CIFER - Checklist tool for industry

• you hold a valid SFC licence (if applicable)
• all establishments responsible for high and medium risk products require an SFC licence.

• a pre-SFCR registration number (3-7 digits) that was issued by CFIA;

• a unique 4 character establishment ID number assigned by CFIA. Contact your local CFIA office to obtain an establishment ID number if you do not have one before proceeding

• establishments should use a unique 4 character establishment ID number assigned by CFIA. Contact your local CFIA office to obtain an establishment ID number if you do not have one before proceeding

• any unique number may be chosen by the establishment during the self-registration process in CIFER

• company name has been entered exactly as it appears on the SFC licence (if applicable), the GACC checklist, and the application form online in CIFER

CFIA certification of CIFER account not required

Note: after creating your account in CIFER, you can immediately begin an Application for Registration for any low risk product category(ies). When submitted, these low risk applications are reviewed and approved directly by GACC and do not require CFIA involvement.

• go to "Account Certification" and fill in the fields to request to have your account certified by the CFIA
• after you click the "Commit" button, contact your local CFIA office by email and advise them that you have submitted a request to have your account certified in CIFER. Your email must contain
  • full legal name of the establishment as it appears on the SFC licence; and
  • the specific CFIA-issued establishment ID number that was used to create the establishment's CIFER account

Select "Application for Registration" or "Application for Modification" from the main CIFER menu.

• "Application for Registration": select the applicable product category
• "Application for Modification": select the product category you want to amend and select the "Modify" button to access the application

• the enterprise name is entered exactly as it appears on the SFC licence, the GACC checklist, and in the CIFER application form online.

• the name entered is the name of the person legally responsible for the establishment/vessel

• the address is the physical location of the establishment, that is, not a post office box or the company's head office address
• vessels are to use the address of the location the vessel is primarily docked

• the plant establishment time is the (approximate) date the company began operating in the current establishment/vessel

• the correct Harmonized System (HS) Codes and China Inspection and Quarantine (CIQ) Codes for each of your products to be exported has been determined by working with your importer in China and consulting the Product Type Query list in CIFER.
• Other product related information may be required. Often, clicking the "Edit" button for a product entry opens a pop-up window with additional mandatory information fields or checkboxes indicated by red asterisks.

• Only products from species Canada is approved to export to China have been entered in CIFER
• the Latin name(s) of the product(s) exactly match how they are written on China's list of approved species

• a process flow chart is attached for each product exported to China

• The field entitled "Number of official inspection and quarantine personnel in the factory" cannot be entered as zero (0). Even if your establishment does not have daily CFIA inspector presence on site, you need to enter a value of at least one (1).

• the "Declaration of Manufacturer" template form has been downloaded from the CIFER application
• the enterprise name is entered exactly as it is entered in the CIFER application, the GACC checklist, and the SFC licence
• both name and position of legal representative have been provided in the designated location on the declaration
• the declaration has been signed by the legal representative identified on the first page of the application
• a fully legible/visible company stamp/seal has been applied

• document(s) to support modification request has been uploaded to CIFER

Note: when completing the "Application for Modification" to update your initial registration that was prepopulated by GACC, there is no guidance on what types of documents to include as supporting materials. Since the field is marked as a mandatory field, we recommend you add any supporting document you feel supports your application and that the supporting document is not a duplicate of any document added in another field.

For any other modification applications, the supporting materials should clearly identify what information is being modified in the application.

• To submit your application to the CFIA for review/approval:
  • click on the "Preview" button
  • scroll down to the bottom of the "Preview" page
  • click on the "submit" button

• once the application has been submitted to the CFIA, take a screen capture of the status at the top of the application and save the image somewhere it can be later retrieved

• send an email to your CFIA local office to inform them you have submitted your application in CIFER. The email must include:
  • full legal name as it appears on the SFC licence
  • establishment physical address
  • the unique Canadian establishment ID number used to create the establishment's CIFER account
  • a list of the specific products or product types in the application(s)
  • screen capture of the application status in CIFER

• after contacting the local CFIA office, you were provided with the following two forms for completion while CFIA review's your application:
  • CFIA Application Form
  • GACC Product Type Inspection Checklist
• Complete both forms and return them by email to the local CFIA office

• you received notification from the local CFIA office that the application has been submitted to GACC for review/approval

• select "Application for Extension" in main CIFER menu
• select the "Extend" button to access the application for the applicable product category

• download the declaration form from the CIFER application
• add both the enterprise name and China registration number (CCAN#) to the first blank line in the declaration
• the enterprise name is entered exactly as it is entered in the CIFER application
• both name and position of the legal representative have been provided in the designated location
• the declaration has been signed by the legal representative identified in the application
• a fully legible/visible company stamp/seal has been applied
• you have completed and uploaded the original GACC template provided in the application

• once the declaration has been uploaded to the application, click the "Extend" button in the top left corner of the screen to submit the application to the CFIA for review/approval

• once the application has been submitted to CFIA, take a screen capture of the status at the top of the application and save the image somewhere it can be later retrieved

• send an email to your CFIA local office to inform them you have submitted your application for extension in CIFER. The email must include:
  • enterprise name as it appears in CIFER
  • the Canadian establishment registration number as it appears in CIFER
  • screen capture of the application status in CIFER

• after contacting the local CFIA office, you were provided with the following two forms for completion while CFIA reviews your application:
  • CFIA application form
  • GACC product-type specific inspection checklist
• complete both forms and return them to the local CFIA office

• you received notification from the local CFIA office that the application has been submitted to GACC for review/approval

• select "Application for cancellation" in main CIFER menu
• select the "Cancel" button to access the application for the applicable product category

• provide a reason for cancelling the registration in the designated field

• select the "Cancel" button in the top left corner of the screen to submit the application to the CFIA for review/approval

• once the application has been submitted to CFIA, take a screen capture of the status at the top of the application and save the image somewhere it can be later retrieved

• send an email to your CFIA local office to inform them you have submitted your application for cancellation in CIFER. The email included:
  • enterprise name as it appears in CIFER
  • the CFIA establishment ID number as it appears in CIFER
  • screen capture of the application status in CIFER

• received notification from the local CFIA office that the application has been submitted to GACC for review/approval

• a blank Application Form template has been provided by your local CFIA office

• all fields have been completed as indicated

• statements have been read and understood and the application form has been signed and dated.

• the completed CFIA Application Form has been emailed to your local CFIA office along with the completed GACC checklist

• a blank GACC product-type specific inspection checklist template has been provided by your CFIA local office

• both the CFIA establishment ID number and SFC licence number have been provided

• company name matches the enterprise name as it is entered in the CIFER application

• the address of the establishment matches the address in the CIFER application, the address on the company stamp (if applicable) and any other uploaded documents bearing the address

• the checkbox for each item in the Inspection Checklist has been marked as either "Yes", "No" or "N/A" in the "Compliance" column.
• If selecting "No", justification has been be provided in the "Remarks" column

• each page of the checklist has been signed by the legal representative named in the application
• the signature of the legal representative on the checklist matches the signature of the legal representative on the declaration form

• the company name and any information appearing on the stamp/seal fully matches the enterprise name and information in the CIFER application
• the stamp/seal is fully legible and visible
• the stamp/seal has been applied to each page of the checklist

• the completed, signed and stamped GACC checklist has been saved as a PDF document with a file size of less than 4 MB

• the completed checklist has been emailed to your CFIA local office along with the completed CFIA Application Form

Note: your CIFER account should be monitored regularly for changes in application status such as return of application for correction, approval by GACC, or GACC rejection of application.

• Select "Integrated Query" from the main menu in CIFER
• Select "Application Form Query"
• You can review the status of all applications in this section

Note: if an application is returned for correction or rejected, you will be provided feedback from GACC or CFIA on why the application was not accepted. Under "Integrated Query" "Application Form Query" there are two columns you could see feedback in:

• If the application was returned by CFIA, the feedback can be found by clicking the word "View" under the "Institutional Feedback" column.
• If the application was returned by GACC, the feedback can be found by clicking the word "View" under the "Customs Feedback" column.

Note: once the status of the application is showing as "approved", you should verify that your registration is published in the CIFER Query list published on the GACC website.