The Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) is a program started by

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...

, and contracted to

Livingston International Livingston International is a North American provider of customs brokerage services. Livingston International provides customs brokerage, trade consulting and international freight forwarding services to importers and exporters throughout North A ...

Inc., to help regulate Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards on vehicles being

imported An import is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited ...

from the U.S. into Canada. The program, which came into effect October 1, 2000, requires all vehicles newer than 15 years old being imported into Canada to meet Canadian vehicle safety specifications. Reasons for the RIV program being put into place include Canadian safety standards (for bumpers, child tether anchorage systems,

daytime running lights A daytime running lamp (DRL, also daytime running light) is an automotive lighting and bicycle lighting device on the front of a roadgoing motor vehicle or bicycle, automatically switched on when the vehicle's handbrake has been pulled down, wh ...

, and passive seatbelt restraint systems specifically) being significantly stricter than the

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) are U.S. federal vehicle regulations specifying design, construction, performance, and durability requirements for motor vehicles and regulated automobile safety-related components, systems, and d ...

used in the United States. The RIV program also requires anyone importing a vehicle into Canada to pay a RIV fee of $295+

GST GST may refer to: Taxes * General sales tax * Goods and Services Tax, the name for the value-added tax in several jurisdictions: ** Goods and services tax (Australia) ** Goods and Services Tax (Canada) ** Goods and Services Tax (Hong Kong) **G ...

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...

(and

QST ''QST'' is a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, published by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). It is a membership journal that is included with membership in the ARRL. The publisher claims that circulation of ''QST'' in the United St ...

if being imported into

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

). The

enforcement Enforcement is the proper execution of the process of ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, rules, standards, and social norms. Governments attempt to effectuate successful implementation of policies by enforcing laws and regulations. Ena ...

of the RIV program added some level of

complexity Complexity characterises the behaviour of a system or model whose components interaction, interact in multiple ways and follow local rules, leading to nonlinearity, randomness, collective dynamics, hierarchy, and emergence. The term is generall ...

to the vehicle importation process, and the manner of operation of the Registrar of Imported Vehicles has recently been brought into question. For example, decisions of the Registrar of Imported Vehicles regarding the acceptability of any and all documents presented to them cannot be appealed to any body. A

class action lawsuit A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...

was filed in

Ontario Superior Court The Superior Court of Justice (French: ''Cour supérieure de justice'') is a superior court in Ontario. The Court sits in 52 locations across the province, including 17 Family Court locations, and consists of over 300 federally appointed judges. ...

on Feb. 26, 2008 which alleges that

(through the Registrar of Imported Vehicles), Mercedes, BMW and

Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and cu ...

have violated the Competition Act in regard to people who are importing American vehicles into Canada. The suit alleges the automakers and the government violated competition and consumer protection laws by forcing Canadians to pay excessive fees, ranging in the thousands of dollars, for unnecessary vehicle modifications and approvals on cars imported from the U.S.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Registrar of Imported VehiclesUser Help Guide for those working with RIVTransport CanadaInformation website on importing vehicles into CanadaLivingston International Inc.
Transport Canada 2000 in Canada