The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has announced that the target implementation date for CARM Release 2 will be October 2023.

What is CARM?

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) project is a multi-year initiative that will transform the collection of duties and taxes for goods imported into Canada, and modernize and streamline the process of importing commercial goods.

The 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

Timeline

CARM will be implemented in a series of releases. The Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) was the first phase of the CARM project.

CARM Release 1: May 25, 2021

Release 1 launched the CARM Client Portal, a self-service tool that facilitates accounting and revenue management processes with the CBSA.

The CARM Client Portal is available to importers and brokers, as well as trade consultants who currently submit rulings on behalf of importers. Those who have onboarded to the portal are able to view their transactions and statements of account, request a ruling and pay invoices with new electronic payment options.

CARM Release 2: October 2023

Release 2 will expand the functionalities of the CARM Client Portal by adding:

  • 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

Have Your Say

In order to implement the remaining CARM functionality, the CBSA is proposing to make amendments to nine regulations made under the Customs Act and three regulations made under the Customs Tariff to:

  • support electronic communication between the CBSA and trade chain partners by removing some requirements for in-person and paper-based communication and by adding some requirements for electronic communication (to account for goods and supply documentation related to duty free shop operations)
  • update financial security requirements
  • implement simplified billing cycles that would provide more consistency among billing, accounting and payment due dates for imported goods, and introduce a period to make corrections to accounting documents without triggering a redetermination or a penalty
  • update outdated references and nomenclature in several regulations to correct the wording of referenced acts and regulations, government directives, Minister titles and reflect current program policy
  • Introduce new regulations under the Customs Actto set out the terms and conditions for the electronic administration and confirmation of financial security to the CBSA

You can review the proposed regulations and submit your comments here.

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