Advance Commercial Information

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Advance Commercial Information (ACI) is a project of the Canada Border Services Agency. Once completely implemented, ACI will require that all commercial cargo entering Canada be electronically registered with the Agency. The project's aim is to improve border security and efficiency.

[edit] Origins

In 2000, then-Minister of National Revenue Martin Cauchon introduced the objectives that would lead to ACI as part of the Customs Action Plan. After the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States, the security benefits associated with the project took on a new importance. In the Canada-US Smart Border Declaration created in December of that year, then-Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley and United States Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge called for "a system to collaborate in identifying high risk goods while expediting the flow of low risk goods."(1).

[edit] Implementation and Enforcement

Phase 1 of ACI came into effect April 19, 2004. Data on shipborne cargo must be transmitted to CBSA no later than 24 hours prior to the loading of the cargo. The data is available to Customs officials at each of Canada's major ports, and any anomalies can be investigated by mobile teams with secure, wireless access to the database. Sensors have also been installed to detect unusual radiation levels in cargo. Plans are underway to establish CBSA offices at major international ports, to permit earlier and easier processing.

Phase 2 will see these measures extended to air cargo, and ACI systems will be installed in approximately 30 airports across Canada. This phase is expected to come into effect on December 15, 2005. Rail cargo and highway cargo will follow in future phases to complete implementation of the ACI plan.