Debit Memo Policy for Travel Agents

Source Reasons to issue Debit Memos Time Limit to issue Debit Memos
Sales and Exchange Audit Fare, tax, change fee, time of ticketing and mark-up violation 6 months from ticket issuance date
Refund Audit Non-compliance with rules and calculations of the refunded fare/taxes and commissions returned; violations of any procedures specified in a policy or procedure. 6 months from the refund/exchanged date
Refund Processing AC will impose fees collected via debit memo for any refund that could have been processed by the travel agency. 6 months from the refund date
Sales Accounting Unreported sales, duplicate usage, tax issues, credit card chargebacks 9 months from last travel date
CRS Audit Non-compliance of CRS Booking and Ticketing policy 9 months from last travel date

 

  • The above standards apply to all fares, commissions shown in the commission box of the ticket, and to the CRS Booking and Ticketing policy.
  • With all sales and refund audits, the 6-month time limit applies only to normal errors. If we suspect abuse or fraud, an in-depth audit of this agency would follow, and time limits are not applicable.
  • Credit card chargebacks may be debited beyond the time limit if the card processor invokes longer timeframes, allowing the cardholder extended time frame to dispute/reject the credit transaction.
  • Under collection of taxes and missing information on tax exempt tickets will be treated as an exception. Air Canada is subject to audit assessment by tax authorities, for a period of 7 years.
  • A ticketing/refund error fee may apply for failure to ticket/refund according to the Air Canada policy

Please ensure:

  • You review debit and credit memos your agency’s BSP/ARC memos, weekly.
  • You refund your customer immediately when Air Canada processes a refund that your agency received as a credit memo.
  • You confirm that the refund payment to customer was successful. If the payment failed to reach the customer, please investigate.

Ticketing Errors fees may also be assessed for:

  • Failure to issue a ticket and/or process a refund according to the Air Canada policy, may result in a ticketing/refund error fee for 20% of the debit memo value (minimum $50 CA*/US)
  • Missing or incorrect cross-reference where a tax exemption may apply will result in a ticketing error fee of $50 CA*/US.

For Agencies located in Canada and Internationally, Debit Memo Dispute correspondence via BSPLink

Air Canada Audit does not accept travel agent correspondence for Debit Memo (DM), or Credit Memo (CM) via email.

If you disagree or require clarification of a debit memo (DM), or a credit memo (CM), you must use the dispute process in BSPLink. Audit will respond, via BSPLink, and explain the reason for the issuance of the memo.  If Air Canada made an error, the DM will be revised or deleted if applicable.

Disputes should be done during the pre-billing latency period: 

  • If the dispute is successful, the debit memo will be deleted, and the agency will not be billed.
  • If the dispute is rejected, the agency will be billed for the debit memo.

Post Billing Dispute Process (PBD) for Debit Memos only 

  • If the agency disagrees with a disputed Debit Memo for which they have been billed and they can provide new information for AC’s consideration, it must be done via the PBD process. 
  • If AC agrees with the agency in the PBD process, the funds will be returned to the agency from IATA/BSP. 

Please note:

When an agency does not dispute the DM within the pre-billing period and disputes it via the post billing dispute (PBD) process, if Air Canada agrees to refund the memo, the agency will be charged a $25* late dispute fee payable via a separate Debit Memo.

Disputes on DM that have already been paid will not be accepted beyond one (1) year from the original debit memo issue date.

For Agencies in the United States, Debit Memo Dispute Correspondence is via ARC Memo Manager

Air Canada Audit does not accept travel agent correspondence for Debit Memo (DM), or Credit Memo (CM) via email. All disputes must be initiated via ARC Memo Manager. Air Canada will respond, on average, within 15 business days of receipt. 

If you disagree or require clarification of a debit memo (DM), or a credit memo (CM), you must use the dispute process in ARC. Audit will respond, via ARC, and explain the reason for the issuance of the memo. If Air Canada made an error, the memo will be revised or deleted if applicable. 
All disputes must clearly indicate the dispute amount, reason for dispute, and must include supporting documentation.

For a valid dispute, if it is necessary to reverse, in whole or in part, a paid debit memo which had not been previously disputed through ARC Memo Manager, a $25US late dispute fee will be deducted from the credit memo due to the agency.
Disputes on debit memos which have already been paid will not be accepted, beyond one (1) year from the original debit memo issue date.

Inventory Circumvention

Please refer to the Air Canada CRS Booking & Ticketing Policy for details.

*All fees CAD fees will be converted to local international currency using the daily exchange rate.

*Applicable taxes apply to all Debit Memo and Ticketing error fee.

Revised October 21, 2024