Customs Notice 25-19: United States Surtax Remission Order (2025)

Ottawa, April 17, 2025

1. This notice provides information on the application of the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) which is intended to minimize the negative effects of the surtaxes on Canadian companies and entities by providing relief for goods that are used in Canadian manufacturing, processing and food and beverage packaging, and for those used to support public health, health care, public safety, and national security objectives.

2. The Remission Order allows the relief of surtaxes paid or payable by the United States Surtax Order (2025-1), the United States Surtax Order (Steel and Aluminum 2025) or the United States Surtax Order (Motor Vehicles 2025) (Surtax Order) in respect of eligible goods.

3. The administration of this Remission Order is the responsibility of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Application

4. Remission is granted for public health, public safety and national security purposes, per section 1 and section 5 of the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025), of surtaxes paid or payable under the United States Surtax Order (2025-1), the United States Surtax Order (Steel and Aluminum 2025) or the United States Surtax Order (Motor Vehicles 2025) in respect of goods imported by or on behalf of:

• (a) a government health research organization or clinical health research organization;
• (b) an organization that produces or stores medical countermeasures, including pharmaceuticals or medical devices;
• (c) the office of a public health official, as defined in subsection C.10.001(1) of the Food and Drug Regulations;
• (d) an organization that provides ambulance or other emergency response services;
• (e) a firefighting service;
• (f) a law enforcement agency;
• (g) a federal or provincial correctional service;
• (h) the Department of National Defence;
• (i) the Canadian Forces; or
• (j) the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

5. Remission is granted for health care purposes per section 2 and section 5 of the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025), of surtaxes paid or payable under the United States Surtax Order (2025-1), the United States Surtax Order (Steel and Aluminum 2025) or the United States Surtax Order (Motor Vehicles 2025) in respect of goods imported:

• (a) for use in the provision of medically necessary health care services, including services provided at:
  • (i) a hospital,
  • (ii) a health care or dental clinic,
  • (iii) a medical, dental or diagnostic laboratory, or
  • (iv) a long-term care facility; or
• (b) by or on behalf of
  • (i) an entity that provides products or services related to blood, cells, tissues or organs for medically necessary health care, or
  • (ii) a federal, provincial, local or Indigenous health authority.

6. Remission is granted for manufacture, processing or packaging purposes per section 3 and section 5 of the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025), of surtaxes paid or payable under the United States Surtax Order (2025-1) or the United States Surtax Order (Steel and Aluminum 2025) in respect of goods imported for use, in Canada, in the manufacture or processing of any good or the packaging of a food or beverage, where, under the Customs Tariff, processing and manufacturing, in respect of goods, includes the adjustment, assembly, or modification of the goods.

7. Remission is granted for goods referred to in the schedule of the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) per section 4 and section 5, of surtaxes paid or payable under the United States Surtax Order (2025-1) in respect of goods referred to in column 1 of the schedule of the Remission Order that are classified under a tariff classification number set out in column 2 of the schedule of the Remission Order.

Conditions of relief

8. All claims for relief of surtax under the Remission Order for these goods must also be supported by all relevant documents (e.g., Commercial Accounting Document (CAD), purchase order, commercial invoice, Canada customs invoice, bill of lading, way bill) that demonstrate that they meet the following conditions of relief set out in the Remission Order:

• (a) the good was imported into Canada before October 16, 2025;
• (b) no other claim for relief of the surtax has been granted under the Customs Tariff in respect of the good; and
• (c) the importer makes a claim for remission to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness within two years after the date of importation.

How to apply

9. In respect of commercial goods, to obtain relief of surtax at time of import, the relevant special authorization code is to be entered in the Special Authority OIC field on the Commercial Accounting Declaration. Where remission has been granted, surtax must be declared in addition to the applicable remission.

10. Special authorization code 25-0466A is to be entered to claim relief for goods imported for Public Health, Public Safety, and National Security, as outlined in sections 1 and 5 of the Remission Order, and eligible for remission per the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025).

11. Special authorization code 25-0466B is to be entered to claim relief for goods imported for Health Care, as outlined in sections 2 and 5 of the Remission Order, and eligible for remission per the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025).

12. Special authorization code 25-0466C is to be entered to claim relief for goods imported for Manufacture, Processing or Packaging, as outlined in sections 3 and 5 of the Remission Order, and eligible for remission per the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025).

13. Special authorization code 25-0466D is to be entered to claim relief for certain goods referred to in the Remission Order schedule, as outlined in sections 4 and 5 of the Remission Order, and eligible for remission per the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025).

14. Please refer to Memorandum D17-1-10, Coding of Customs Accounting Documents, for additional information on completing the CAD. Refer to Memorandum D8-4-1, Information Pertaining to Remission Orders, for additional information on remission orders.

15. For non-commercial goods that qualify for the remission at time of import and are accounted for on a Form BSF715 or BSF715-1 Casual Goods Accounting Document, the form will be prepared according to standard procedures without collection of surtax.

Corrections, adjustments, and re-determinations

16. If imported goods qualify for remissions under the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025), but remission was not claimed on the CAD, a correction or adjustment may be submitted via the CARM Client Portal (CCP) or via EDI/API by entering the relevant special authority code in the Special Authority OIC field.

17. Corrections in order to seek remissions under the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) can be made up until the CAD payment due date and will relieve the surtax listed as owing. The reason code provided must be R5-00-COT. For more information on how to submit a CAD correction, please refer to Memorandum D17-1-5: Accounting for Commercial Goods.

18. Adjustments can be made after the CAD payment due date and will result in a refund of the surtax incorrectly paid. The reason code provided must be R2-74-1-GR-53. For more information on how to submit an adjustment, please refer to Memorandum D17-2-1: Adjusting Commercial Accounting Declarations.

19. Adjustments for non-commercial goods cannot be submitted through CARM and must be made through Form B2G, CBSA Informal Adjustment Request. For more information on non-commercial refunds please refer to Memorandum D6-2-6: Refund of Duties and Taxes on Non-Commercial Importations.

20. The origin, tariff classification, and/or value for duty of imported goods may be re-determined or further re-determined in accordance with the Customs Act and the Determination, Re-determination and Further Re-determination of Origin, Tariff Classification and Value for Duty Regulations. This may occur further to a self-adjustment. In so doing, as with customs duties and taxes, the CBSA may assess any undeclared amount of surtax.

Examinations and verifications

21. Imported goods may be subject to examination at the time of importation and to post-release verification for compliance with the tariff classification, valuation, origin, and any other applicable provisions administered by the CBSA. In cases of non-compliance, in addition to the imposition of a surtax, customs duties and taxes, penalties may be issued and interest may accrue and be assessed on the amount owing.

Advance rulings for commercial importations

22. For predictability and certainty on how goods are to be accounted for, an Origin National Customs Rulings in advance of the importation of goods can be requested from the CBSA. Refer to Memorandum D11-11-1: National Customs Rulings for additional information. Refer to Memorandum D11-11-3: Advance Rulings for Tariff Classification for additional information on requesting an advance ruling on the tariff classification of goods.

Additional information

23. For further information on the process for requesting remission of surtaxes that apply on goods originating in the U.S. or to submit a remission request, refer to the Department of Finance website. Please submit any inquiries or remission requests to: remissions-remises@fin.gc.ca.

24. For more information on the administration of the Remission Order, call the Border Information Service (BIS) at 1-800-461-9999 (toll-free in Canada and the USA). If calling outside Canada and the United States, call 1-204-983-3500 or 1-506-636-5064. Long distance charges will apply. Our automated telephony service provides general information in English and French on CBSA programs, services and initiatives through recorded scripts. Live agents are also available to assist you Monday to Friday 8 am to 4 pm local time, as per time zones in Canada and United States (closed on federal statutory holidays). TTY is also available within Canada: 1-866-335-3237. Alternatively, you may send your enquiries using our client support contact form.