Commercial payments and accounts

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) assesses and collects payments on imported commercial goods. The accounting and payment system we use to do so is called CBSA Assessment Revenue Management, or CARM (formerly known as the ARL, or Accounts Receivable Ledger).

With Release 1, effective , CARM simplified how we assess and collect payments. It offers:

During the transition between Release 1 and Release 2, the ARL support team is joining CARM client support. You will get all of the same services by using the Client support contact form.

Refer to the CARM Client Portal for more information about Release 1 services for importers, customs brokers and trade consultants.

What's new

Standard account processing timelines

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CARM Finance monthly activities are from the 25th of the previous month (start of the statement period) to the 24th of the current month (end of the statement period).

  1. CBSA receives payments
    From 25th to 31st
    CBSA receives the payments for amounts due on the SOA.
  2. Payment due
    Last day of the month
    Payments are due generally within 5 business days of the 25th of the month, with exceptions.
  3. Payment processing
    From 25th to 14th
    When a payment is posted to the account in CARM.
  4. Payment allocation
    From 25th to 14th
    The payments are applied to specific transactions. For example, a $550 cheque is applied to the following debt transactions – $200, $150 and $200.
  5. Clearing, reconciliation and offsetting
    From 15th to 24th
    Transactions due and paid on or before the past period due date are cleared or offset. Newest debt is the first to be offset.
  6. Disbursement and collection identification
    From 16th to 24th
    Identify credits to be disbursed as well as debts (amounts owed). Debts left unpaid get sent to collections. Credits are not disbursed in the period that they are approved and posted. They are considered for disbursement in the following period.
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