The CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) project is transforming the collection of taxes and duties for goods imported into Canada. Through CARM, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is modernizing and streamlining all its processes for importing commercial goods into Canada.
The CARM initiative will impact ALL importers of commercial goods into Canada. Whether big or small, if your company imports goods commercially into Canada, CARM will affect you.
The implementation of CARM is being done in two (2) phases, called “releases”.
- Release 1 – began in May 2021 and is still ongoing
- Release 2 – is scheduled for October 2023
In preparation for CARM Release 2, your business must take the following actions:
A. Register your business with an account on the CARM Client Portal.
B. Delegate access to the portal to employees within your business who manage your import activity.
C. Secure an annual Customs Bond covering the minimum amount of security set by the CBSA and link the bond to your portal account; or post a cash deposit with the CBSA.
D. Delegate authority to W2C via your portal account, authorizing W2C to process the release and accounting of your customs entries.
E. Determine if your company will pay CBSA directly for all duties, GST, and other levies payable to the CBSA or whether your company will use W2C services to make payments on your behalf.
F. If you mandate W2C to pay CBSA on your behalf, grant access to W2C to your CARM Client Portal account to manage those payments.
Once CARM Release 2 goes live (October 2023), importers will no longer be allowed to rely on their customs broker’s bond for release prior to payment privileges. While brokers can continue to assist importers with payments to the CBSA, each importer will be legally responsible for maintaining its own portal account with the CBSA and for posting an adequate financial security instrument (cash or annual Customs Bond) with the CBSA.
Registration of your business unto the CARM Client Portal comes with certain complexities. Importers are encouraged not to delay and to register their business as soon as possible. W2C is there to help, whether with our training webinars, our CARM publications, or with our CARM registration services helping clients through the entire registration process.
In the months leading up to CARM Release 2, importers are also encouraged to apply for and to purchase their annual Customs Bond through W2C, in time to link the bond to their CARM Client Portal account no later than the Release 2 implementation date.
For additional CARM information, go to:
CARM Release 2 – Implementation update
CARM – W2C FAQ, Glossary and Blogs
CARM – CBSA Implementation Guides
If you need help understanding information about CARM, please contact the experts at W2C.
