How to become an importer in Canada: the setup, in the order the CBSA wants it

1. A business number

Everything starts with a nine-digit business number (BN) from the Canada Revenue Agency. If you already have one — for GST/HST, for example — you use the same number. If you do not, you register for it with the CRA; it is free.1 A sole proprietor gets a BN in their own name; a corporation gets its own.

If you are planning to incorporate soon, think about timing. Import accounts, CARM registration and financial security all attach to the business number, and moving them to a new corporation later means repeating the setup.

2. The RM import-export program account

Your BN on its own is not enough to import commercially. You also need an import-export program account, which carries the suffix RM — your number looks like 123456789 RM 0001.2

Cost

Free

Who handles it

The CBSA, since May 13, 2024 — previously the CRA2

Who needs it

Any business importing commercial goods into Canada2

Your broker, your freight forwarder and your suppliers' commercial invoices will all ask for this number. Put it on your purchase orders so the supplier prints it in the right place.

3. CARM: register yourself, then delegate

CARM is the CBSA system that now handles commercial accounting, assessments and payments. Importers must register their own business in the CARM Client Portal; the CBSA says plainly that customs brokers cannot register a client's business on their behalf.3 Once you are registered, you delegate authority to your broker so they can file entries and see your account.3

Do this before you appoint a broker, and keep the portal login somewhere safe. The portal is where your statements, your security and your payments live.

4. Release prior to payment, and financial security

Most importers want release prior to payment (RPP): the CBSA releases the goods, and you pay the duty and GST later, on a monthly statement. To have it, you must post financial security in CARM. The transition period ended on May 20, 2025; since then, importers without security must pay all duties and taxes before their goods are released.5

The required amount is based on your highest monthly balance owing — duties plus GST — over the previous twelve months, and the maximum is $10 million per account.4 For a new importer with small, occasional shipments, paying at release can be perfectly workable; the cost is cash flow and the risk of a delay if payment is not ready when the goods arrive.

5. How you actually pay

RPP importers receive a statement of account each month, on the 25th, and pay by the due date the CBSA sets out on its commercial payments page.6 Importers without RPP pay at release.6

• Accepted: online banking, EDI, and the CARM Client Portal (credit card, debit card or pre-authorised debit)6
• Not accepted: electronic funds transfers, direct deposit, wire transfers (SWIFT) or ACH payments6

Add the CBSA as a payee in your business online banking before the first statement arrives. Many brokers will also pay on your behalf and invoice you, for a fee.

6. A customs broker, or do it yourself

You are allowed to account for your own goods, but almost every small importer uses a licensed customs broker. The broker classifies the goods, prepares and transmits the entry, applies the right tariff treatment, and deals with the CBSA if something is held. What you pay varies by broker and shipment: ask for a written fee schedule covering the per-entry fee, any fee for paying duties on your behalf, and charges for holds or corrections.

A broker does not take on your legal responsibility. As importer of record you remain liable for the duty, for the accuracy of the declaration and for any penalty, which is why it is worth understanding the classification the broker uses for your products.

7. Courier or formal entry: the thresholds

Samples and small restocks usually come by courier, and the courier clears them as your broker — with its own fee. Anything larger comes in as a full commercial entry through your broker, using your RM number and your CARM account. Our shipping guide explains the courier low-value shipment program, whose $3,300 figure is a processing stream, not a tax exemption.

8. The documents your broker needs

• Commercial invoice — seller and buyer, a precise description of each item, quantity, unit price, currency, country of origin and the Incoterm. The CBSA's invoice requirements are in Memorandum D1-4-1.8
• Packing list — cartons, weights, dimensions
• Bill of lading or air waybill
• Certificates and test reports where the product requires them — ISED, CSA/cUL, and for anything regulated by another department, its permits

The single most useful thing you can do is ask your supplier to itemise freight and insurance separately from the goods on any C- or D-term invoice. Canada does not charge duty on ocean freight when it is separated out; our Incoterms guide explains why.

9. What changed for goods from China

Most consumer goods from China pay the standard most-favoured-nation rate for their tariff classification. The surtaxes of the last two years have been concentrated on vehicles and metals, and 2026 brought changes to both:

Electric vehicles

The 100% surtax on Chinese-made EVs was repealed effective March 1, 2026; the MFN rate of 6.1% applies.9 Reporting on the related Canada–China arrangement describes an annual quota of 49,000 vehicles.10

Steel

From December 26, 2025, tariff-rate quotas for non-FTA countries were cut to 20% of 2024 volumes, with a 50% surtax above quota, and a 25% tariff began applying to a defined list of steel derivative goods.11

Steel and aluminum remission

A remission program for certain steel and aluminum product lines was extended through the end of 2026.10

If you import metal housewares, shelving, tools or metal-framed furniture, check your tariff classifications against the current surtax schedules with your broker; the lists change several times a year. For electronics, textiles and most plastic household goods, these measures are unlikely to apply — but confirm rather than assume.

10. Keep records for six years

Importers must keep their import records in Canada — invoices, entries, proof of payment, correspondence, certificates — for six years, and produce them if the CBSA asks.12 Keep them in one place per shipment, digital is fine, and include your broker's entry documents: the broker's copy is not a substitute for yours.

The checklist

Common questions

Sources

Every figure and rule above comes from one of these. Where this article draws a conclusion the source does not state literally, or gives an estimate rather than a published number, it says so in the text.

1. Canada Revenue Agency — getting a business number for importing and exporting
2. Cole International — explainer: BN and RM numbers for importing into Canada
3. CBSA — get started with CARM
4. Roanoke — CARM and RPP: essential FAQs for Canadian importers
5. CBSA — commercial importers given extension to submit financial security (deadline May 20, 2025)
6. CBSA — commercial import payments: duties, taxes and other customs dues
7. CBSA — low-value shipment thresholds (CUSMA and non-CUSMA)
8. CBSA — Memorandum D1-4-1: Canada customs invoice requirements
9. GHY International — Canada repeals surtax on Chinese electric vehicle imports
10. MLT Aikins — A new era in Canada–China trade: key tariff changes
11. Blakes — Canada tightens trade policy as tariff relief measures expire (February 2026)
12. CBSA — Memorandum D17-1-21: maintenance of records in Canada by importers

Last reviewed September 27, 2026. Rules and rates change. If you find something here that has gone out of date, tell us and we will fix it. This guide is general information, not legal or customs advice.