CARM | Billing Cycle Changes
An Editor's Note: While reading this blog, please note on April 19, 2024, the CBSA announced the May 2024 implementation date is postponed to October 2024.
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CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) is a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) multi-year project to simplify and modernize the accounting and data management systems to provide the commercial trade community with a streamlined method of interaction with CBSA.
The first phase of CARM was the Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) which was implemented in January 2016. With COVID-19, the CBSA’s planned implementation timeline for the next phases of CARM were delayed. The revised implementation timeline is that CARM Release 1 - Introduction of the CARM Client Portal (CCP) is scheduled for May 25th, 2021. Onboarding to the CARM Client Portal for Importers and Import Brokers will be between Release 1 and Release 2. CARM Release 2 is now scheduled for Spring 2022.
How Will CBSA's CARM Client Portal Affect You?
How Will CARM Change Billing Cycles?
In CARM Release 2, there will be key changes to Billing Cycles. These changes will be an alignment of payment due dates for all commercial transactions. This is meant to simplify debt management for businesses and ease the administrative burden of managing the process with those who participate in the Release Prior to Payment (RPP). RPP defers payment of duties and taxes.
The Commercial Accounting Declaration (CAD) is required to be submitted within 5 business days of release:
- High Value Shipments/Low Value Shipments (HVS/LVS): It is proposed that LVS (goods released in the commercial stream) will follow the standard HVS billing cycle, as the accounting data for these importations is available to meet this reporting timeframe.
- Payment due date is 10 business days after the 17th of month 2.
Exceptions to the requirement for CAD within 5 business days of release:
- Courier Low Value Shipments (CLVS): CAD for goods released in month 1 by the 24th of month 2.
- Continuous Transmission Commodities (CTC): CAD for goods released in month 1 by the 24th of month 2.
- Customs Self Assessment (CSA): CAD by payment due date (10 weekdays after the 17th of month 2).
For all billing cycles, the payment due date is 10 business days after the 17th of the calendar month 2.
- The importer remits payment within 10 business days after the 17th of the month, day 1 being the 18th.
- If no corrections have been made to the released transactions during the billing period, pay the Statement of Account (SOA) balance.
- If corrections were made to any released transactions during the billing period, pay the account balance as of the payment due date.
- Remit payment via the CARM Client Profile (CCP) using an electronic payment method such as EDI, EFT, PAD.
