Every commercial shipment entering Canada goes through customs clearance: the process where the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) reviews the declaration, collects the duties and taxes, and releases the goods for delivery. For an ocean container, clearance usually happens while the box is still on the rail heading to Toronto — when it works, you never notice it. When it does not, the container sits at the terminal running up storage while everyone points at everyone else.
This guide explains who actually does what, because the single biggest source of clearance delays is importers not knowing which of their vendors owns which step.
Who does what in a customs clearance
- The customs broker — a licensed professional who files the entry with CBSA on your behalf: classifies the goods under HS codes, calculates duty and GST, and transmits the declaration. Only licensed brokers (or the importer directly) can do this.
- CBSA — reviews the entry, collects the money, and either releases the shipment, asks for more information, or flags it for examination.
- The carrier / terminal — holds the container until release shows in their system; free time keeps counting whether or not clearance is moving.
- The drayage carrier and warehouse (us) — cannot file entries and never pretend to; our job is to watch the release status, book the terminal pickup for the day the container clears, and get it off the clock before storage starts.
The release process for an ocean container
- Your supplier's documents (commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading) go to your customs broker — ideally before the vessel sails, not after it lands.
- The broker files the entry electronically; most shipments are released 'pre-arrival' while the container is still en route.
- CBSA either releases, requests documents, or refers the container for examination.
- Release shows at the terminal; the container can now be picked up — and terminal free time is burning either way.
- Duties and GST are settled by the broker on your account; the paperwork closes out after delivery.
Holds and exams: the part nobody budgets for
A percentage of containers are flagged for examination — sometimes targeted, often random. The container is trucked to a CBSA examination facility, opened, inspected and returned, which can add days and real cost (the exam fee, the extra drayage, and storage if free time runs out). You cannot prevent a random exam; you can prevent it becoming a crisis. Clean, consistent paperwork lowers your risk profile over time, and a drayage carrier that monitors the hold and moves the container the day it clears keeps the delay from doubling. We handle held containers routinely: coordinating with the broker, and pre-pulling into our yard when the dock schedule cannot wait.
How to keep clearance from delaying your freight
- Hire the broker before the goods ship, not when the arrival notice lands
- Send documents early — pre-arrival release is the whole game
- Make sure the invoice describes the goods plainly, with values that match the payment
- Know your free time at the terminal and who is watching it
- Have a plan for release day: delivery appointment booked, or a yard to pre-pull into
Where we fit
Metropolitan Logistics is not a customs broker, and any logistics company that blurs that line should worry you. What we do is everything around the entry — document preparation, broker coordination, hold and exam handling, and moving the freight the day it clears — packaged as our customs clearance service. On cross-border truck freight, that includes preparing the invoice and BOL package and coordinating the PARS or PAPS entry before the truck is dispatched. Clearance stays with the professionals licensed to do it; keeping your freight moving around it is our job.
Container arriving and clearance not sorted?
We coordinate with your broker, watch the release, and move the box the day it clears — into your dock or our yard.