Privacy Policy

1. Who we are and the scope of this policy

Ngd Impex Canada Inc. is an import house based at 40 Longhouse St, Woodbridge - L4L 8E7, Canada (CA). We book container holds, prepare and file customs chits, publish berth unload windows, arrange warehouse transfer runs, operate retail restock programs and run a document courier service. This policy covers all of those activities and every page of this website.

The policy also covers records that we create about people rather than shipments. A booking note commonly names a contact at the consignee, a driver, a receiving clerk or a broker, and those names, phone numbers and email addresses are personal information even though they travel alongside cargo documents. We treat the cargo record and the personal details inside it under the same rules.

This policy does not apply to third party websites that we may link to, including terminal portals, carrier tracking pages and customs service sites. Those organisations publish their own privacy notices and we encourage you to read them before entering personal details there.

2. Information we collect

The personal information we collect is limited to what the berth desk needs to move a container and close a record. In most cases that means the following categories.

• Contact details such as name, job title, company, email address, phone number and, where relevant, a work address.
• Enquiry content, including any message sent through the contact form or by email, together with the time it was received.
• Booking details, including consignee contact names, vessel and voyage references, bill of lading numbers and container references.
• Customs documentation that names individuals, such as the importer contact, the broker contact and authorised signatories.
• Delivery window details, including driver names, carrier names, vehicle references and gate appointment times.
• Courier logs, including the name of the recipient and the signature recorded at handover.
• Billing details, including the company that is invoiced and the contact who approves charges.
• Correspondence records, meaning the emails, call notes and desk sheet entries that build the history of a file.

We do not ask for information that is not connected to a booking, an enquiry or a legal obligation. We do not request health information, biometric information or information about political or religious beliefs, and the berth desk has no reason to hold any of those categories.

3. Where the information comes from

Most of the personal information we hold is provided directly by the person it relates to. You give us your name and email address when you send a message, your phone number when you call, and your signature when you collect a document set.

We also receive information about individuals from the organisations they work with. A consignee may send us the name of a receiving clerk, a carrier may send us a driver name and a plate reference, and a broker may send us the details of an authorised signatory. In those cases the organisation is responsible for having a lawful reason to share the details with us, and we use the details only for the purpose for which they were shared.

A small amount of information comes from public or operational sources, such as a terminal appointment system that records the name of the person who booked a gate slot. We treat that information in the same way as information sent to us directly.

4. Why we use personal information

We use personal information to perform the berth services that a client has asked for, to answer enquiries, to meet legal and customs obligations, to keep accurate accounting records and to protect the business against fraud and misuse.

A booking requires us to know who the consignee contact is so that the hold can be released to the right party. A customs chit requires us to know who is authorised to sign. A delivery window requires us to know which driver will arrive and which receipt clerk will accept the container. A courier run requires us to know who received the envelope. None of those uses is optional; if the information is missing, the service cannot be completed properly.

We also use records to improve the service. When a window slips, the desk reviews the sequence of events to see whether the plan or the communication was at fault. That review looks at timing and process more than at personal detail, but it may involve reading a desk sheet that contains names. The purpose is always service quality and never the profiling of individuals.

5. Berth booking and shipment records

A container hold booking creates a record that links a shipment to a bay position, a vessel, a voyage and a consignee contact. The record is created at the desk and updated as the hold moves through its stages. Personal information in this record is normally limited to the names, phone numbers and email addresses of the people who must be reached when the hold changes.

Booking records are shared with the terminal that confirms the bay position, because the terminal needs a contact for the container. They may also be shared with a carrier or drayage company that is collecting the container, because the carrier needs a delivery instruction and a receiving contact.

We keep booking records for the period described in the retention section below, so that a later question about a container can be answered from the original file rather than from memory.

6. Customs chit and compliance records

Customs documentation is prepared from commercial documents and may include the name and contact details of the importer contact, the broker and any authorised signatory. Filing a chit is a regulated activity, and the details in it may be shared with the customs authority and with the licensed broker who acts on the file.

Because customs records are subject to statutory retention rules, we may be required to keep a chit and its supporting documents beyond the period that would otherwise apply. We do not delete a compliance record early, even if the commercial relationship has ended, because the law requires otherwise.

Access to customs records inside the office is limited to the staff who prepare, check or file them. Copies are not left in open areas of the desk, and electronic copies are stored in restricted folders.

7. Delivery windows and driver details

A berth unload window is published to the terminal, the carrier and the receiving warehouse. The published window may include the name of the driver, the carrier, a vehicle reference and a gate appointment time. Those details are personal information about the driver, and we share them only because the window cannot be executed without them.

Driver details are not used for marketing, are not sold and are not added to any general contact list. They are recorded on the window sheet and in the transfer run record, and they are removed or restricted once the retention period ends.

If a driver asks the desk not to publish a personal mobile number to the receiving warehouse, we use the carrier dispatch line instead. The window still works; the contact route simply changes.

8. Warehouse transfer and receiving contacts

Transfer runs involve a receiving warehouse and a named receiving clerk. The clerk name, dock door and phone number are shared with the driver so that the run can be completed without a queue at the gate. That sharing is limited to the details needed on the day.

Where a container is split across more than one destination, each receiving contact receives only the portion of the schedule that concerns that destination. We do not send a full delivery list to every party on a multi drop run.

Signed run sheets are returned to the desk and filed with the booking record. A signature is personal information and is kept for the same period as the booking record it belongs to.

9. Retail restock program data

A retail restock program generates a repeating calendar. The information in the calendar names buyers, store contacts, receiving managers and the carriers who serve them. Over time the calendar also shows ordering patterns, which can reveal commercial information about a retailer.

We treat restock calendars as confidential business records as well as personal information. Access is limited to the desk staff who maintain the program, and the calendar is not shared with any party outside the chain of parties who execute it.

When a program ends, the calendar is closed and retained under the general retention rule. It is not used to approach staff at the former client for any other purpose.

10. Document courier logs

The courier log records the document set, the booking it belongs to, the courier company, the tracking line and the name and signature of the person who received the envelope. That log exists so that delivery can be proved months later if a dispute arises.

Courier companies receive the recipient name and address because they cannot deliver without them. They do not receive any other personal information from us beyond the delivery details and a contact number for the desk.

A recipient who wants a signature record removed should contact the desk. We will explain what can lawfully be removed and what must be kept as proof of a regulated handover.

11. Website data and cookies

This website is a set of static pages. It does not run advertising trackers, it does not build a profile of visitors and it does not place marketing cookies. The contact form does not transmit your message to a server on this website; it prepares an email in your own mail program so that you can review and send it yourself.

The hosting provider may keep standard server logs that record the time of a request, the page requested, the browser type and an approximate network location. Those logs are used for security and availability, and they are not combined with the personal information you send to the berth desk.

If this changes, for example because a booking portal is added, this policy will be updated before the change goes live and the banner on this page will show the new date.

12. Legal bases for processing

We process personal information because it is necessary to perform a contract with the client, because it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation such as customs and tax record keeping, because it is necessary for the legitimate interests of running a berth operation, or because the person concerned has given consent.

A contract basis covers the details needed to book a hold, publish a window and complete a transfer run. A legal obligation basis covers customs records, invoices and any record that a regulator requires us to keep. A legitimate interest basis covers service improvement, security and the ordinary administration of the business. Consent is used where none of the other bases applies, for example when a person asks to receive occasional service notes.

Where consent is the basis, it can be withdrawn at any time by writing to import@ngdimpex.autos. Withdrawal does not affect work that was already carried out lawfully before the withdrawal.

13. When we share information

We share personal information only with parties who need it to execute a berth service or who are entitled to receive it by law. Those parties normally include terminals, carriers, drayage companies, receiving warehouses, licensed brokers, customs authorities, courier companies, accountants and the technology providers who host our email and records.

We do not sell personal information. We do not trade contact lists. We do not share driver or receiving clerk details with any party that is not part of the chain of execution for the relevant shipment.

If the business is reorganised, for example through a merger or a transfer of operations, records may be transferred to the successor entity provided that the successor agrees to honour this policy. We will tell affected clients before any such transfer becomes effective, unless the law prevents us from doing so.

We may disclose information where we are required by a court order, a customs demand or another legal process, and we will limit the disclosure to what is demanded.

14. Storage, security and retention

Records are stored in locked cabinets at the Woodbridge office and in access controlled electronic folders. Access is granted by role: the desk staff can see booking and window records, the compliance staff can see chit records, and accounting staff can see billing records. Nobody has blanket access to every file by default.

We use passwords, multi factor authentication for remote access, encrypted connections for email and regular backups for the electronic records. Paper records are kept in a locked room when the office is closed. Staff are instructed to lock their desks and screens at the end of the day.

Retention periods are set by category. Booking and transfer records are kept for seven years after the shipment is closed. Customs records are kept for the period required by customs law, which may be longer. Courier logs are kept for seven years because they serve as proof of handover. Enquiries that do not become bookings are kept for two years and then deleted. Website server logs kept by the host are retained under the host policy, normally for a short operational window.

When a retention period ends, electronic records are deleted from the active system and from backups in the normal rotation, and paper records are securely destroyed. If a legal hold applies, deletion is suspended until the hold is released.

15. Where information is stored

The office records are held in Canada. Some service providers, such as an email host or a courier tracking platform, may store data in another country. Where that happens, we choose providers that offer contractual protections for personal information and we limit the data sent to them to what the service requires.

If you are in a jurisdiction that restricts transfers of personal information across borders and you want to know where a particular record is held, write to the desk and we will explain the storage route for that record.

16. Your privacy rights

Subject to applicable law, you may ask to see the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete, ask us to delete information that we no longer have a reason to keep, and ask us to restrict how we use it. You may also object to a particular use and ask for a copy of your information in a portable format.

To make a request, write to import@ngdimpex.autos with enough detail for us to find the record, such as your name, the company you dealt with and an approximate date. We may ask for proof of identity before releasing a record, because releasing the wrong file to the wrong person would itself be a privacy breach.

We respond to requests within thirty days in most cases. If a request is complex, for example because it covers several years of shipments, we will tell you that the response will take longer and explain why.

If you believe we have handled your information improperly, contact the desk first so that we can look into it. You also have the right to complain to the privacy regulator in your jurisdiction.

17. Privacy for children

The services of Ngd Impex Canada Inc. are business services for importers, carriers and retailers. This website is not directed at children and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of sixteen.

If a booking record contains a name that belongs to a minor, for example a family business contact, we treat that information with the same care as any other record and we delete it when the retention period ends.

If a parent or guardian believes that a minor has sent personal information to the desk, they should contact import@ngdimpex.autos and we will remove the information from the active system.

18. Marketing and communications choices

The berth desk sends operational messages as part of a booking, including hold confirmations, chit updates and window changes. Those messages are part of the service and cannot be switched off while a shipment is active.

From time to time we may send a short note about a seasonal change, such as the opening of a winter berth calendar. Those notes are sent only to contacts who have agreed to receive them, and every note includes a simple way to stop receiving them.

We do not buy contact lists and we do not send marketing messages to drivers, receiving clerks or courier recipients whose details we received for an operational purpose.

19. Changes to this policy

We review this policy at least once a year and whenever a material change occurs in how the berth desk handles information. The date at the top of the page shows the most recent revision.

If a change affects how existing records are used, we will post the revised policy on this page and, where the change is significant, tell active clients by email. Continuing to use the services after a revision means that the revised policy applies to new work.

Earlier versions of the policy can be requested from the desk if a client needs to know what applied at the time a shipment was handled.

20. How to contact us about privacy

Privacy questions, access requests and complaints should go to the berth desk, which is responsible for privacy at Ngd Impex Canada Inc.

Please include the word privacy in the subject line so that the message reaches the right person quickly. If you are writing about a specific shipment, include the booking reference so that the desk can locate the file without a search.