The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has ended the grace period for late accounting penalties under the CARM initiative, effective January 19th, 2025. Under temporary new measures, CBSA is extending the grace period of late payment penalties until March 31, 2025. This extension provides an opportunity for Canadian importers to streamline their transition to CARM compliance.
The Customs Notice, published on January 23, 2025, states the following:
- In order to further support the transition to the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) system, effective January 20, 2025, and up to the March billing period due date of March 31, 2025, the Canada Border Services Agency will not be issuing late payment penalties and late payment interest.
- Effective April 1, 2025, all accounts with an overdue balance from the March 2025 statement of account (SOA) will be subject to late payment penalties.
- Effective April 4, 2025, late payment interest will start accruing on accounts with an overdue balance and will be included on the SOA to be issued on April 25, 2025.
- An account for which an SOA has not been paid, as per the specified due date, will be subject to collection measures by the Canada Revenue Agency.
Transactions rejected due to missing delegation of authority or non-compliance with CARM Client Portal registration requirement
Importers that have transactions in a ‘reject’ status because their business is not registered in the CARM Client Portal or they have not accepted their customs broker’s Delegation of Authority request, could be assessed late accounting penalties by the CBSA.
For help with the CARM Client Portal registration, refer to CBSA’s user guide: Onboarding to the CARM Client Portal.
Importers that are already registered on the Portal but have not delegated authority to their customs broker should do so immediately. For help, refer to CBSA’s user guide: Delegation of Authority in the CARM Client Portal.
Transactions rejected due to pending resolution by the CBSA
Importers that have transactions in a ‘reject’ status because they’re waiting for CBSA to address an issue, and are charged late accounting penalties as a result, can submit an appeal via the online appeal process.
With CARM, shipments are released under the importer’s BN15, and therefore it is the importer’s responsibility and liability to ensure the accounting is completed and paid within CBSA’s prescribed deadlines. To keep your account in good standing with the CBSA, ensure you address any issues pertaining to transactions in reject status and incomplete accounting.