Text 6 How Has Customs Changed?

Canada Customs has changed the way in which customs and trade legislation is enforced. In the past, Customs verified one import at a time at the port of entry. Officers at the port inspected shipments and documents at the time of release. However, changes in trade environments, together with ongoing administrative cost constraints, have challenged Customs to find more efficient ways of enforcing its laws and regulations. Like their private-sector counterparts, customs administrations are under constant pressure to do more with less. As a result, Customs has moved from the old, transactional model of enforcement to comprehensive on-site audits of importers.

This has greatly increased the legal bonus on importers to ensure the correctness of customs accounting. Importers’ customs accounting will be further tested when Canada Border Services Agency implements its comprehensive penalty mechanism, Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS). AMPS will impose penalties on importers not only for customs accounting errors having a revenue implication, but also for errors in the submission of purely statistical information.

Part 7

English for Fun

Airplane Fun

Annoying Passengers

Task 1. Answer these questions:

1. When was the last time you went on a plane?

2. Did you have a good flight?

3. What were the other passengers like?

4. Do you recognize some of the things that passengers do in the list below?

5. How do you feel about the passengers who:

• Act innocently after jumping in the queue as people are waiting to check their bags in.

• Bring massive carry-on bags that block up the overhead locker.

• Ask you (ever so kindly) to move to another seat so that they can sit next to their friend/husband/child/wife, etc, etc.

• Stand in front of the movie screen while you’re trying to watch the film.

• Speak very loudly behind you during the flight.

• Grab the back of your seat as they get up or down, disturbing you while you are enjoying nap, reading a book, or drinking a cup of hot coffee.

• Lean really far back in the seat in front of you, leaving you with even less space than you had before.

• Play their walkman/dismay/MP3 player so loud that you can feel the drum and bass rhythm without hearing the words to the song.

• Try to open the toilet doors, and fail to understand that “OCCUPIED” means that you are sitting in the toilet.

• Talk to you while you’re working reading a great novel, or using a personal electric device.

• Try to read your newspaper, or watch the film on your computer.

• Fall asleep and dribble on your arm.

• Pretend that they are experts on air travel and explain in boring detail everything that is happening.

• Stand up before the seat belt sign goes off in an attempt to get off the plane quicker.

Task 2. Read these stories to answer these questions:

1. What makes people use sophisticated methods for smuggling?

2. What other methods of smuggling do you remember?

3. What does a ‘swallower’ refer to?