Ottawa/IBNS: The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has rescheduled its internal launch of phasing in Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) digital initiative plan to modernize tax collection of import goods.

This plan is based on the Auditor General of Canada's study which estimated that as many as 20 percent of goods coming into Canada were misclassified, resulting in a lesser amount of duty paid.

Owing to the impact of strike vote activity now underway by the Public Service Alliance of Canada on the Agency’s operations, CARM's internal launch has been postponed by CBSA from May 13 unitl October.
As a result, trade chain partners will continue to operate as before until the fall.

Although CARM is ready to roll out, the support of CBSA employees is critical to the successful implementation of the program, by rescheduling its launch.

Following approximately 100 consultation and technical working group sessions, over 160 direct engagement events, CBSA  has completed multiple cycles of testing, including over 10 months of simulation with direct participation of approximately 71,500 importers CBSA employees and industry.

It represents over 92 percent of the volume of goods imported, and are now registered in CARM.

In addition to protecting and growing $40 billion a year in revenue for Canadians, CARM will provide a number of other benefits including eliminating cumbersome and time-consuming paper-based processes.

The CBSA is equipped with better tools to facilitate focus its compliance and enforcement efforts on potential bad actors, improving importers' functionality through the ability to enroll in commercial programs, submit accounting documents, and receive notifications through their CARM Client Portal account.
CARM's use would enable CBSA to identify errors and discrepancies in duties and tax submissions, and begin to work with industry in these areas.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)