CARM is a carmin’ in 2023
The CBSA has announced its intention for the 2nd Release ( R2) of the CARM program that officially will be in place October 2023. As of February 1st, no firm date has been announced.
What is CARM? Another acronym to remember- it stands for CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management and is an update for the paper-based Importing system that exists in Canada today.
Importers of all sizes must register to the CCP (another one!) or the CARM Client Portal, an online tool giving importers and their partners full visibility on all importing activity.
What are the biggest changes? Mainly, that Importers are being asked to pay their own accounts. The CBSA is shifting from Transaction accounting toward Account based accounting and release.
This means that Importers must also post their own security, typically in the form of a Surety Bond or in the case of smaller or seasonal importers, a Cash Deposit. They cannot use their Customs Broker’s Bond anymore.
Editorial here- its about time the system was automated, and an Auditor General’s review in 2017 agreed. What’s good is that aside from greater visibility, adjustments can now be filled out directly on the portal and a reply or ruling with the payment are promised to go from “Months to Minutes” On the downside, some customs brokers may lose Disbursement or Bond Fees as these are now hard to justify. However, I am equally certain that the big brokers are not content to lose revenue, so we’ll see how they respond to this change. Expect rate changes or increases that are rebranded or relabeled.
Finally, there is no real reason to procrastinate here, in fact, it would be wise to have your Accounting team familiarize themselves with the CPP and register. Now that there is the option of postponing the need to supply Security via Bond or Cash for up to 180 days after registration, importers would be wise to get onboard.
The best analogy is this; why wait until January to go on a diet?
“Whatever must happen ultimately should happen immediately.” Henry Kissinger