Every company that imports to Canada will eventually have to register to participate in CARM. For this reason, it's to your benefit to register early (before getting caught up in a registration stampede later). In addition it will allow you become familiar with the CARM Client Portal (CCP), the window into all of your transactions/obligations/communications with the CBSA.
Canada Customs has prepared a comprehensive presentation about how to "Onboard" your company, which can be found here. Still, I think it's worth walking through the process, since there's a lot of new vocabulary to understand, and some of the decisions you make may have implications for your business.
Although this may seem obvious, in order to register your business with CARM you have to have a registered business number (BN9), and make sure you're registered as an importer with an RM program identifier (usually RM0001). If you haven't done this yet, instructions may be found on this CRA website at this link.
The second step is one of the more important ones. Your business needs to designate one or more Business Account Managers (BAM) for the company. This person will have full access to your company's importing data, and their role is to assume the management of the business account. Ideally it will be someone with an operational role and financial authority, but again, this is not required.
This role can:
- Manage all legal entity and program information
- Perform operational activities in the CCP (e.g. request rulings, make payments, edit and view financial information).
While this person can be the business owner or a Director of the business, it not necessary, and may not even be desirable. This user role should be held by someone with active involvement of its business account. Note: the BAM role is automatically given to the initial individual who links their user account to the business by completing the registration process. Because this is such a critical role, the CBSA recommends giving the BAM role to at least one other user after the first user has finished registering.
The BAM will be responsible for authorizing other employees to have access to some or all of the CCP. Just as a BAM is a user role, there are other, lesser roles that provide user with access to some of the CCP. These user roles can be assigned by anyone with BAM authority once the business has been registered with CARM.
Registering Your First User and Your Business
As was mentioned previously, every person who wishes to use the CARM Client Portal must be individually registered with the CBSA first. This is what the process of registering looks like:
Successful CARM Client Portal (CCP) registration process workflow
Log in to The Portal
You can access the CARM Client Portal here
As it says in the graphic, the first thing the BAM needs to do is login to the CCP and create their personal profile. To do that, the BAM needs to verify their identity either by using a trusted sign-in partner or by creating a GCKey. Click on "Log in to the Client Portal" from the link above, and select a method of identity verification.
Using the Sign in Partner:
Select "Continue to Sign-in Partner". You'll be offered a list of available financial institutions and after selecting one, log in using your credentials.
Using GCKey:
A GCKey is a unique credential that protects your communications with online Government programs and services. If you already have GCKey credentials from other Government of Canada portals, you may be able to use them in the CARM Client Portal. Otherwise, you'll need to create a new one. You can do this by clicking on "Continue to GCKey". Follow the prompts to create your password and finish signing up for your GCKey. Once you've done this, you can sign in to the CARM Client Portal for the first time using these credentials.
Create Your Personal Profile
When you first log in to the CARM Client Portal using one of the above methods, you will be prompted to create your personal profile. Once you've done that, you'll be greeted with the "First Time Setup" page, where, as the first employee registered, you'll want to select "Register My Business".
Register Your Business
CBSA has prepared a comprehensive data sheet which identifies the information you'll need to have ready before registering your business with CARM here.
Use this sheet to collect all the information you'll need to successfully register your business on the CARM Portal. If you are uncertain of the transaction information that will be required to validate your business information, contact NGB (if you're a client!), or your current customs broker.
Once you've successfully entered the data from the data sheet on the CARM website, your business will now be registered, and you will be the (first) Business Account Manager for it. Next post, we'll look at what you can do from the CARM Client Portal, including adding new users and delegating authority to your business partners (like your customs broker).
Other Posts in this Series:
