Documents you need to import into Canada
Four things apply to almost every commercial shipment. After that it depends entirely on what the goods are, and that is where shipments get held.
On every commercial shipment
1. A commercial invoice, or CBSA form CI1
CBSA needs the vendor, the purchaser, the goods, the quantities, the price paid and the currency before it can assess duty. Your supplier prepares it. A vague description is the single most common reason a shipment is referred, because "samples" or "parts" does not classify.
2. A bill of lading, air waybill or cargo control document
It identifies the shipment to CBSA in transit and is what the carrier reports against under section 12 of the Customs Act. Your carrier or forwarder produces it.
3. CARM registration and your own financial security
Since 21 October 2024 CARM is the system of record for commercial accounting. You need your own CARM Client Portal account and your own security posted. This changed something important: your broker can no longer post security on your behalf. Importers who assumed otherwise have had goods held.
4. A Commercial Accounting Declaration
Filed in CARM, it replaces the old B3. It is where the duty, any surtax and the GST are actually declared and paid, under section 32 of the Customs Act.
Personal imports are lighter. An individual bringing in goods for their own use does not need CARM or a Commercial Accounting Declaration. Our checker knows the difference and will not send you to CARM for a personal shipment.
Then it depends on the goods
These are the ones that catch people. Each is required by a different body, and none of them is CBSA.
| If you are importing | You will likely need | Required by |
|---|---|---|
| Food, plants, animals and their products | CFIA import requirements, and a Safe Food for Canadians licence for food. Often a phytosanitary or zoosanitary certificate too. | Canadian Food Inspection Agency |
| Steel | An import permit. Steel is item 82 of the Import Control List, and the permit is also what decides whether your shipment counts as inside or outside the quarterly quota. | Global Affairs Canada |
| Aluminum | A mill certificate showing where it was smelted and cast, because a surtax turns on that and not on country of origin. | your supplier, from the mill |
| Textiles and apparel | Country of origin and fibre content marked on the goods, in both official languages. Unmarked goods are detained, not fined later. | Textile Labelling Act |
| Vehicles | Vehicle Import Form 1 and Transport Canada admissibility. Many US vehicles are admissible and many are not. | Transport Canada and the RIV |
| Drugs and natural health products | A market authorisation, and often an establishment licence. | Health Canada |
| Dairy, poultry and eggs | A tariff rate quota allocation, applied for in advance. Outside the quota the rate can exceed 200%. | Global Affairs Canada |
| Anything on wood pallets or in wood crating | ISPM 15 heat treatment marking. Untreated wood gets the whole shipment refused, whatever is inside it. | CFIA |
Proof of origin, if you want the duty reduced
A free trade agreement rate needs a valid certification of origin at the time you claim. Under CUSMA that is nine minimum data elements and it may sit on the invoice; it does not have to be a separate form, but it does have to exist. Claiming a preferential rate without one is the kind of thing that surfaces in a verification two years later.
Over three thousand three hundred dollars
CAD 3,300 is the low value threshold. Above it a shipment cannot clear through the courier low value stream, and it may not be split into smaller shipments to try. Plan for a full customs entry.
Get the list for your actual shipment
Tell the checker your tariff item, value, origin and how it travels. It returns what your shipment needs, each line naming the authority that requires it, and it reuses what the other tools already worked out so you type nothing twice.
Related
What you actually pay
Duty, surtax, GST and the provincial part.
Every Canadian surtax order
All nine in force, rechecked nightly.
HS codes explained
The code decides which of the above apply.
The shape of what a shipment like yours normally needs, read from the authorities named against each line. It is not a clearance and not advice on your particular goods. Permits turn on the actual product, its end use and the importer, and several of these agencies decide case by case. Confirm with a licensed customs broker before you ship.