Importing from China to Canada: Customs, CARM and Surtaxes 2026

Canada has not signed a free trade agreement with China: Chinese goods enter under the general most-favoured-nation tariff regime, administered by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Two categories stand out because Ottawa has applied a dedicated surtax to them: Chinese steel and aluminum, taxed at 25% since 2024 under two orders detailed further below, and Chinese electric vehicles, surtaxed at 100% from October 1, 2024 to February 28, 2026 before being exempted since March 1, 2026. The rule has already changed once, so double check before placing any order in these sectors.

Canadian customs clearance relies on two CBSA systems: eManifest, which requires cargo data to be transmitted electronically before arrival, and CARM, detailed below, which handles the assessment and collection of duties and taxes.

The base duty depends on the Harmonized System code assigned to the goods, published in the Canadian customs tariff: we found no verifiable aggregated average rate, so each line needs to be checked before ordering. On top of this duty comes the federal GST of 5%, replaced in harmonized provinces by the HST: 13% in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia since April 1, 2025.

Sample calculation, excluding surtax: on a customs value of 10,000 Canadian dollars and a hypothetical MFN duty of 6%, the duty owed is 600 dollars; the 5% GST then applies to 10,600 dollars, or 530 dollars; the total owed to the CBSA, excluding freight and insurance, comes to 1,130 dollars. For Chinese steel or aluminum, two 25% surtax orders coexist without stacking: the one from October 22, 2024, codes 24187B and 24187C, for goods of Chinese origin, and the one from July 31, 2025, for steel melted and poured in China or aluminum smelted and cast in China, even when shipped via a third country. As of September 27, 2026, check which of the two applies to your product before ordering.

The core document for any declaration remains the Canada Customs Invoice or a complete commercial invoice, required for almost all commercial shipments. At the border, the importer or their broker files Form B3. Before any shipment, the importer must hold a business number and an import-export program account, essential for registering with CARM.

CARM (CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management) is the system the CBSA uses to assess and collect duties and taxes, with an official switchover on October 21, 2024. Each importer must register on the client portal themselves, using a GCKey credential or an Interac partner, no longer relying on their broker's registration.

Another change: for release prior to payment, the importer must now post their own financial security with the CBSA, rather than relying solely on their broker's bond. A 180-day transition period accompanied this switchover, running until May 20, 2025: since that date, the absence of your own security blocks release prior to payment.

The Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (S.C. 2010, c. 21) imposes a general safety obligation, with testing, documentation and incident reporting, for any product sold in Canada regardless of country of manufacture. The Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-38) requires bilingual labelling on any prepackaged product: mandatory statements must appear in both official languages at once.

A series of CBSA memoranda, the D9 series, governs prohibited imports: goods made in whole or in part by forced or prison labour, obscene material or hate propaganda, counterfeit goods or goods bearing a false indication of geographic origin, used mattresses, white or yellow phosphorus matches, and used vehicles subject to age and origin rules specific to that category.

The Port of Prince Rupert claims the shortest Pacific route to Asia, 36 hours less than Vancouver and more than 68 hours less than Los Angeles to Shanghai, and North America's deepest deep-water port. Vancouver remains Canada's historic gateway for transpacific trade.

From southern China, freight most often departs from Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Yantian, depending on the line booked by the freight forwarder. FOB southern China works if the buyer arranges transport; CIF or CFR to the Canadian port if an intermediary handles it; DDP is not recommended as long as the seller is not a licensed customs declarant in Canada. On payment, the usual practice is a deposit followed by a balance before shipment, paid into the Chinese company's business account, never a personal account, with any change of bank details verified by a direct phone call.

A first import follows a precise sequence: specifications, factory verification, approved sample, proforma invoice with incoterm, CARM registration if needed, production follow-up, pre-shipment inspection, freight to the chosen port, then customs clearance by the client or their broker.

Sorva is a sourcing house based in Guangzhou, in the Tianhe district, backed by a Chinese subsidiary and a French parent company. Our Chinese-speaking team verifies factories, arranges samples and pre-shipment quality control, then organizes freight to the chosen Canadian port. We never act as the official importer of record in Canada, and we do not export vehicles ourselves without going through a licensed Chinese exporter. Our base offer is priced in dollars, with zone options quoted on request.