By Ezra Luca
CARM Canada, or Customs Automated Revenue Management, is a multi-year project that will modernize the collection of duties and taxes on imported goods. Its goal is to give trade chain partners an online cloud-based portal to view business numbers, make payments on duties and taxes, and view CBSA statements of accounts. The Accounts Receivable Ledger, or ARM, went live in April. While there are still some differences between CARM and GST/HST, many of the processes and procedures have been simplified.
First, businesses must register for CARM. Failure to do so will prevent them from importing goods into Canada. Second, businesses must designate a Business Account Manager (BAM). This person will register the company for CCP and provide access to the portal for other staff. The Business Account Manager will also oversee all CARM interactions with CBSA via the portal. If possible, businesses should designate a second Business Account Manager. After all, if one person makes a mistake, the other person will take over the CARM registration process.
Ultimately, CARM will streamline the entire importing process. It will also provide a more modern interface to import goods into Canada, while strengthening compliance verification and fraud detection. CARM will also shift the responsibility for compliance and trade reporting from the Customs Broker to the Importer. It represents a significant transformation in the importing process. A CARM-enabled Customs Broker will be less likely to fail to deliver on time or with a reduced accuracy rate.
CARM is an ongoing project that is being run by the CBSA to modernize the import process. The objective is to make it more efficient and secure by facilitating importers’ ability to manage their own trade activities. Importers should be able to easily submit duty and tax payments on CARM through the portal. For this, importers must register on the CARM Client Portal and create a profile on the CCP. External designates may also help.
Those who are thinking about implementing CARM ought to be aware that the initial phase of the project will involve a significant reorganisation of the entire procedure. The finished product will have additional functionalities, such as an electronic form for commercial accounting declarations, among other things. The Direct Security Bond mandate won’t go into effect until Release 2 has been completed and distributed. Because of CARM, commercial importers will no longer be required to rely on customs brokers or any other third-party service providers for their importing needs. By January 2023, the adjustments will have been implemented.
Importers will be able to access the portal with either a GCKey or a Sign-on Partner once the initial setup has been completed. Importers will link their user account to a business account once they have successfully registered. In addition to that, CARM provides its users with a Duty and Tax Calculator as well as an HS Classification Tool.
The CARM chatbot is ready to assist new users with the onboarding process. Importers are required to appoint a Business Account Manager after they have registered for a CARM Canada account. This individual is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the account.
