Selling Into Canada: The NRI and CARM Setup, Step by Step

Canada is the first international market most US brands open, and the one with the most fixable setup. Done casually, every parcel pays retail brokerage and the customer eats surprise fees. Done properly, with NRI status and a CARM account, you import in your own name at predictable cost.

Why you want to be the importer

Someone has to be the importer of record on every commercial shipment into Canada. If it defaults to your customer, they get the duty, tax and brokerage bill, with the refusal risk that carries; see DDP vs DDU. Becoming a Non-Resident Importer makes your US entity the importer: you control clearance, pay the charges, and your customer gets a domestic-feeling delivery.

The setup, in order

1. Get a Canadian business number (BN) with an import/export account from the CRA. This is registration, not incorporation; your US entity is the legal party.
2. Register on the CARM Client Portal. CARM is the CBSA's system for importer registration, financial security and duty payment. Since 2024 you need your own account to clear goods in your own name.
3. Post financial security to participate in Release Prior to Payment, so shipments clear immediately and you settle duties monthly, typically via a customs bond.
4. Decide your GST position. Registering for GST/HST lets you charge tax at checkout and recover the 5% GST you pay at the border as an input tax credit. Most DDP sellers register.
5. Set your tariff treatment. US-origin goods that qualify under CUSMA/USMCA enter duty-free, but the claim rides on correct HS classification and a certification of origin.

What it costs without this

Unregistered sellers ship DDU by default. The customer pays 5%+ tax, any duty, and a carrier brokerage fee that can run $15 to $30 on a standard parcel. Refusal rates climb, and every refused parcel is return freight plus a refund. High-volume sellers also overpay on clearance itself: per-shipment retail brokerage instead of consolidated entries.

That last part is where the model matters. For US to Canada parcel volume on UPS, Treqo's brokerage model consolidates clearance and cuts the per-shipment cost dramatically compared to retail brokerage fees.

How Treqo handles it

Our team has run this playbook for over a decade: we guide the NRI registration, set up the CARM portal correctly, and configure your per-destination incoterms and tax treatment once, so every shipment after moves under the right setup. Landed cost, including GST/HST/PST by province, is calculated at booking. Start on the selling into Canada page or the customs and compliance page.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Canadian company to sell into Canada?

No. A US business can register as a Non-Resident Importer and act as importer of record using its US entity, with a Canadian business number for import purposes only.

What is CARM?

The CBSA's Assessment and Revenue Management system: the portal where importers register, post financial security and pay duties and taxes. You need an account to clear commercial goods in your own name.

Do I charge Canadian sales tax at checkout?

If you register for GST/HST, yes, and you recover border GST as an input tax credit. Unregistered DDU sellers push the tax to the customer at the door.