This article will be updated frequently during the cutover to CARM.  Check frequently for updates.

 

Customs published two notices in early September: "The purpose of these Customs Notices is to provide important information on the cutover period, which is required for the CBSA to migrate existing systems and functionality to CARM systems and functionality for the CARM R3 October 21, 2024 implementation. This CN will cover key dates and timelines for cutover activities and provide guidance on impacts to the billing cycle, scheduled maintenance outage for release processing and the interim BN/RM process".  They can be found at the following links:

Customs Notice 24-29: Preparing for the CARM October Implementation - Cutover Period (cbsa-asfc.gc.ca)

Customs Notice 24-30: Preparing for the CARM October Implementation — Trusted Trader CARM Cutover Procedures (cbsa-asfc.gc.ca)

 

Customs has also provide a CARM Playbook that covers the different CARM scenarios.

 

Question: We wanted to confirm that all LVS will be accounted for under the importer BN effective October 4, correct? There will be no more LVS tied to our broker BN?

Answer:  There are some scenarios where a broker can consolidate an LVS using their broker BN, but the default is to create a separate F type consolidation by Importer BN.

 

Question: What is the difference between Normal and IBS?

I.e. I am adding a new customer under SMH’s BN. Can they be input in the system as “Normal” as SMH is responsible for the duties so we want duties on the invoice. OR should all customers be added as “IBS” and we just check the “show duties and taxes on invoice” if SMH is paying the duties?

I read in the articles that CBSA sees all importers as “I” now. I just want to understand the difference between adding someone as Normal versus adding someone as “IBS” and checking “Show duties and taxes on invoice” as both actions result in duties on invoices.

Answer: 

 

Question: Do you have a report for EDI payments SOA that we can provide the bank for clients that we will continue to make payments on their behalf. I did not see anything in the CARM FAQs?

We are in the process of setting this up with the BANK and want to ensure we are provide them with accurate monthly information to remit on our clients behalf.

Answer: No - you would need to use the CARM Client Portal, or ensure that you are receiving the importers DN/SOAs via our CIG solution.

 

Question: So if I flip to Normal, those customers and those Duties & Taxes still show on the Importer’s SOA , how does Customs know to bill us for that entry if’s not on our SOA. Will those transactions show up in my CARM profile?

Answer: The payment mode flag in Candata only affects internal billing.  The duties and taxes will always show on the Importer's SOA.  Customs does not bill the broker, they are billing the importer from this point forward.  We are not sure how they will show in the brokers portal - but the importer is liable for the duties and taxes, not the broker.

 

Question: Is it as simple as taking out the "I"  for those specific clients and then those shipments will show on my SOA? Or are there additional steps.

Answer: No, from a CBSA perspective, all shipments will be I type.  The payment mode in Candata affects only the billing process.  Each importer's SOA will reflect their entries.

 

Question: Please advise what the mechanism is to billing with Duty and Taxes and How to bill with NO duty and Taxes. We will have some customers:

1. That we will continue to pay for their duty and taxes as current. 

and 

2. Others that will pay duty and taxes directly to CBSA via the SOA so we don't want to bill duty and taxes, please advise how? 

Answer: Using the payment mode in Candata will drive how customers are invoiced.  I type customers will have no duties and taxes on their invoices.  "Normal" customers will be billed the duties and taxes.  However, they will also be given an SOA from customs indicating the duties and taxes they owe, effectively being double billed.  Care will have to be taken that the amounts are only paid once in that scenario.

 

Question: Can you please advise the role of bond for clients? Do we need the clients to have bonds under their name going forward or can they still be under our name since we will be paying for duties and taxes on their behalf?

Furthermore, we have asked all clients to add us as program managers on their CARM account.  That is correct right?  There was no other way for them to delegate authority to us.  Please advise.

Answer: Importers will need a bond to clear their shipments.  There is a 180 day grace period for them to obtain a bond.  Importers are liable for their own duties and taxes - who pays is not relevant.  The only way to obtain Delegation of Authority is on the CARM Client Portal.

 

Question: Do not move ANY of our customers to I.  No one has bonds in place yet. We will transition them during the 180 days and we will update them on our end. Bonds cannot be issued before Oct 21 so we need them all kept as is.

Answer: All of our client's customers will be switched to I type OCT 4 after 4 PM. If you want them to be switched back to the way they are now you will need to submit a ticket request on Monday morning.  After Oct 4, all entries are considered I types by the CBSA - the importers are liable for duties and taxes, regardless of bond status.  There is a 180 grace period for importers to obtain a bond, before their releases will be affected by the lack of a bond.

 

Question: What changes can we expect in Candata after October 4, 2024?

Answer: The system and UI changes have been documented here.  An article describing the LVS changes can be found here.

 

Question: When are customers responsible for their own duties and taxes?

Answer:  For any entries submitted on or after October 21, 2024, the importers will be responsible for their own duties and taxes.

 

Question: How will our customers be switched over to I type?

Answer:  Between October 5, 2024 and October 7, 2024, all customers will be changed to type I.  This only affects invoicing (whether the customer is billed for duties and taxes or not).  Any entries sent to CAD are I type.  For any customers you want to continue billing duties and taxes, adjust their type back to Normal on October 7th.

 

Question: Will the GST report still function in the post CADEX world?

Answer:  Behind the scenes, when a CAD document is accepted, an equivalent B3 is created, recapped and marked accepted.  Any reports and processes triggered by the B3 Accept will continue to function until those processes have been transitioned to a CAD centric process.

 

Question: How will we get RNS once CADEX is turned off?

Answer:  The IID and RNS functionality is not changing - it will continue to function except for a brief outage overnight, October 6-7.

 

Question: How do we get the broker API key?

Answer:  On or after October 21, 2024, you will login to the CARM client portal, and obtain the API key from there. 

 

Question: How is the CLVS sent? 

Answer:  There is a new LVS screen that has been created to help manage the LVSs for CARM.  You can read the documentation here.  It is currently under the Beta menu, but will migrate to the main menus this week.

 

Question: Are the CAD’s submitted from the outstanding B3 list? 

Answer: Yes, the Outstanding B3 screen will be renamed Outstanding CADs, and will function the same way.  There will be an additional menu option under Select, to select a specific day of the months releases to enable the backlog of entries to be processed after October 21st.  The CAD document can also be submitted directly from the Shipment screen use the drop down menu on the CARM tool item.

 

Question: How do we submit a previous B3 to CARM to have it changed to “As Declared” in CARM. 

Answer:  In order to change an already accepted B3 (pre-CARM), the  pre-CARM B3 will be submitted using the drop down menu on the CARM tool item.  Once accepted, the entry can then be modified on the CARM Client Portal.  Changes can be synchronized back into Candata using the Sync menu item found under the CARM tool item.

 

Question: How to issue the bonds?

Answer: Bonds can be purchased from any bond provider for your importers.  We do offer an integration with RAISE.  Once a relationship is established between the broker and RAISE, importer bonds can be requested directly from the system.

 

Question: How will we receive release notifications during the cutover period when we don’t have access to CADEX or CCP? 

Answer:  The only release information during the cutover period is through the RNS system.  After go-live, the system will query the CARM API for the backlog of releases to populate the Outstanding CAD screen.  Once populated, and we have confirmed connectivity with CARM - the backlog of entries can be processed using the Outstanding CAD screen.

 

Question: Currently we are set up to auto send all entries to CADEX on day 4. How will this work in CARM? CAn we set up auto-send or will all CAD’s be sent automatically once completed? 

Answer:  An automatic CAD function has been created.  It uses the same time/date as the Auto CADEX function.  It can be enabled once the cutover backlog has been cleared.

 

Question: Can you please advise how the CAD module will work after CARM R3 and if a broker needs to submit manually? 

Answer:  A CAD document will be submitted the same as the B3s are today, within the same 5 business day window.  They can be submitted directly from the Shipment screen, or from the Outstanding CAD screen.

 

Question: As of October 4 at 4 p.m., how do the LVS get accounted for?  Will the duty/GST be billed to the importer’s BN on the CARM Client Portal? Should we do another consolidation October 4 for all the LVS done up to that point that will be under our BN?

Once the portal is open, when an LVS is created, will it be accounted for the same way the HVS is with the same 5 day accounting time limit?

Answer:  After October 4th, any LVS consolidations will consolidate by importer. There is a new LVS screen to manage the increased number of LVS entries that will be created.  The screen will provide a way to easily consolidate, send and review the LVS entries.

 

Question: With CADEX becoming unavailable Oct 4, what will be the flag for invoices to generated?  We have all our clients set to generate after CADEX Accept.

Answer: If requested, we can change the Auto Billing Trigger from B3 Accepted, to Shipment Released, during the cutover period.  After go-live, this can be reverted to CAD Accepted.

 

Question: Currently we have B3s set to generate after CADEX Accept and those files are sent to an external system.  How will the cutover period affect the B3s auto generating and being sent via EDI?

Answer:  Any internal/EDI processing resulting from a B3 Accept will continue to function.  This will need to transition to a CAD accepted functionality moving forward - but will be dealt with as needed.

 

Question: The Reports we have saved now- To pull info from the B3.
Will there automatically pull the same info but from the CAD.

Or will new Reports all have to be written to show and pull the info from the CAD if they are shown in different boxes now on the CAD.

Will the Report screen be updated to show all the extra boxes now broken out on the CAD that we can now make its own column on an Excel sheet.

Answer:  The reports will not change.  We will be adding the new CAD fields to the Reporting Tool.  Any reports will have to be manually updated to use the new information.

 

Question: During the cut over when we cannot submit any B3 to CBSA, we still need to finish off the B3 to be able to bill our clients.
Once CARM comes in effect ( if it's not delayed ) will all those B3 created during the cut over - automatically covert to CAD thru Candata? 
Or will we manually have to do them on the CARM portal one at a time ? like we would have to if we had to do a CAD B2 adjustment on an old B3.

Answer:  After October 4th, you should start creating CAD documents by default.  Once CARM is live, those CAD document in the backlog will be submitted individually, or by day using the Outstanding CAD screen.  It is the first submission of them, so there is nothing to adjust on the portal.

 

Question: Do we CADEX all releases Oct 4th, 2024 - before 4PM - this will close off October SOA?

Answer: Entries submitted up to CADEX shutoff will appear on the October SOA.  Any CAD documents submitted before the October cutoff will also appear on the October SOA.

 

Question: So no importer's DN/SOAs from now on?

Answer: Unless you opt for PKI CIG application and individual connection  as CBSA now offers only this one solution for system to system sharing of DN SOA for importers.

 

Question: Should we consider marking all customers as 'I' accounts since we may be able to run reports on these customers OR only mark customers we know 100% that will pay customs directly? 

Answer: That would be  our recommendation - the Payment mode after October 4th can be used to track customers that you are paying for.

 

Question: Will there be a report that can be used to determine the outstanding IID B3 files between Oct 5th and Oct 21st, or just use the Outstanding CAD window in Candata when we get the API Key around Oct 21st.

Answer:The Outstanding CAD window will continue to track outstanding entries.  Any reports would simply be driven by the same data.

 

Question: Billing can be done during this time for Brokerage only? not sure how it will look, can we add in duty and taxes if customers still want us to pay on their behalf? 

Answer: Billing will continue to work as it does today, using the B3 duty/tax values.  If a customer is flagged as I type, no duties and taxes. A customer flagged as Normal will add the duties/taxes to the invoice. From CBSA point of view they are all I types now, so this setting is mostly about billing behaviour in our invoicing

 

Question: How will the LVS consolidation work after the black out period if clients LVS are accounted for under their own BN?  Will we still have to do a consolidation or will the LVS automatically show up under Their BN when the CAD is created?

Answer: There are two options. First, if you want, we can enable consolidating per importer for you. This will produce one LVS per importer, which would then have the importer's BN. Or you can keep the process the same as you are doing currently.

 

Question: CARM Portal Verification Report: I'm just reaching out regarding printing the new report. I've followed the steps indicated in the mass email that went out to clients but every time I leave the Customer Information blank (to print all of our clients information) it only ever leaves the XLS file empty (except for the top row, indicating customer ID, importer number, etc.)

When I specifically choose a client, it will load and print it but if left blank for all clients, nothing is coming up. 

Answer: Likely because you haven't marked the customer as delegated yet which is a manual input This can only be a manual process as CBSA does not allow us to poll their system for it.

 

Once delegated, mark your importer here as shown. This powers the report.

 

If the report is still blank once you have inputs let Support here know by providing an example customer.

 

Question: Now the client portal connects with us already under all program management, should they need to connect business management with us?

Answer: All brokers need to sign up for portal access - lots of functionality is only available through the portal. Their importers need to sign up for the portal, and assign a Delegation of Authority to their broker.  Portal functionality questions should go to CBSA / CARM as CANdata has no access or practice on the CARM portals.

 

Question: On October 4,2024, the IID should be working during the next 180 days?

Answer: IID functionality is not changing. The 180 days refers to the grace period until it is mandatory for the importer to have a bond. 

 

Question: The client applies the bond via our system with RAISE, why is there a questionnaire needed to complete by the broker?

Answer: The bonds obtained by the broker on behalf of an importer are based in part on the broker's customer base. They can find out more from the bonding companies.  Please contact RAISE Directly 

 

Question: Once we confirm the terms and condition with RAISE, our system bond request will be processed electronically?

Answer: Yes once integrated to your server, the RAISE solution is all managed electronically in the Candata application.

 

Question: If some client buys the bond outside RAISE, then what is the procedure?

Answer: No other procedure is required.  You can track those customers using the bond checkbox on the customer screen. We have no visibility to whether a bond exists or not.

 

Question: On October 21, 2024, we will get the key from the portal and send it to you?

Answer: Yes

 

Question: When will we need a complete PKI application? the PKI means to receive the client's DN and SOA?

Answer: Correct - if you want to receive the Importers' DNs and SOAs in Candata, you need the PKI certificate. Otherwise, they can be retrieved on the CARM portal manually.

 

Question: You will help brokers to pass over from IID to new CARM CAD step by step till submit the entry and receive the release notice, till outstanding CAD?

Answer: IID is not changing in any way. The Outstanding B3 screen will convert to Outstanding CAD, and the entries submitted to CAD from there, or directly from the main Shipment screen.

Most of the help/support will be by mail blasts as we are supporting an entire customer base at once through this change and most have the same questions.

 

Question: Will the RNS release notifications that automatically trigger? You mentioned the Notification of Release will not function during the outage, but we assume that means CADEX release vs IID and that our client facing emails will still go out as normal?

Answer: On October 4th at 4PM the CADEX application will be shutdown and we will go into a "blackout period". During this period, shipments will be released via IID BUT there will be no Notification of Release (NOR), and your "Outstanding B3s" window will not show any new entries (only showing entries not submitted to CADEX prior to the CADEX shutdown).  The RNS system and any associated emails will not be affected.

 

Question: During the blackout period, will we still have the use of the recap B3 function so we can generate calculations in case they are needed? One Ex: to pre-collect on files that we know we are using our BN# for the CAD and need to know the calculated amount.

Answer:   The amounts can be calculated either by recapping the B3, or calculating the CAD.  The values should be accurate, but can't be finalized with CARM until after the go live date.

 

Question: On October 21 will the API be automatically there for the broker to retrieve from the CARM portal, or are we reliant on a response from CBSA? Once retrieved, will CanData be able to get all clients updated on October 21st so that we are not down that day?

Answer: CBSA says that’s when they available to retrieve. We will work as fast as possible. We will be slammed, please plan accordingly. We wish the API key would be provided in advance but not our call.

 

Question: Why should the CIG setup be done before go live?

Answer: CBSA confirmed that you can continue to be set up ahead of time and avoid the fall rush. Highly advised. Including the BSF815 after CIG is setup.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hfgqmdhR2HRCLQ8SFGIOowDcovKAiFd4

CBSA cannot route your customer SOAs and DNs to you electronically after CARM without this new connection requirement.

From our point of view, it's optional, as the SOAs and DNs will be available in the portals, which we understand you can fetch manually if your team wishes.

To be fair, we are caught in the middle as this is their workaround, not CANdata's we can not say "why" the limitation is at CBSA. We thought CIG was ancient history, and now it's back! we feel our MQ connection is faster and more reliable and easier to troubleshoot as needed.

 

Question: We have customers who want us to manage their CARM portal, as per the info you sent us, we have followed your instructions to receive their DN’s, our question is , when we issue invoices to those customers, how do we show their GST and Duty on our invoice, is there an option just like when we designate a GST direct customer so the GST doesn’t show up on our invoice, which is the reverse of this, so that after CARM starts, we can designate a certain type to a customer who wants us to manage their portal so that their GST and Duty actually appears on our invoice?

Answer: All customers will become I type customers. By default, they will not be billed duties and taxes. The importers will be able to pay based on their SOA. A GST direct report could be run, but the most accurate way moving forward would be what the portal says they owe.