The importing process for commercial goods will begin to be modernized over the next few months with the implementation of CARM, the Canada Border Services Agency's Assessment and Revenue Management online tool.
NFP are trusted advisors working in collaboration with the trade community, custom brokers and importers participating in discussions with CBSA on this initiative.
CARM aims to reduce the cost of importing into Canada by transforming and modernizing the importation process. The Government of Canada collects billions each year in duties and taxes and CARM's purpose is to make it easier for businesses to work with the CBSA.
The project is being rolled out in three releases - two of which require action from the trade community.
- RELEASE 0 - Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) - Winter 2020 - 2021 *No action required by trade community
- RELEASE 1 - Basic Functions, Including CARM Client Portal - Spring 2021
- RELEASE 2 - All Functions - Spring 2022
CARM will give importers access to border services 24/7 and allow them to classify goods, calculate duties and taxes along with submitting both e-declarations and e-payments. This will make the process paperless while improving consistency.
Once the CARM Client Portal is available, trade chain partners will be able to grant access to their portal business account to your customs broker to manage commercial importation activities on your behalf. We can provide the required security bond qualification needed to maintain a CARM account.
Businesses will eventually be able to make payments to the CBSA along with corrections and adjustments to release declarations. The service will transfer duties, tax liability and payment management to the importer.
This means all financial risk will now be taken on by businesses, although a customs broker can transmit owing amounts to the importer's online account - a change from how businesses typically conduct their affairs.
Please contact NFP's transportation service team to discuss how we can help you prepare, manage and execute for CARM.