Vehicle Importation

Transport Canada Pre-clearance Program

QAI offers an efficient compliance service for Foreign Vehicle manufacturers and Canadian dealers QAI offers a convenient and efficient compliance service for foreign vehicle manufacturers who need a compliance specialist to meet the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act in Canada. QAI is recognized as a ‘compliance specialist’ for the Transport Canada (TC) pre-clearance program.  We take care of the foreign manufacturers compliance needs and alleviate the Canadian dealer or wholesaler from this responsibility.  The purpose of Transport Canada’s Pre-clearance program is to facilitate importation of vehicles by conveying shipments through Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) with minimal inspection and scrutiny. Pre-clearance constitutes an agreement between a foreign manufacturer, the compliance specialist and Transport Canada. The compliance specialist is a company, which in the opinion of Transport Canada, has the ability to maintain vehicle compliance information and ensure ongoing conformance with the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.  As a compliance specialist QAI will act as your liaison with Transport Canada, submit compliance documentation to Transport Canada, and maintain adequate documentation on an ongoing basis allowing your shipments to flow into Canada with no interruptions or delays.  The QAI Pre-clearance Program easily opens your access to the Canadian market. After a foreign manufacturer has signed an agreement with QAI, we will work with them to submit a pre-clearance application package to Transport Canada.  Once Transport Canada has accepted an application, they will place both the compliance specialist and the manufacturer on the Appendix G Pre-clearance list. CBSA will then use the list as a reference when determining the entrance eligibility of vehicles entering Canada. The pre-clearance program is only eligible for the importation of new Canadian specification vehicles that are sold directly from the foreign manufacturer to a Canadian entity. Vehicles not meeting these criteria are not eligible for pre-clearance using a compliance specialist; however QAI can guide you through other methods to sell your product in Canada.

Brief Overview of the Pre-clearance Program QAI helps foreign manufacturers register with Transport Canada under their ‘pre-clearance’ program (Appendix G). This program has been set up so that new vehicles made to Canadian standards can be imported into Canada with minimal scrutiny. Imports have to be made directly from Foreign Manufacturers. See Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Foreign Manufacturers QAI offers a flexible program that will allow you to enter the Canadian market under demonstrated compliance with the regulations enforced by Transport Canada in a relatively short span of time. Please contact us for a step by step overview of the program.

Benefits for Foreign Manufacturers

• QAI acts as a professional Canadian point of contact with Transport Canada
• QAI maintains confidentiality of compliance documentation
• The service reduces the headache of providing compliance documentation to each dealer in your dealer network
• The service reduces your risk of removal from the pre-clearance list

Canadian Dealers If you are a Canadian dealer who purchases from foreign manufacturers, your first step is to make sure the manufacturer is shown on our pre-clearance list with Transport Canada. Once you have verified that the manufacturer is working with us, you can place your purchase order as normal. You will then receive the importation documents (Canada Customs Invoice and NVIS), which you can forward on to your broker. Please make sure you keep a copy of the Canada Customs Invoice and invoice from your broker for your tax credits.

Benefits for Dealers

• Dealers no longer have to apply for pre-clearance
• The responsibilities of meeting the MVSA are placed with QAI (e.g., defects, recalls, maintenance of compliance information)
• Transport Canada will no longer audit dealers, all audits will be performed by QAI
• Dealers can choose from a list of QAI recognized brokers

Canadian Brokers We expect that this program will boost the sales of foreign manufactured vehicles, since the compliance process has been simplified. Brokers may see an increase in business. QAI does not restrict our foreign manufacturers or their dealers in  choosing a  broker, however brokers must register and sign up with our program to obtain the guidelines. Please click on our “FAQ” for more information

More Questions? If you would like to learn more about what this program has to offer, please feel free to give us a call at 604-527-8378 and mention Transport Canada, or contact us at tcadmin@qai.org