There is a real chance that you have arrived at this blog post because you are looking for more information on single-trip bond CBSA requirements for carriers driving through Canada. If you are looking for Customs bond alternatives for freight shipping, then, up until very recently, this blog would have been precisely the right place to learn a great deal about how single-trip bonds work and what your options were. However, things move fast in the world of international trade, and as of October 21, 2024, the situation has changed dramatically, your options as a carrier have narrowed, and this blog needed an update. 

If you are a regular carrier into Canada, you have no doubt by now heard about the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system, or as it is more popularly known - CARM. CARM is the new system that the CBSA uses to manage all the financial interactions it has with its many external stakeholders, whether they are importers, carriers, or something else entirely. If they are engaging in financial actions with the CBSA, they are being done through CARM. For example, the management and application of bonds, like the former single-trip bond,’ process is entirely in the CARM Client Portal, and if you came looking for information on how CARM can affect single-trip bonds for non-bonded carriers,’ then this is the post you have been searching for.

Before we get into what you need to do to get back to moving through Canada on a temporary basis, it’s best we start with what CARM is and what you need to do to start putting it to work.  

CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management

CARM is, at the time of writing, a relatively new addition to the CBSA’s compliance arsenal. As mentioned above, it is a system designed to manage and monitor all of the financial interactions that the CBSA has with its many stakeholders. A key difference between carriers and importers when it comes to their usage of CARM is that while importers use the portal to pay their duties and taxes, a carrier’s interaction with it could be quite limited. 

However, even as a carrier, if you may one day need to have a financial transaction with the CBSA, it behooves you to register in the portal as soon as you can, and that could include becoming a bonded carrier. In general, establishing a bond will be the most significant interaction a carrier is going to have with CARM. CARM is the localized touchpoint for all bond establishment and management, and whether you are a carrier or an importer, it is how you will engage in ‘bond revenue transactions’ with the CBSA. 

To establish the bond you need to be a bonded carrier, you’re going to need CARM, and getting started as a carrier with the CARM Portal involves two steps starting with: 

Registering in the Portal

Generally speaking, registration in the CARM Client Portal is a fairly straightforward affair - particularly if you are a carrier. Still, it can be time-consuming, requires a not-inconsequential amount of information about your business, and can go wrong in a few unique and frustrating ways. 

If you run into issues during the registration process or are just looking for guidance, we encourage carriers that have PCB accounts to take advantage of our CARM Insights service, and for anyone else, we recommend you get in touch with PCB and begin working with us directly. Our CARM team can help you get set up in the portal quickly and easily, and we can also help you with the second step of this process - 

Posting Financial Security

Returning to the subject of bonds, the posting of financial security is what has replaced the single-trip bond. For those who do not know, a bond in the context of an importer is essentially a form of pseudo-insurance that the CBSA requires commercial enterprises entering the country to have so that they can be assured any necessary duties and taxes will be paid no matter what other circumstances may occur. 

For carriers, it’s slightly different in that it grants the status of ‘bonded carrier,’ which allows the driver to use bonded warehouses and temporarily traverse the country without the payment of duties and taxes. This posted bond is not actually insurance but fills a similar role for the CBSA, ensuring that the transported goods aren’t going to enter the commerce of Canada, and if they do, they receive the fees that are due. 

For this reason, and just like with the old single-trip bond, carriers with goods that are not released at the border must have a bond in place if they intend to cross into Canada. Goods that are not released by the CBSA need to be bonded to be moved to a bonded warehouse or move to/from Alaska.

The key difference under the new CARM regulations is that the bond must be posted in the portal instead of acquired separately. There are two bond types that carriers are permitted to use for this purpose:

• Cash Bond - As the name might suggest, this is essentially putting your own money up as a bond.
• Carrier/Transportation of Goods Bond -  This is a form of financial security purchased from a surety company. It lasts for as long as is needed into perpetuity, but does have an annual premium associated. You can also take advantage of set duration surety bonds that function identically to the Transportation of Goods bonds but have a specific set of dates established at the time of purchase. 

The amount required depends on the mode of transport, with highway travel requiring “no less than $5,000 CAD per vehicle, but not exceeding $25,000 CAD per fleet.” 

If that seems complex, it can be, and, as in all elements of global trade, you are encouraged to get in touch with our team to help you through it. From helping to determine the amount you will be required to post and even posting it on your behalf in some cases, PCB has the resources you need to set and, for as long as possible, forget about CARM. 

Single-trip bonds may be a thing of the past, but it is the system around it that has made it redundant, not the need. If you are a carrier, it is vital that you get registered in the CARM Client Portal as soon as possible and post your financial security - and this is doubly true if you were a regular user of the single-trip bond. 

Of course, the best way to get started is to work with the experts who understand CARM best, and they are right here at PCB. From our CARM Insights service to our team of tenured experts, we are standing by to get you set on the right path quickly and effectively.