First-Time Importer Guide and Checklist for Canada

Who This Guide Is For

This guide is for businesses bringing commercial goods into Canada for the first time. Garden City Customs Services Inc. regularly works with first-time commercial importers and can guide you through the process from the beginning, from your Business Number and CARM account to your first shipment.

Importing commercially starts with a Business Number. Before a business can import goods into Canada, it needs a Business Number from the Canada Revenue Agency and an RM import-export account. If you don't have them yet, register for a Business Number with the CRA before anything else.

Garden City primarily serves commercial importers and does not generally process casual or personal imports.

Six Steps to Your First Commercial Import

1. Get a Business Number and RM import-export account

   Commercial importers need a Business Number (BN9) from the Canada Revenue Agency and an RM import-export program account before importing commercial goods. Together they make up your BN15, which combines the nine-digit Business Number with the RM program identifier, for example 123456789RM0001.

   Resident businesses can register for a Business Number with the CRA, or obtain their BN9 and RM account through the CARM registration process. Non-resident businesses must obtain their BN9 before registering in the portal. Our guide Do You Need a Business Number to Import Into Canada? covers this step in detail.

2. Register your business in the CARM Client Portal

   CARM is the CBSA's system for accounting for commercial imports and paying duties and taxes. Sign in to the CARM Client Portal with a GCKey or an eligible Sign-In Partner, create your user profile, then register your business. The CBSA's Get started with CARM page explains the registration process.

   Enter your business details exactly as the CRA has them. Differences between what you type and what the CRA has on file can make the registration fail. If the CRA has your address as "123 Lake Street", typing "123 Lake St." won't match. Copy your legal name, address and account numbers character for character.

   Decide who will be your Business Account Manager (BAM): the person who manages your company's users, access and delegations in the portal. Our account form asks for their name and email. For the full walkthrough, see How to Register for CARM in Canada.

3. Enrol in Release Prior to Payment (RPP)

   RPP lets an importer obtain release of commercial goods before paying the duties and taxes owing. Since May 20, 2025, importers that want RPP privileges must provide their own financial security, generally an eligible electronic bond or a cash deposit, subject to CBSA requirements. You enrol and post your security in the CARM Client Portal.

   Without RPP, you normally account for the goods and pay the duties and taxes as part of obtaining release. If you'll be importing regularly, set up RPP before your first shipment, not when a truck is already at the border. Our guide to Release Prior to Payment in Canada explains eligibility and financial security.

4. Open your account and sign the agency agreement

   Send us your company, contact and CARM details using the account form on this page. Our team will review them and reach out with a brokerage proposal for the services you need, along with your Power of Attorney & Agency Agreement (the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers Continuous General Agency Agreement and Power of Attorney that appoints Garden City as your customs broker) and instructions for completing it.

   Signed by hand, in ink. The agreement must be signed and dated by hand in ink by a company officer (the sole proprietor, president, vice president, or secretary/treasurer), with each page of the terms and conditions initialled. We can't accept digital signatures. Our instructions explain how to return it.

5. Delegate authority to Garden City in CARM

   You need both the signed agreement and the CARM delegation. Delegating authority in the portal without signing the agreement isn't enough for us to act for you, and without the delegation we can't file Commercial Accounting Declarations, corrections or adjustments on your behalf.

   Our team can walk you through the delegation once your agreement is in.

6. Prepare your first shipment

   Ask your supplier to show who is clearing the goods on the bill of lading and the commercial invoice. This helps reduce delays at the border:

   For Customs Clearance by:G C Customs BrokersNiagara Falls, OntarioPhone 888-481-2048Fax 888-481-2049

   We'll confirm the full details for your paperwork during onboarding. Before the goods reach the border, send us:

   • The commercial invoice
   • Importer and exporter information
   • A description of the goods
   • Country of origin and value
   • Carrier and expected arrival details
   • Any permits, certificates or licences your goods need

   If free trade applies to your goods, send us the exporter's certificate of origin so we can apply the lower free trade rate of duty.

Common First-Time Mistakes

• Typing business details differently from the CRA's records, such as "St." instead of "Street"
• Registering the wrong legal entity or linking the wrong RM account
• Assuming CARM registration automatically provides RPP
• Signing the agency agreement but not delegating authority in CARM, or the reverse
• Signing the agreement digitally instead of by hand in ink
• Waiting until a shipment is already in transit to finish setting up

Problems like these usually surface during the CBSA release process, when the goods are already waiting. Sorting them out first is faster for everyone.

Your First-Time Importer Checklist

Open Your Account

When you're ready, send us your details with the account form below. Only the details we need for your agency agreement are required, and you can leave the optional questions blank.

Prefer to talk first? Call 888-481-2048 and a licensed customs broker will take you through it.

First-Time Importer FAQ