CARM — the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system — is no longer a project. It is the way you file, pay duty, post security, and get release now. Importers who delayed are running into shipments held because their financial security is not posted correctly.
What breaks first
The first thing that breaks is cash flow. Under the old Release Prior to Payment (RPP) program, your broker posted a bond on your behalf and you settled monthly. Under CARM, you post your own financial security — either a surety bond or cash deposit — equal to 50% of your highest monthly duty + GST in the last 12 months.
If that posting is wrong or missing, CBSA switches you to cash-on-release. Every shipment pays duty before the container moves. For a mid-market importer, that's six figures of cash locked up at any moment. This is exactly the kind of operational drag that proper trade compliance work is meant to prevent.
The 14-day sprint
- Day 1–2. Log in to the CARM Client Portal. Confirm your BN9 and program account. Confirm your broker is delegated with the right permissions.
- Day 3–5. Pull your 12-month duty + GST history from your broker. Calculate 50% of the highest month. That's your security posting requirement.
- Day 6–8. Contact a surety. Most importers use a CBSA-approved bond; the alternative is a cash deposit held by CBSA. Bonds usually beat cash on annual cost.
- Day 9–11. Post the security in the portal. Confirm the status shows "Active."
- Day 12–14. Run a test shipment and verify your broker can file under RPP again. Switch any parked shipments back to normal flow.
The trap
The trap is thinking your broker is handling this. Under CARM, the importer of record is the responsible party. Your broker can advise and file, but the security must be posted against your BN9, not theirs. If you discover this the week a container lands, you will pay cash for that release.
If you're staring at a CARM notice right now, contact us — we've done this cutover for dozens of importers and can compress the 14-day sprint into 3 days if we have to. Our customs brokerage team handles the portal setup, security posting, and re-activation end to end.
Originally published at https://www.canflow-global.com/en/insights/carm-cutover-playbook/.
