How to import into Canada for the first time

In this guide

1. Get a business number and an import account

Every commercial importer needs a 9-digit business number (BN) from the Canada Revenue Agency and a 6-character import-export program account, called the RM account (for example RM0001). Together they make your 15-character importer number.

• Incorporated in Ontario? You received a business number when you incorporated. Quebec incorporations register for one with the CRA.
• New Canadian business? Since October 21, 2024, most new resident businesses can get the business number and open the RM account inside the CARM Client Portal.
• Non-resident importer? Get the business number from the CRA first, then open the RM account.

2. Register in the CARM Client Portal

CARM (CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management) has been the CBSA's system for duties and taxes since October 21, 2024. You use its online portal to manage your import account, give your broker access, see what you owe and post security.

• The person who registers becomes the business account manager. The CBSA recommends naming at least two.
• Sign-in is with a GCKey or through an Interac Sign-in Partner, which uses your online banking login.
• Register early. The CBSA advises doing it well before your first shipment to avoid release delays.

More detail in CARM explained.

3. Choose a customs broker and give it access

A customs broker is optional. You can prepare and submit your own release and accounting documents to the CBSA. Many importers still use one. To hire a broker:

• Pick a broker licensed by the CBSA. Brokers are private businesses, not government staff, and the CBSA does not regulate their fees.
• Sign a general agency agreement with the broker.
• Delegate authority to the broker in the CARM Client Portal. Your business has to be registered in CARM first, and the broker cannot file your declaration until you delegate.

Using a broker does not move the responsibility. As the importer, you stay responsible for paying duties and taxes, keeping records and correcting errors. See Do I need a customs broker?

4. Decide on release before payment

Release Prior to Payment (RPP) lets the CBSA release your goods before you pay the duties and taxes. It is optional, and it is the most common way commercial importers get their goods released. Without it, duties and taxes are paid before each shipment is released.

• You need your own financial security. Since October 21, 2024, an importer that wants RPP gets its own written security agreement from a provider such as a surety or a bank, or posts a deposit itself.
• Your broker's security does not count. A broker cannot post security for you. The transition period that let importers keep RPP without their own security ended on May 20, 2025.
• Enrol in RPP in the portal, post the amount CARM calculates, then account for your goods and pay on time.

How the amount is worked out, and bond versus deposit: CARM financial security.

5. Check your goods before you order

Duty depends on three things: the tariff classification of the goods (the HS code), their country of origin, and their value for duty. Check each one before you commit to a price.

• Classification. Canada's tariff number has 10 digits. The first 6 are the international HS code; the last 4 are Canadian.
• Origin. Origin is where the goods were made, which is not always the country they ship from. Goods from most countries pay the Most-Favoured-Nation rate. A lower rate needs a trade agreement and proof of origin.
• Value for duty. Usually the price you paid the seller, with some adjustments, declared in Canadian dollars.
• Permits. Some goods need permits, certificates or inspections from other departments, such as the CFIA, before release. Goods made wholly or partly by forced or prison labour are prohibited, and importers are responsible for checking.
• Wood packaging. Pallets, crates and dunnage from everywhere except the continental US must be treated and carry the ISPM 15 mark.

Some goods also carry surtaxes, quota limits, or anti-dumping and countervailing duties. These depend on the product and its origin, and they change. Our licensed customs broker partner confirms what applies when it classifies your goods, so send the product details before you place the order. For a first estimate, try our duty and tax calculator.

6. Agree the Incoterm with your supplier

The Incoterm on your order says where your supplier's job ends and yours begins: who pays for what, and where the risk passes. First-time buyers are often quoted EXW, FCA or FOB. Under all three, you book and pay the main freight, so you choose the forwarder.

• For containers, FCA usually fits better than FOB. The supplier hands the box over at the terminal, often days before it is loaded. Under FOB, the supplier still carries the risk until the box is on board, even though it no longer controls it.
• Think twice about EXW. The ICC, which writes the Incoterms rules, encourages FCA instead of EXW for goods that cross a border, because under EXW the export clearance falls on you, a buyer outside the seller's country.
• Name the place precisely: a full address, terminal or port. It fixes where cost and risk pass. For LCL under FCA, for example, the named place can be the consolidator's warehouse at origin.
• Under CFR or CIF, the supplier books the ship, but the charges at the Canadian end still fall to you.

Incoterms do not set the price, the payment terms, or when ownership passes. Put those in the sales contract. More in Incoterms 2020 explained, or try the Incoterms picker.

7. Book the freight

Once the Incoterm is agreed, book the freight before the cargo ready date. A forwarder needs:

• Your supplier's name, contact and pickup address, or the port for FOB
• The Incoterm and its named place
• The cargo ready date
• A clear description of the goods, with HS codes if you have them
• Packages, weight and volume, from the packing list
• The delivery address in Canada

Then choose the service: FCL (a full container for your cargo alone), LCL (your cargo shares a container with other shippers' cargo), or air for smaller, urgent shipments. Our container load calculator helps you decide between LCL and a full box.

Freight for the GTA from Asia usually lands at Vancouver or Prince Rupert, then rail carries it to the CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan ramp: CN or CPKC from Vancouver, CN from Prince Rupert. From Europe, Türkiye (Turkey) and India, it often comes in through Montreal or Halifax. Our lane pages cover the details: China, Vietnam, India and Turkey.

Before the cargo arrives, the carrier reports it to the CBSA electronically, and for consolidated freight the forwarder sends the house bill data. You need to give the carrier detailed cargo information so the goods are reported correctly, so ask your supplier for a clear description. If your container lands at a US port and crosses into Canada by road, see PARS vs PAPS explained.

8. Get the documents right

Your supplier provides most of the paperwork, so ask for it in the purchase order.

• Commercial invoice. A commercial invoice is fine if it carries everything the CBSA asks for. If it does not, the missing details go on a Canada Customs Invoice (form CI1).
• Packing list. Ask your supplier for a packing list that matches the invoice.
• Bill of lading or air waybill. The transport document for the shipment. The names, packages and description should match the invoice.
• Proof of origin, if you claim a lower rate under a trade agreement. For North American goods, see our CUSMA certificate of origin guide.
• Permits or certificates that other departments require for your goods.

What the CBSA wants on the invoice includes:

• Seller, buyer and consignee, with addresses
• Country of origin
• Terms of sale (the Incoterm), payment terms and currency
• A clear description in commercial terms, with quantity, unit price and total
• Number and kind of packages, marks and numbers, and net and gross weight

The CBSA does not review invoices in advance. Making sure the details are there is your job, so check the first invoice before the cargo ships.

9. Pay duties and GST

Your customs broker, or you if you clear the goods yourself, accounts for them with a Commercial Accounting Declaration (CAD), submitted electronically through CARM. It carries the description, value, country of origin and tariff classification, and it sets the duties and taxes you owe.

• Duty comes from the classification, the origin and the value for duty (step 5).
• GST applies to most imported goods. It is calculated on the Canadian dollar value including duty, and collected at import with the duty.
• Input tax credits. If your business is registered for GST/HST, you can generally claim the GST paid on imports as an input tax credit.
• HST in Ontario. For commercial goods brought into Ontario, the provincial part of the HST is not collected at the border. A registrant self-assesses it on its GST/HST return. Confirm both points with your accountant.

The CARM Client Portal has a duties and taxes calculator. Its result is an estimate, like the one from our duty and tax calculator.

10. Release, delivery and records

Release is when the CBSA lets your goods leave its control for use in Canada. Most shipments are released at the CBSA office where they first arrive. A bonded carrier can move them to an inland office or warehouse closer to you.

• With RPP, your goods can be released before you pay. Without it, you pay first.
• Exams happen. The CBSA or another department may examine a shipment. The handling costs are usually passed on to the importer.
• Full containers usually reach the GTA by rail at CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan. Setara Transport handles the trucking from the ramp to your dock.
• LCL cargo is unloaded at the consolidator's container freight station (CFS), near the port or in the GTA, and released from there. After customs release, a vetted partner carrier delivers it from the CFS to you.
• Keep your records for six years after import: origin, purchase, costs, value, payment and sale. If you find an error after accounting, you correct it.

A container that sits at the ramp after its free time runs out starts to cost storage, so line up the customs release before it arrives. See GTA rail ramps: CN Brampton and CPKC Vaughan.

Last reviewed: October 2026. General information for first-time importers, not legal, tax or customs advice. The rules are set by the CBSA and the CRA and can change. Sources: Canada Border Services Agency, Step-by-step guide to importing commercial goods into Canada, and Memoranda D1-4-1 and D17-1-21; Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST on imports and exports; International Chamber of Commerce, Incoterms 2020.