessels or vehicles being imported, and the applicable make, model, model year and class of each of those engines, vessels and vehicles; and
• the day on which the engine, vessel or vehicle is expected to be imported.

Under paragraph 37(1)(d) of the Regulations, if the importer is a company, the declaration must also include the following:

• the business number assigned to the company by the Minister of National Revenue; and
• a statement that:
  • each of the engines, vessels or vehicles bear the national emissions mark; or
  • the company is able to produce the evidence of conformity referred to in subsection 35(1) or has produced the evidence of conformity in accordance with subsection 35(2) of the Regulations.

Under paragraph 37(1)(e) of the Regulations, if the importer is not a company, the declaration must also include one of the following two statements:

1. A statement that the engine, vessel or vehicle bears one of the following three labels:
   • the national emissions mark;
   • the emission control information label referred to in paragraph 35(1)(d), which indicates one of the following three situations:
     1. the engine conformed to the emission standards of the EPA in effect at the time that the manufacture of the engine was completed;
     2. the fuel lines and fuel tanks installed in the vessel or of the outboard conformed to the emission standards of the EPA in effect at the time of the completion of its main assembly;
     3. the vehicle conformed to the emission standards of the EPA in effect at the time of the completion of its main assembly;
   • a label indicating that the engine conformed to the emission standards of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in effect at the time of its manufacture, or that the vehicle conformed to the emission standards of CARB in effect at the time of the completion of its main assembly.
2. A statement from the manufacturer or its authorized representative that:
   • the engine conformed to the standards set out in the Regulations or the EPA or CARB standards referred to above at the time the manufacture of the engine was completed;
   • the fuel lines and fuel tanks installed in the vessel or outboard conformed to the standards set out in the Regulations, or to the EPA standards referred to above, at the time that the main assembly of the vessel or the manufacture of the outboard was completed; or
   • the vehicle conformed to the standards set out in the Regulations or to the EPA standards referred to above, at the time that the main assembly of the vehicle was completed.

10.2 Is there a special form for the importation declaration specified in section 37 of the Regulations?

The Regulations set out the information that must be contained in the declaration and do not prescribe a special form. The information contained in the declaration can be provided in any format, as long as the prescribed information is included in a signed declaration that is submitted to the Minister prior to importation. In addition, companies may wish to take note of the following:

• A recommended importation declaration form is available to download from the CEPA Registry website at Marine Spark-Ignition Engine, Vessel and Off-Road Recreational Vehicle Emission Regulations.
• If the information provided on the commercial invoice required at importation otherwise corresponds to the requirements of the Regulations, a company may add the statement of conformity required under subparagraph 37(1)(d)(ii) of the Regulations to their commercial invoice.
• If eligible, a company may provide the bulk declaration referred to in subsection 37(3) of the Regulations and section 10.6 of this document.
• A person may submit the declaration as a separate document in a format that they choose, if all information requirements for importation are met.

10.3 What is the business number required in subparagraph 37(1)(d)(i) of the Regulations?

The business number is assigned by the Canada Revenue Agency to uniquely identify business entities, and must be provided on customs documents. It is part of a numbering system that simplifies and streamlines the manner in which businesses deal with the federal government.

Further information on business numbers is available at Business Number (BN) registration.

10.4 Is there any suggested wording for the statement under subparagraph 37(1)(d)(ii) of the Regulations?

Subparagraph 37(1)(d)(ii) of the Regulations requires that a company submit a statement indicating that each of the engines, vessels or vehicles bears the national emissions mark, or that the company is able to produce the evidence of conformity referred to in subsection 35(1) or has produced the evidence of conformity in accordance with subsection 35(2).

For a statement referring to the evidence of conformity of subsection 35(1), a company may use wording such as "The company is able to produce evidence of conformity under the Canadian Marine Spark-Ignition Engine, Vessel and Off-Road Recreational Vehicle Emission Regulations." For a statement referring to the evidence of conformity of subsection 35(2), a company may use wording such as "The company has submitted the evidence of conformity indicating that all engines, vessels and vehicles in this shipment conform to the Canadian Marine Spark-Ignition Engine, Vessel and Off-Road Recreational Vehicle Emission Regulations." A statement such as "All engines, vessels and vehicles in this shipment conform to the Canadian Marine Spark-Ignition Engine, Vessel and Off-Road Recreational Vehicle Emission Regulations" is also acceptable.

10.5 Who is eligible to sign the import declaration as the "duly authorized representative" of the company?

"Duly authorized representative" means a person with written authority to act on behalf of the company. An authorized employee of the company or a separate commercial entity under contract with the company, such as a customs broker, can sign documents as the duly authorized representative of the company.

10.6 What is the procedure to provide bulk declarations of imported engines, vessels or vehicles in a "form and manner satisfactory to the Minister," as referred to in subsection 37(3)?

Subsection 37(3) of the Regulations specifies that any company that imports at least 500 of any combination of marine engines, vessels or off-road recreational vehicles in a calendar year may provide the importation information required under subsection 37(1) "in a form and manner that is satisfactory to the Minister."

It may be convenient for a company to choose to submit bulk declaration reports to Environment Canada. If choosing this option, a company must send a notice to the Director of the Transportation Division (see section 2.5 of this document) to inform Environment Canada of its intention to use bulk declarations.

The notice must contain the following information:

• company name;
• business number;
• classes of engines, vessels or vehicles to be imported into Canada, as well as the applicable models;
• estimated annual quantity of engines, vessels or vehicles to be imported into Canada;
• estimated frequency of importations (e.g., 1 shipment/year, 1 shipment/month) and estimated period of importation for each class of engines, vessels or vehicles (e.g., January to May, April to September, or throughout the year); and
• desired frequency of bulk declarations.

A company that has received acknowledgement from Environment Canada indicating that bulk declarations are appropriate may then submit reports at the frequency stated in the acknowledgement.

There is no specified printed form for the bulk declarations. Subsection 37(1) of the Regulations specifies the required information.