Audit Trail

What the Audit Trail Records

Path: Reports > Audit Trail

The audit trail is an immutable, timestamped record of every compliance action taken in TariffTrail. Logged events include:

• Product added, updated, or classification confirmed
• Shipment created with duty calculations
• Surtax determinations
• CUSMA origin assessments
• Certificate uploads
• Alert generation

Each entry shows the event type, timestamp, event details (expandable), and the dataset versions active at the time.

Immutability

The audit trail is protected by database-level triggers that prevent all modifications and deletions. Records cannot be edited, backdated, or removed. This is by design -- an immutable audit trail gives the records their evidentiary value during a CBSA compliance review.

How Corrections Work

If a determination needs to be corrected:

1. A new audit record is created with the correction.
2. The new record references the original via a supersession link.
3. Both records remain visible, timestamped, and version-stamped.

The original record is never modified or deleted. This preserves the full history of what was known and when, which is exactly what CBSA expects.

Dataset Version Stamps

Every calculation in the audit trail records the exact versions of the reference data used:

These stamps allow you to prove that a determination was correct based on the data available at the time, even if the underlying data has since changed. This is critical during a CBSA audit.

Filtering and Viewing

• Filter by event type or date range.
• Results are paginated at 20 events per page.
• Click any entry to expand the full event details.

Exporting

The PDF export includes every logged event with timestamps, event details, and dataset versions. It serves as your primary compliance evidence document.

Audit Trail Depth by Plan

Using the Audit Trail for CBSA Audits

1. Set the date range filter to match the audit period requested by CBSA.
2. Optionally filter by event type if the auditor requests specific records (e.g., surtax determinations only).
3. Export as PDF for a formatted report.
4. The exported report demonstrates due diligence: every determination is timestamped, version-stamped, and traceable.

For a complete audit preparation guide, see CBSA Audit Preparation.