New Canada Customs requirements for ALL importers – CARM
Posted On: January 19, 2024

New Canada Customs requirements for ALL importers will significantly transform how importers interact with Canada Customs.

 

The Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) is a new initiative that will greatly transform how importers interact with Canada Customs. CARM will modernize and streamline the process of collecting duties and taxes, which shifts the financial liability to the importer of record, which is an entirely new approach importers must be keenly aware of. https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/services/carm-gcra/menu-eng.html

CARM Client Portal – Release 2

The CARM Client Portal Release ‘1’ has already been launched and is available to importers, brokers, and consultants. Participation in CARM, registration on the Portal, and obtaining a Customs surety bond is mandatory for all importers of commercial goods once Release ‘2’ goes live in May 2024. It is paramount that the amount of your bond covers the estimated duties and taxes against your highest month of import activity. Importers failing to comply will not be allowed to import commercial goods into Canada, which will frustrate your supply chain and customers.

What you need to do now:

  1. Assign a Business Account Manager (BAM) who registers the business on the portal and is automatically granted full access and control over the Portal.
  2. Determine other individuals in your company requiring access to the Portal and the level of access they will need in the Portal (read-only, access to perform operations, etc.).
  3. Register your company on the Portal and delegate authority to your employees, customs broker, and/or customs consultant with the necessary access to assist in managing Portal activities.
    • It is paramount that prior to registering on the Portal, every employee must have a “GCKEY” or be authenticated via a “Sign-In Partner”, such as a financial institution.
  4. Understand how to navigate the Portal and make duty and tax payments directly to the CBSA monthly and electronic payments will need to be set up with your financial institution. Ensure your Canadian or U.S. (non-resident importers) bank is set up for electronic payments to the CBSA; and
  5. Obtain your Customs surety bond.

There are over 100,000 importers (residents and non-residents) that import into Canada that will need to register and obtain surety bonds prior to the anticipated CARM go-live date of May 2024. It is recommended that your business start the process sooner rather than later.

CARM is a valuable tool for the CBSA to easily identify non-compliance.

At Customs Trade Services Inc., our Canadian customs specialists can assist in coordinating the transition to CARM and conduct pre-emptive internal verification audits to identify potential liabilities before CBSA finds them.

Our practice also performs cost savings reviews for potential duty recovery to ensure you’re not overpaying duty.  In some cases, you may be underpaying duty and we can help identify where you may have customs risks before CBSA identifies them.  We can also help in optimizing your supply chain to plan for the lowest possible overall customs duties and tariffs when importing into Canada.

Reach out to us today and let us know how we can help mitigate and improve your Canadian customs and tax risks.

 Ernie Ubriaco, President, Licenced Customs Broker

Customs Trade Services Inc.
Phone: (905) 893-3039  Cell: (647) 261-3039