A cluster of CBSA developments over the past month tightens the connection between low-value courier shipments, e-commerce release, and the CARM accounting system. The Courier Low Value Shipment (CLVS) compliance relief has been extended, a new API has been published for the eCommerce Low Value Inspection System (ELVIS), and Memorandum D18-5-1 on excise and GST exemption coding in CARM has been reissued. Here is what courier, e-commerce, and CARM-registered importers need to know.
CLVS Program: CN 26-13 extends the CARM/RPP compliance relief
On June 12, 2026, the Canada Border Services Agency issued Customs Notice 26-13, “Extension of Operational Measures to Support Expedited Release of Commercial Goods in the Courier Low Value Shipment (CLVS) Program.” The notice replaces the operational measures in Customs Notice 25-32 and applies a modified compliance approach for a 12-month period effective the date of the notice. The relief is aimed squarely at the CARM transition: it lets shipments keep moving while importers finish registering.
Operationally, a customs broker may use their own BN15 to account for eligible commercial goods on the F-type CAD (initial Commercial Accounting Declaration) while working with the importer to secure CARM Client Portal registration and enrolment in the Release Prior to Payment (RPP) sub-program. If goods later prove ineligible for CLVS treatment, the broker’s BN15 may likewise be used on the V-type CAD (the post-release adjustment). The CLVS threshold remains a value for duty not exceeding CAD $3,300, and the exceptions in Customs Notice 25-23 for time-sensitive, perishable, and health-related goods are preserved. The end goal is unchanged: importers must obtain their own BN15, register in CARM, enrol in RPP, and post financial security.
The Canadian Society of Customs Brokers (CSCB) is separately surveying members on the operational impacts of CN 26-13 and the eventual end of what the trade is calling the “CLVS moratorium” — the period during which brokers can carry shipments on their own BN15. Importers who have leaned on that relief should treat the 12-month window as a hard deadline to complete CARM and RPP enrolment, not an open-ended reprieve; the notice sets no transition mechanics for goods still lacking importer registration when the period lapses.
ELVIS API published for e-commerce low-value shipments
Through its Commercial and Trade Industry Forum (CTIF), the CBSA announced on July 3, 2026 the publication of an Application Programming Interface (API) for the eCommerce Low Value Inspection System (ELVIS). ELVIS is the CBSA’s platform for risk-assessing and inspecting the high volume of low-value e-commerce parcels arriving in courier mode. A published API is a signal to couriers, e-commerce platforms, and service providers to begin planning system integration so that advance shipment data can be exchanged programmatically with CBSA’s inspection and targeting environment.
High-volume importers and their technology teams should review the technical requirements early: API-based data exchange for low-value e-commerce is the direction of travel, and building integration into release workflows now avoids a scramble later.
Read more about high-volume e-commerce shipments on CBSA
Memorandum D18-5-1 updated: excise and GST exemption coding in CARM
The CBSA has reissued Memorandum D18-5-1, “Coding Excise and GST exemption codes in the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) system,” with an Ottawa revision date of June 30, 2026. It is the reference document for the applicable excise codes and GST exemption codes available in CARM, covering excise duties on alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and vaping products, excise taxes on vehicles and fuel, excise exemptions, and GST exemptions — along with documentation of code removals and system validations.
For CARM filers, this is a working document, not background reading. Commercial Accounting Declarations that use excise or GST exemption codes must reference the codes as they currently exist in CARM; a code that has been removed or a validation that has changed will cause a CAD to reject or mis-assess. Anyone accounting for excisable goods or claiming a GST exemption should reconcile their code tables against the reissued memorandum before their next filing.
Read the full memorandum on CBSA
NGB helps courier and e-commerce importers complete CARM Client Portal registration, RPP enrolment, and financial security before the CN 26-13 relief lapses, and keeps CAD excise and GST exemption coding aligned with the latest D18-5-1 guidance. If you would like a review of your low-value shipment or CARM setup, NoGlobalBorders can help.
