Disagreements, reviews and appeals

Filing a Request for Review or for an Appeal

Seizures under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act

This redress process is used if the following applies:

• you have received a seizure receipt stating that you are being charged under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act; and
• you believe that the CBSA has misunderstood the facts or has applied the law incorrectly.

This type of review may be referred to as a request for a Minister's decision.

• Request a review
• Review process
• External appeals

Request a review

You must request a Minister's decision within 90 days of the date of a seizure. This can be done by sending a request in writing to the CBSA officer who seized the currency or other monetary instruments, or to the CBSA office closest to the location where the seizure took place.

Please note that there is no provision under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to extend the time limits to file a request for a review.

Review process

The CBSA's Recourse Directorate conducts a full and impartial review of the enforcement action taken against you. The review process is basically a hearing by mail.

Within 30 days of filing your dispute notice, you will receive a letter containing the name and contact details of the adjudicator responsible for your file. The adjudicator will review your request and the reports of the officer who took the original enforcement action. You will then receive a notice explaining the reasons for the enforcement action and the issuing officer's reports. At this time, you will have the opportunity to make further submissions before the decision is made.

The adjudicator will consider all the evidence and arguments provided and the relevant law and policy to make a recommendation for decision. A senior CBSA officer, who has the authority to make a decision on behalf of the Minister of Public Safety, will review this recommendation and the file before issuing the decision.

A letter will be mailed to you once the decision has been made that will confirm or deny the contravention, explain the reasons for the decision and explain your avenues of appeal. This decision is final and neither the Minister of Public Safety nor CBSA officials have the authority to act further in the matter.

External appeals

If you disagree with the decision made, you have the right to file an appeal to the Federal Court. Please refer to the decision letter for information regarding time limits for external appeals.