Doing Business in Canada - CPMA

Doing Business in Canada - CPMA

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The eManifest Portal is an option developed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to allow the trade community to electronically transmit their pre-arrival information through the Internet. The eManifest Portal was developed primarily for small- to medium-sized businesses to facilitate their compliance and ease the transition from paper reporting to pre-arrival electronic data transmission. The eManifest Portal is available for highway carriers and freight forwarders to transmit pre-arrival data. 1.6.6 CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) project is a multi-year initiative that will involve major changes to how importers do their accounting with CBSA. The implementation of the CARM Client Portal constitutes a major shift in how importers and their service providers will manage their accounting activities with CBSA, and places greater onus on importers to be engaged in, have oversight of, these activities. Effective October 21, 2024, the CARM system has become the official system for importers and other trade chain partners (TCPs) to account for their goods and pay applicable duties and taxes owed to the Canada Border Services Agency. Importers and other trade chain partners need to register and adapt their systems and business practices. To prevent potential delays in commercial shipments in the future, industry members should register on the CARM Client Portal. 1.6.7 Examinations CBSA has a mandate to ensure that all goods entering Canada do not pose a risk to the health, safety, and security of Canadians, while facilitating the free-flow of legitimate goods. Highway CBSA processes the reporting and clearing of commercial goods entering into Canada by highway via the primary inspection lines at its highway ports of entry. All commercial highway conveyances entering Canada are required by law to report to the CBSA for this primary processing. Drivers are required to provide all relevant information and documents, report all goods, and answer truthfully any questions asked by a Border Services Officer.

Upon completion of primary processing, the commercial goods will either be authorized to move inland or referred for secondary processing if additional evaluation is required.

Under the Canadian Customs Act, if requested, carriers must present their goods to an officer for examination. As part of this process, carriers must remove, as appropriate, any covering from goods, unload any conveyance or open any part of the conveyance, and unpack any package or container that the officer wishes to examine. All persons reporting goods are responsible for all costs related to unloading and reloading their conveyance.

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