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CARM update coming to CA imports in Oct 2023. What do importers need to know?
What is CARM?
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management Project is a multiyear project that will transform the collection of duties and taxes for goods imported into Canada. This process will be modernized and streamlined through CARM.
What’s Changed?
Before CARM, importers paid customs brokers for their duties and taxes. CARM now allows importers to pay the government directly for duties and taxes. The intent of the CARM project is to modernize and simplify the importing process.
Is CARM required?
Participation in the CARM is mandatory for all Canadian-resident and non-resident businesses that import goods into Canada and their trade chain partners (TCPs) that interact with the CBSA. Importers that do not participate will be prohibited from bringing goods into Canada. Any company importing goods into Canada must register in the CCP by October 2023. The CCP will be the sole platform to communicate with the CBSA) and as of October 2023, submitting payments to customer brokers will be obsolete.
Benefits of CARM. Once fully implemented, CARM will:
- Simplify the overall importing process.
- Provide a modern interface for importing into Canada.
- Give importers self-service access to their information.
- Reduce the cost of importing into Canada.
- Improve consistency of compliance with trade rules
CARM will be implemented in a structure of waves with each wave detailing changes to the CARM client portal for importers and brokers, as well as trade consultants who current submit rulings on behalf of importers. For the most recent release in October of 2023, the changes we see to the CARM client portal will add;
- Electronic commercial accounting declarations with ability for corrections and adjustments
- New requirements related to the Release Prior to Payment (RPP) program.
- Harmonized billing cycles
- New offsetting options
- Electronic management of appeals and compliance actions
How do I register for CARM?
Step 1: Locate your 9-character Company Business Number and your RM/Importer Business Number.
Step 2: Visit the CARM Portal.
Step 3: Choose your sign-in partner or login using your GCKey User ID and password.
Step 4: Create your Personal Profile.
Step 5: Choose “Register My Business”
Step 6: Enter your Company Business Number
Step 7: Validate and review your business information. Note, you will need to have transaction information ready. This includes the total duties and taxes for 1 of your 5 most recent importations that were accounted for on a B3 (Canada Customs Coding form).
***For more reference to CARM and to access the client service portal, you can access the link here. https://ccp-pcc.cbsa-asfc.cloud-nuage.canada.ca/en/homepage
Contributor: Jennifer Martinez
About Allyn International
Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance. Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A., Shanghai, P.R. China, Prague, Czech Republic, and Dubai, U.A.E. For more information, visit www.allynintl.com.
Sources: “https://welke.com/carm/”
“https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/carm-gcra/menu-eng.html”