The landed cost guide covers how duties, brokerage, and import GST/HST turn into an accurate per-unit cost. This guide covers a different question: what CBSA actually requires from the importer to let that shipment across the border in the first place, and what has to stay on file afterward.
A customs broker handles the paperwork on every shipment, and most sellers never see a B3 or a CAD form directly. That does not remove the importer’s legal responsibility for what the broker files. The importer of record is accountable for the accuracy of the declaration, the presence of a valid certificate of origin when a preferential tariff rate is claimed, and the retention of supporting records for years after the shipment has already been sold. A seller who has never looked past the broker’s invoice usually has a gap somewhere in this chain.
The Import Account: Business Number and CARM
Before a business can import commercial goods into Canada, it needs a business number with an import-export program account, generally shown as an “RM” account on the CBSA’s CARM (CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management) system. CARM is the platform CBSA uses to assess and collect duties and taxes on commercial imports, and it requires the business to be registered before goods move.
CARM also introduced a financial security requirement for release prior to payment (RPP), which allows an importer to take possession of goods before duties and taxes are finally paid, provided the required financial security has been posted. Many smaller sellers rely on their customs broker’s bond for this instead of posting their own security, but the choice affects who is financially on the hook if an entry is later reassessed.
Setting up the RM account and the CARM client portal profile is a one-time step, but it needs to happen before the first commercial shipment, not after a broker calls asking for it while a container is already at the port.
Who Is the Importer of Record
The importer of record is the party legally responsible for the accuracy of the customs declaration, whether or not a broker prepared it. For most Canadian e-commerce sellers importing their own inventory, this is straightforward: the seller’s business is the importer of record.
It gets less straightforward under DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) shipping terms, where the supplier or their freight forwarder arranges customs clearance and may act as importer of record instead of the Canadian buyer. This can simplify the shipment on paper, but it can also mean the import documentation, including the GST/HST paid at the border, is not in the Canadian seller’s name. If the seller is not the importer of record, the seller generally cannot claim the import GST/HST as an input tax credit, since the ITC follows the party that paid the tax as importer. The landed cost guide covers the ITC recovery mechanics; the point here is that DDP terms can quietly break that recovery if the importer of record designation is not confirmed before the shipment moves.
Sellers using a non-resident supplier or an overseas fulfillment partner to handle Canadian customs clearance should confirm, in writing, who is named as importer of record on the CAD and whose GST/HST account receives credit for the import tax paid.
Documents CBSA Actually Wants on File
CBSA’s general import guide describes the documentation an importer or their broker prepares and presents for release and accounting. In practice, the working document set for a typical e-commerce import is:
- Commercial invoice from the supplier, showing the transaction value, quantities, and a description sufficient to support tariff classification.
- Packing list showing how the shipment is packed, used to reconcile physical goods against the invoice.
- Bill of lading or airway bill from the carrier or freight forwarder, evidencing the shipment and its terms.
- Certificate of origin, when a preferential tariff rate under a free trade agreement is being claimed. This is separate from the commercial invoice and has its own retention rule, covered below.
- Customs Accounting Declaration (CAD), the electronic accounting document filed with CBSA (the successor to the old paper B3 form), prepared by the broker on the importer’s behalf but filed under the importer’s account.
Missing or inconsistent documentation is one of the more common reasons an entry gets held for review. A commercial invoice that does not match the packing list, or a shipment claiming a preferential tariff rate with no certificate of origin behind it, creates delay at best and a penalty or reassessment at worst.
Working With a Customs Broker
A licensed customs broker acts as the importer’s agent under a written authority, typically a Power of Attorney, executed under section 32 of the Customs Act. That authority lets the broker file declarations, pay duties and taxes, and communicate with CBSA on the importer’s behalf.
Authority is not the same as liability. The broker files the paperwork; the importer remains responsible for its accuracy. If a broker misclassifies a product or misses a required certificate of origin, CBSA’s recourse is generally against the importer of record first. A broker’s error can usually be corrected, but the importer bears the consequence of not having caught it, including any duty shortfall, interest, or penalty exposure in the meantime.
Given that division of responsibility, a seller working with a broker should still know, at least at a summary level, what HS codes are being used for their products, whether a preferential tariff claim is being made, and whether the required certificate of origin actually exists on file. A broker who has never been asked these questions may be filing on assumptions rather than confirmed facts.
HS Code Classification: The Importer’s Liability
Tariff classification under the Harmonized System determines the duty rate, and the importer is responsible for the accuracy of the classification used, even when a broker selects the code. A misclassified product that should have carried a higher duty rate creates a liability for the difference, plus potential penalties, regardless of who chose the original code.
For a product imported repeatedly, confirming the classification once, rather than relying on the broker’s default code shipment after shipment, is worth the effort. CBSA offers an advance ruling service that provides a binding classification determination for a specific good before it is imported. An advance ruling removes the classification question from future entries of that product and gives the importer something concrete to point to if the classification is ever questioned.
Certificates of Origin and Preferential Tariff Claims
Claiming a reduced or zero duty rate under a trade agreement such as CUSMA, CPTPP, or CETA requires more than the goods actually qualifying. CBSA’s proof of origin memorandum states that an importer claiming preferential tariff treatment on the accounting declaration must have the relevant certificate of origin, completed and signed, in their possession, available to CBSA on request. Under CUSMA specifically, the certification can be completed by the importer, exporter, or producer, but the importer is still the one who must hold and produce it.
If the certificate does not exist when the declaration is filed, the preferential claim cannot be made, and the shipment is generally assessed at the standard Most Favoured Nation tariff rate instead, which can be significantly higher. A seller who assumes a supplier relationship under a trade agreement automatically means a lower duty rate, without confirming a signed certificate of origin is actually on file, is exposed to that gap the first time CBSA asks for it.
The 90-Day Correction Obligation
An importer who discovers that a past declaration was incorrect, whether on classification, value, or origin, has an obligation to correct it, not simply to be more careful going forward. CBSA’s correction memorandum requires a correction within 90 days of the importer having reason to believe the declaration is wrong, where the correction results in an amount owing or is revenue neutral. That 90-day clock starts from when the importer receives the information showing the error, such as a corrected invoice from a supplier or a broker’s notice of a classification issue, not from the original import date.
The broader window to correct a declaration extends up to four years after the goods were accounted for, but corrections made after the 90-day window can carry interest and penalty exposure that a timely correction avoids. A seller who discovers a supplier invoice was revised after the fact, changing the customs value of a shipment already imported, should treat that as a 90-day clock starting immediately, not an item to deal with at year-end.
Record Retention: Six Years
CBSA’s record-keeping memorandum requires importers to retain records related to the origin, marking, purchase, value, and importation of goods, along with records of their sale or disposal in Canada, for six years following importation. The definition of a record is broad: invoices, agreements, forms, statements, and any other document containing relevant information.
In practice, the working file for each shipment should include the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin where a preferential rate was claimed, the broker’s statement of account, and the CAD itself, kept together and retrievable for six years, not scattered across email threads and a bookkeeper’s inbox. A seller who has changed accounting software, brokers, or bookkeepers partway through that six-year window is often the one who cannot produce a complete file when CBSA asks.
Penalties Under AMPS
CBSA enforces trade compliance through the Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS), which issues monetary penalties for violations including failure to pay duties, failure to provide required information, and failure to self-correct an incorrect declaration. AMPS penalties are separate from the underlying duty or tax owing; they are assessed on top of it.
The self-correct provision connects directly to the 90-day correction obligation above. An importer who becomes aware of an error and does not file a correction within the required window is exposed to a penalty for the failure to correct, in addition to whatever the original error would have cost.
Common Mistakes
Assuming the broker’s invoice is the complete customs record. The broker’s invoice shows fees charged, not the full documentation file CBSA expects an importer to retain, including the certificate of origin and the underlying commercial invoice and packing list.
Not confirming who is importer of record on DDP shipments. A supplier or freight forwarder acting as importer of record on a DDP shipment can leave the Canadian seller unable to claim the import GST/HST as an input tax credit.
Treating a preferential tariff rate as automatic. A product that qualifies under CUSMA rules of origin still requires a signed certificate of origin in the importer’s possession before the rate can be claimed on the declaration.
Sitting on a known error past 90 days. Once an importer has reason to believe a past declaration is incorrect, the correction clock is running. Waiting until the next shipment or the next filing cycle to deal with it adds penalty exposure that a prompt correction would have avoided.
Not keeping a shipment-level file. Retaining six years of broker invoices without the underlying commercial invoices, packing lists, and certificates of origin behind each one leaves an incomplete record if CBSA requests support for a specific entry.
Related Guides
- Landed Cost for Canadian E-Commerce Sellers covers how duties, freight, brokerage, and import GST/HST combine into an accurate per-unit inventory cost, and how import GST/HST is recovered as an ITC.
- GST/HST for Multi-Platform Canadian E-Commerce Sellers covers GST/HST registration and ITC recovery generally, which the import GST/HST credit depends on.
- Cross-Border Compliance Hub for Canadian E-Commerce Sellers covers GST/HST, US sales tax nexus, and EU VAT obligations in a single overview.
Scope of This Guide
This guide covers the CBSA-side compliance obligations for Canadian e-commerce sellers importing goods for resale: import account registration, importer-of-record responsibility, the core document set, broker authority, classification liability, proof of origin, correction obligations, record retention, and AMPS penalty exposure. It does not cover:
- Landed cost calculation and accounting treatment (see the landed cost guide)
- Detailed rules of origin analysis for specific products under CUSMA, CPTPP, or CETA
- Customs bonded warehouses, duty drawback programs, or duty deferral
- Anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations
- Provincial sales tax obligations on imported goods
The authoritative source for all CBSA requirements referenced here is the Canada Border Services Agency.
If your business imports inventory regularly and you have never confirmed who your importer of record is, whether your broker’s classifications have ever been checked, or whether your certificates of origin are actually on file, that is worth bringing to a CPA who works with Canadian e-commerce importers.
Get in touch to discuss your situation.