If you import commercial goods into Canada — even one pallet, even once — the ground shifted on January 1, 2026. Until then, many small importers never touched CBSA's systems directly: shipments were released against their customs broker's security, under the broker's business number, and the importer mostly signed where the broker pointed.
That arrangement is over. This guide explains what changed, who it applies to, and exactly what to do before your next shipment — in plain language, with every claim linked to its official source.
CARM (the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system) reached its final phase. As of that date, a customs broker's business number can no longer be used to release or account for commercial goods on an importer's behalf. Every commercial importer must:
The transition measures that softened this through 2025 have ended. The confusion this created is real enough to be documented at the diplomatic level — the 2026 US National Trade Estimate cites CARM as a trade barrier.
Every commercial importer, regardless of size or frequency. There is no small-volume exemption: a business bringing in one trial shipment of product samples for resale is a commercial importer under these rules. (Personal, non-commercial imports are a different stream and are not covered here.)
If your broker "handled all of that" in the past, the practical meaning is: the identity your goods clear under is now yours, and the security backing them is now yours. Your broker still works for you — see below — but they can no longer lend you theirs.
The registration itself is free. Budget real calendar time anyway — between CRA program accounts, portal verification, and financial security (next section), this is a weeks-not-hours process if you're starting from zero.
RPP — Release Prior to Payment — is what lets your goods leave the border before the duties and taxes on them are actually paid. Losing it doesn't stop you importing; it means your shipments wait, held, until payment clears. For anything time- or temperature-sensitive, that's not a real option.
Under CARM, RPP security is posted by the importer, per import program. The published requirements:
For a small importer with no 12-month history, the practical floor is the $5,000-minimum bond. Note the requirement is not set-and-forget: CBSA reviews security annually and posts revised requirements to your portal account — the most recent cycle gave importers until January 15, 2026 to meet updated amounts. As your volumes grow, your required security grows with them. For the full formula, both posting options, and worked examples, see our companion guide: How to Calculate Your CARM Bond.
Nothing about CARM removed the customs broker from the picture — the formal entry is still filed by a licensed broker for almost every commercial importer, and classification, valuation, and admissibility advice are still their trade. What changed is the relationship's shape: the broker acts as your delegated agent inside your own account, rather than absorbing your identity into theirs.
The honest summary: CARM made you the accountable party on paper that you always were in law. Which means the importers who do best under it are the ones who understand their own imports — their HS codes, their duty rates, their landed costs — before they call their broker.
That's exactly what TariffWise is for: a free wizard that walks you through your first commercial food import step by step, and a cost estimator where every duty rate cites its CBSA source. No account fee, no catch — you arrive at your broker educated. Importing food? Start with our companion guide: How to Import Frozen Food into Canada.
Yes. Delegating authority to a broker happens inside your own CARM Client Portal account — it doesn't replace it. Since January 1, 2026, your broker cannot release or account for your goods under their own business number.
The bond itself must cover at least 50% of your highest monthly accounts payable to CBSA (last 12 months), minimum $5,000 per import program. What you pay is the surety's annual premium on that bond — get quotes from your broker or a licensed surety, since premiums vary.
You lose Release Prior to Payment privileges: your goods are not released until duties and taxes are paid. For frozen or perishable goods especially, that delay is usually a dealbreaker.
Yes — the requirement is per commercial importer, not per volume tier. Low-frequency importers face the same registration and the same $5,000 minimum security if they want goods released before payment.