You don’t need a Canadian company to import commercial goods into Canada. A foreign business can act as a non-resident importer (NRI): you stay the importer of record, pay duties and GST at the border, and sell to Canadian customers at a landed price. Buyers like it because the border disappears from their side of the deal.
The setup is where businesses get stuck. There are four pieces, the order matters, and one of them catches almost every company outside North America off guard.
Get a business number and import-export account
Everything starts with a nine-digit Canadian business number (BN). Canadian businesses can get one through the CARM portal when they register to import. Non-residents can’t. You get your BN through the CRA’s non-resident registration process, and then add an import-export (RM) program account with the CBSA.
That RM account is what makes you an importer in CBSA’s eyes. Without it, nothing clears.
Register on the CARM Client Portal and post security
CARM is the CBSA’s online system for assessing and billing duties and taxes, and it’s been mandatory for commercial importers since October 2024. You register your business on the portal; most importers then delegate portal access to their customs broker.
Most NRIs also enrol in Release Prior to Payment (RPP), which lets shipments clear the border before the duties and taxes are paid. RPP needs financial security posted in your own name. A security agreement from a surety must cover at least 50% of your highest monthly accounts receivable with the CBSA over the past 12 months, with a $5,000 minimum and a $10 million cap per import account. A cash deposit instead has to cover 100% of that highest monthly balance. For a first-time importer with no history the calculated figure is low, so the bond minimum is usually what applies.
Your broker’s bond no longer covers you. That transition ended in May 2025, so the security has to be yours.
Decide whether to register for GST/HST
Border GST gets paid either way. GST/HST registration is a separate decision, and it isn’t automatic for non-residents. It turns on whether you carry on business in Canada, which the CRA decides on the facts of each case. Holding inventory in Canada, on its own, doesn’t automatically put you over that line.
If you do register, you can generally recover the GST you pay at the border through input tax credits, and you charge and remit tax on your Canadian sales. Non-residents without a permanent establishment also post security with the CRA when they register: 50% of estimated net tax for the first year, whether that estimate is positive or negative, with a $5,000 minimum and a $1 million cap. The CRA waives the deposit if your taxable supplies in Canada stay at or under $100,000 a year and your net tax lands between a $3,000 refund and $3,000 owing.
Whether registering pays off depends on your margins and who your customers are. We walk new NRIs through that math before any paperwork gets prepared.
The records rule that catches overseas importers
Here’s the trap. The CBSA requires import records to be kept for six years, and the default rule is that they sit at a place of business in Canada. A non-resident importer with no Canadian office has two ways to comply: get CBSA authorization to keep the records in the United States or Mexico, or appoint a Canadian records custodian whose address becomes your books-and-records address.
A head office in Stockholm or Bangkok isn’t on that list.
The undertaking behind this is CBSA form BSF900, and since May 2024 the CBSA won’t issue your import-export account until it’s approved. The records question gates the rest of your setup, so deal with it first.
This is a service we run for non-resident importers around the world. We prepare the BSF900 and the custody engagement, you upload the form through your CARM portal, and our office becomes your Canadian records address. Details are on our CBSA records custodian page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Canadian company to import into Canada?
No. A foreign business can import as a non-resident importer using its own Canadian business number and import-export account. You need the registrations, not a Canadian entity.
Does a non-resident importer have to register for GST/HST?
Not automatically. Registration depends on whether you carry on business in Canada, a facts-based test. You pay GST at the border regardless, so the real question is whether registering to recover it and charge tax on your sales leaves you ahead.
Can I keep my import records at my office outside Canada?
Only if that office is in the United States or Mexico, and only with CBSA authorization. Records anywhere else offshore don’t qualify, which is why most overseas NRIs appoint a Canadian records custodian instead.
How much financial security does CARM require?
A security agreement must cover at least 50% of your highest monthly accounts receivable with the CBSA over the last 12 months, with a $5,000 minimum per import account. A cash deposit covers 100% of that balance. The CARM system calculates your figure during RPP enrolment.
Related guides
- CARM Client Portal for importers: setup guide
- GST registration for non-residents
- The non-resident GST security deposit
- The BSF900 and the records requirement
- CBSA records custodian service
Setting up as a non-resident importer?
We set up non-resident importers end to end: business number, CARM registration support, GST/HST registration and security, and a Canadian records address through our custodian service. Contact us and tell us what you sell and where you ship from.
Related guides
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