Logistics
22 October 2026
Canada is a smaller market than the US and considerably less documented, which is why first shipments tend to go wrong in the same three places: the importer of record is unclear, the bond is missing, and the duty is priced into a DDP number that the factory invented.
The CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system moved duty and tax accounting from a paper process to an online account. The practical consequence for a new importer is that you need an active CARM portal account, a business number, and — for release prior to payment — financial security in place before the first commercial shipment clears.
Under the old model, a broker could often carry a new importer for a shipment or two. Under CARM, the system checks before release. A missing bond shows up as a held shipment, and held shipments cost demurrage.
| Identifier | What it is | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| BN — Business Number | Your company's 9-digit registration with the CRA | Importer profile |
| BN9 / RM number | Program account for importing; RM is the account suffix for customs | CAR |
| CARM RPP security | Bond or cash deposit enabling release prior to payment | CARM portal |
The importer of record is the party legally responsible for the goods at the border: duty, tax, accuracy of the declaration, and compliance with any other act the CBSA administers. It is not automatically the consignee on the waybill, and it is never the freight forwarder unless the forwarder has agreed to be.
This is the same question as the EU responsible-person question, wearing different clothes. In Canada it is customs; in the EU it is product safety. In both cases the answer determines who carries the liability, and in both cases a supplier who "handles everything" is usually a supplier who has not thought about it.
| Line | Basis | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | MFN rate on the declared value | Chinese origin gets no preferential rate under CUSMA or CPTPP |
| GST | 5% on duty-paid value | Recoverable as input tax credit if you are GST-registered |
| Brokerage | Per entry plus disbursement | Rises sharply with manual corrections |
| Transport and insurance | Per shipment | Counted in the value for duty |
The GST is usually not a real cost — it is a cash-flow item. The duty is a real cost, and it is the line that a DDP quote quietly absorbs or quietly ignores.
A DDP quote sounds like convenience: one number, door delivered, no surprises. But DDP means the seller is the importer for customs purposes in many readings, which means the seller's name is on the entry. If the seller has no Canadian establishment and no bond, the shipment either fails or gets cleared through someone else's importer number — which is where a first-time importer discovers that their goods were technically imported by a third party.
For a first Canadian order, the cleaner structure is usually DAP: you are the importer, you hold the bond, your broker files, and you keep the entry records. Ask for the freight cost separately and price the duty yourself.
Phone cases sit in heading 4202 in the Canadian tariff, as cases with an outer surface of plastic or textile. The exact line matters for the duty rate. Two suppliers can quote the same product at different rates because one classified the shell as plastic and the other as textile — and the CBSA cares about the outer surface as presented, not about what the marketing department calls it.
If your case is a fabric-wrapped shell, get the classification confirmed before you scale. A one-line ruling from your broker is cheaper than a retroactive adjustment.
Mismatches are the single largest cause of delayed releases, and they are almost always clerical: a quantity corrected on the invoice and not on the packing list.
For lead times and consolidation options into Vancouver or Toronto, see shipping.
For release prior to payment, yes — the CBSA requires security. Small importers can post a cash deposit instead of a surety bond, which is often cheaper for a single trial shipment.
If you are GST-registered and importing for business, GST paid at the border is normally recovered as an input tax credit. It is a cash-flow cost, not a permanent one.
Only if the factory has a Canadian establishment or uses a Canadian importer arrangement. A Chinese entity cannot simply declare itself importer; a DDP quote that implies otherwise usually means someone else's importer number is being used.