Duty Strategy

Duty drawback is a Canadian government program that refunds duty paid on imported goods that are later re-exported, destroyed, or used to manufacture goods that are exported. Claims can go back up to four years from the date of export. Most importers miss this because their broker does not track exports or because the paperwork feels intimidating. CanFlow Global audits your historical import and export records, identifies eligible drawback claims, files the paperwork with CBSA, and recovers the refund on your behalf. We typically work on a success-fee basis so you only pay when we recover money.

CUSMA (the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement) grants duty-free treatment for goods that meet specific origin rules, usually based on where the goods were substantially transformed or what percentage of the regional value content is North American. CETA (the Canada-EU trade agreement) uses its own origin rules that cover roughly 98 percent of tariff lines. Qualification depends on the HS classification, the components used, and where those components came from. CanFlow Global runs full origin analysis on your SKUs, issues the required origin certificates or statements, and defends the claim if CBSA challenges it on verification.

An HS classification audit is a line-by-line review of the tariff codes used on your past imports to confirm each SKU is classified correctly. Misclassification is the most common source of overpaid duty, because brokers often default to a safe-but-expensive code rather than researching the correct one. CanFlow Global audits your full SKU catalog, reclassifies anything wrong, files retroactive corrections to recover overpaid duty (up to four years back), and updates your master SKU list so future entries are correct from day one.

Tariff engineering is the lawful practice of adjusting a product or its packaging so it falls into a lower-duty HS tariff category. For example, a minor material change, a different assembly step, or a different packaging configuration can move a product from a 6 percent duty rate to a zero percent rate. It is entirely legal when the adjustment is genuine and substantial. CanFlow Global identifies tariff engineering opportunities, coordinates with your product or manufacturing team on the required changes, and files Advance Rulings with CBSA to lock in the new classification before you start importing.

Yes. An Advance Ruling is a binding written decision from CBSA that locks in the tariff classification, origin treatment, or valuation method for a specific good before you import it. It protects you from reclassification risk and gives you certainty on duty cost. CanFlow Global prepares the full Advance Ruling application, including product descriptions, technical specifications, and supporting legal arguments, and manages the CBSA correspondence until the ruling is issued. Rulings typically take 60 to 120 days from filing.

Most Canadian duty refund claims, including duty drawback and classification corrections, can go back up to four years from the date of entry or the date of export, depending on the claim type. CUSMA and CETA origin refunds follow the same four year window. CanFlow Global reviews your historical entries within that window, identifies every dollar that should be refunded, and files the claims with CBSA on your behalf.