Years after its initial announcement, the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) project has gone live. This project, spearheaded by the Canadian Border Services Agency is a massive overhaul of Canadian importation procedures, with a focus on moving towards all-electronic processes.
The implementation of CARM will have significant impacts on Canadian importers and exporters. In this article, we will briefly describe the most important aspects of CARM today, as well as what is expected in the next major phase, next year.
What Does CARM do?
CARM is modernizing and updating how data is entered and processed within the CBSA. The ultimate goal is a fully paperless, entirely electronic process, with all data being given directly to the CBSA. This will bring numerous improvements, including:
- Simplifying the importation process for importers
- Creating a standards-based electronic interface with the CBSA
- Delivering a self-service portal for importers to manage accounts, claims, corrections, and payments
- Reducing import and export costs
- Improving compliance with international trade rules
- Tracking large-scale import/export trends in deeper detail
In short, once fully implemented CARM will be beneficial to everyone involved in Canadian imports and exports.
What’s in CARM Phase 1?
CARM is being implemented in multiple phases, with the first phase going live in May 2021. There are three key things to know about this first phase:
- Importers will need to register within the CARM system and obtain a GC Key so they can access the system. This will become mandatory as of May 2022.
- The online client portal will go live with basic functionality.
- Importers and exporters using brokers will need to register those brokers in the system as authorized proxies.
Importers are advised to create an account and register their customs brokers as soon as possible.
What’s in CARM Phase 2?
Phase 2 is currently scheduled to be implemented in May 2022, concurrently with CARM registrations becoming mandatory. The current plans are for this phase to introduce:
- The requirement of importers to post a financial security bond, rather than brokers. The size of this bond will correlate to the size of their operation.
- Expansion of the online portal to include corrections, rulings, and adjustments.
- Replacing the B2 and B3 customs coding processes with unified Commercial Accounting Declarations (CADs), a single document containing all relevant information.
Contact ARGO Customs for More Information
CARM is bringing big changes to Canadian importing. If you have any questions or need assistance updating your processes, please contact ARGO Customs.