Yes, the fines are from the Dept. of Homeland Security, $5000 for the first offense if you attempt to bring freight into the USA without PAPS now. PARS is still not required to enter Canada, you can still use the A8A and clear freight inside at the broker. But to bring freight from Canada into the USA, you must use the PAPS system now. A carrier supplied PAPS barcode must be placed on the invoices at the shipper, and faxed to the broker. 2 hours must be allowed before attempting to cross the border to give the freight time to clear. If by chance the barcode does not scan, the DHS will call the broker to see if the paperwork was faxed to them. If they have it, they will send you inside. If not, the driver must be able to supply proof the paperwork was faxed, or face the same $5000 fine. So it is a good idea to call the broker to make sure they received your paperwork. They will copy your license and registration, and repeat offenses carry much higher fines. It sounds like a pain, but once carriers and drivers get situated with it, border crossing should be much simpler. The idea is to clear up the border congestion, and have all cross-border carriers registered into a system for better security.
-Weave-
