Commercial payments and accounts
Frequently asked questions

All commercial debt is posted to the client’s import/export (RM) account. Debts associated to a broker’s account security (ASEC) will be tagged with the broker ASEC on the client’s RM account and will appear on the broker’s statement of account.

Yes. Importers who are filing directly with the Canada Border Services Agency, and those who are on the Goods and Services Tax Option or the Importer Direct Security Option can make online payments directly to their import/export (RM) account through online banking.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is in discussions with various financial institutions regarding the costs associated with electronic payments and to explore alternative options. Financial institutions (FI) have their own costing model when offering services such as EDI820. The CBSA encourages brokers and importers to review the products offered by various FIs, as there is a large range of solutions offered that meet the needs of a variety of trade chain partners.

Memorandum D17-5-1, Payments of Duties and Taxes on Imported Commercial Goods, paragraph 25, provides other payment options if electronic payment is not possible.

Importers filing directly with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and those on the Goods and Services Tax Option or the Importer Direct Security Option, must use their financial institution’s online banking service to make a payment.

Memorandum D17-5-1, Payments of Duties and Taxes on Imported Commercial Goods, paragraph 25, provides other payment options for all clients if electronic payment is not possible.

Effective January 24, 2018, when making payment by cheque, a written and signed justification must be submitted with payment to the National Payment Processing Centre.

The CBSA encourages customs account holders to review the products offered by various financial institutions, as there are a large range of solutions that meet the needs of a variety of trade chain partners.

No. Regardless of the payment amount, clients on the Goods and Services Tax Option or the Importer Direct Security option must submit their payment in accordance with Memorandum D17-1-5, Registration and Accounting for Commercial Goods, paragraphs  116 to 120.

Importers filing directly with the Canada Border Services Agency, and those on the Goods and Services Tax option or the Importer Direct Security option, must use their financial institution's online banking service to make a payment.

Online banking is the most efficient payment method for these clients.  Refer to the Commercial Payments and Accounts: Payments page for additional information.

The Statement of Account total amount payable over $50,000 must be submitted electronically, effective January 24, 2018.

No. D17-5-1 applies only to payment of duties and taxes secured under the Release Prior to Payment Program.

Payments for cash clients, as per paragraph 33 of D17-1-5, Registration and Accounting for Commercial Goods, are not impacted by Memorandum D17-5-1.

Memorandum D17-5-1, Payment of Duties and Taxes on Imported Commercial Goods, and related Customs Notice 17-33 supersedes any conflicting payment information found in other D Memoranda. The Canada Border Services Agency is updating all impacted Memoranda in relation to commercial accounts payments.

The "payer" is the party responsible for making payment to the Receiver General.

In the case of an importer filing directly with the Canada Border Services Agency, those who are on the Goods and Services Tax option or the Importer Direct Security option, the importer is the "payer". In all other cases, the customs broker is the "payer".

Statement of account payments are not accepted at ports of entry.  All payments for monthly statements of account must be made electronically if over $50,000. When electronic payment is not available, the payment must be sent to the National Payment Processing Centre.

Payments over $50,000 must be made via the importer’s financial institution’s online banking service.

If the payment amount is less than $50,000 and/or online payment is not available, the cheque must be written by the importer as the ‘payer’. A Payment Allocation Sheet is required to be submitted with the payment.

Payments are due on the last business day of the month.

For more information and a list of exceptions, visit the Payments page.

For commercial payment options, visit the Payments page.

Yes. The CBSA offers EDI820 for commercial payments.

Online banking and electronic data interchange payment file (EDI820) are currently available through:

• Scotiabank
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
• Toronto-Dominion Canada Trust Bank (TD)
• Bank of Montreal (BMO)
• Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
• Citibank
• Tangerine
• Bank of America: Online banking only
• The National Bank
• HSBC: Online banking only
• Laurentian Bank: Online banking only

The CBSA is in discussions with other financial institutions regarding EDI820 and online banking.

For additional information on electronic payments, visit the Payments page.

To implement an EDI820 payment connection:

• contact your financial institution
• submit a request for an EDI820 connection to the Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) team
• from the available options, select "Making a payment" and "EDI820: Payment, setup or troubleshooting"

The CBSA will work with you and your banking institution to develop and test the EDI820 payment file. For more information on EDI820, visit our Payments page.

Clients making electronic payments can expect to see them reflected on their account within 2 to 3 business days.

Payments made by cheque will generally take 5 to 10 business days from the date the payment is received by the CBSA mailroom.

It can take up to 10 business days for a payment to appear on your Daily Notice or Statement of Account.

If the account information provided on the cheque is incorrect, or is keyed incorrectly in the online banking portal, payment processing may be delayed.

The CBSA accepts payments in Canadian currency only.

All disbursements are issued as credits to off-set debts on a customs account.

If after off-setting has occurred, a customs account shows a credit balance and there is no debt associated with the account, a disbursement cheque may be issued to the importer. A disbursement may only be issued if the credit balance exceeds $1000; or, if the credit balance is less than $1000, when the account has been showing a credit balance for 2 consecutive months or longer.

For additional information related to disbursements, visit the Disbursements and Off-setting page. 

Once approved, it takes approximately 8-12 business days to receive a disbursement cheque.

First, ensure that your business mailing address is up to date. If you need to change it:

• call the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) at 1-800-959-5525 (English), 1-800-959-7775 (French); or
• visit CRA’s Change of business address. Use the "Manage address" service in My Business Account to change the address of your business.

For more information on changing your business information, visit Changes to your business and Canada Revenue Agency program accounts.

Once the address has been updated with CRA, contact the Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) team to find out where the cheque was sent. Select "Receiving a disbursement cheque" and "I haven’t received my cheque."

No. Brokers are liable for the debts they secure for imported goods on behalf of their clients.

Importers can obtain copies of their Daily Notices (DNs) and Statements of Account (SOAs) electronically through electronic data interchange (EDI). If you are an importer and do not have your own EDI connection, you can use the services of an EDI-enabled broker or an EDI-enabled third-party service provider.

No, Daily Notices (DNs) and monthly Statements of Account (SOAs) from the past cannot be resent by the CBSA. Daily Notices (DNs) and monthly SOAs are sent using electronic data interchange and are not sent by email.

For assistance with transactions posted on previous months, the importer or broker can submit a request to the Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) team. Please include the specific transaction numbers for which you need more information, as well as your import/export (RM) number.

It’s been over 30 days since you submitted your application

If you have not received a “Certified by Proxy” email from the CBSA within the last 30 days of submitting your application, send a follow-up request to the Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) team.

It’s been over 15 days since the receipt of Certification by Proxy email

If you have not received your Daily Notice (DN) or Statement of Account (SOA) 15 days after the receipt of the “Certified by Proxy” email from the CBSA, send a follow-up request to the Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) team.

Daily Notices are sent out every Tuesday to Saturday shortly after midnight Eastern time (some exceptions apply). Statement of Accounts are sent out on the 25th day of each month, after the Daily Notices have been transmitted.

If you are an importer, verify the correct transaction date. The Daily Notice (DN) lists all transactions posted on the importer account from the previous day. Your DN will show the previous day’s transactions.

Review your notices the day of and several days after the date the transaction was made. If you are still unable to locate the transaction, submit a request to the Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) team.

If you are a broker and have a copy of the Detailed Adjustment Statement, which includes your broker tag, contact the ARL team for confirmation that it has been tagged correctly.

To obtain an Importer Account Balance Overview Report, an importer can submit a request to the Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL) team. Please note, only 1 request per fiscal year will be approved.

The importer will be provided with a consent form to be completed, signed and returned to the CBSA. Please note that the Consent Statement section of the form needs to be signed by the person identified as the authorized individual on the form.

Due to privacy concerns, the CBSA is not able to provide the Importer Account Balance Overview Report to a broker on their clients' behalf. Your client can contact the ARL team and request an Importer Account Balance Overview Report.

A Statement of Account (SOA) provides information on all transactions conducted during a specific accounting period, normally between the 25th of month A and the 24th of the following month. 

The Importer Account Balance Overview Report is available upon request by the importer and provides all accounting activities from January 2016 to the date of the request, to assist with reconciliation. This includes information that allows a client to see how credits were used to offset debt on the account.

For additional information on SOAs and the Account Balance Overview Report, visit the Daily Notice and Statement of Account page.

When accounts become in arrears, a Notice of Arrears (NOA) is issued and the account is sent to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). While payment arrangements must be made with CRA, all payments must be sent directly to the CBSA.

For additional information on NOAs, visit the NOA section of the Payments page.