CBSA entry for charcoal: tariff treatment, CARM, and the form that replaced the B3
By Mohamad Sinno, Charcoal Expert · Reviewed by Budi Hartanto, shipping specialist · Last updated
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If a guide tells you to file a B3, it is describing a form that no longer exists. CBSA states that the Commercial Accounting Declaration (CAD) "replaced the previous customs coding (B3) and request for adjustment (B2) forms", and that as of 21 October 2024 CARM "became the official system of record for imposing or levying duties and taxes". The registration work now happens before your first container moves, not at the border.
What a first Canadian entry actually costs
Indonesian-origin coconut shell charcoal enters under tariff item 4402.20.90.00 at 6.5% MFN — the Free lines on that heading are unavailable to Indonesia, which is worked through on the Canada guide. GST is 5% under Excise Tax Act s.212. The part worth doing on paper is the interaction.
| Line | Basis | Amount (CAD) |
|---|---|---|
| Value for duty | Illustrative figure, not a quote | 30,000.00 |
| Customs duty | 6.5% of value for duty · 4402.20.90.00 MFN | 1,950.00 |
| GST base | Value for duty + duty · ETA s.215(1)(b) | 31,950.00 |
| GST | 5% of the GST base · ETA s.212 | 1,597.50 |
| Duty + GST | — | 3,547.50 |
Budget "6.5% plus 5%" as 11.5% and you get 3,450.00 — short by 97.50. The gap is 5% of the duty, because s.215(1)(b) puts customs duty inside the GST base. It is a small number on one container and a predictable one across a year, and it is missing from every "duty and tax" summary that adds the two rates together.
Two honest limits on this arithmetic. The 30,000 is a round illustrative figure chosen to make the steps legible — substitute your own value for duty, which is normally the price paid, adjusted under the Customs Act valuation rules. And this is duty and tax only: brokerage, port and inland charges sit outside it, and belong to the landed-cost method.
Registration to release, in the order CARM enforces it
None of this is done at the border. CARM front-loads it, and the sequence is unforgiving in one specific place — step 3.
- Business number with an import-export (RM) program account. CBSA lists "Register for or modify an import-export program account" as a prerequisite service. Nothing can be accounted for without it.
- Register in the CARM Client Portal. CBSA describes this as how "trade chain partners can register and start using the CARM Client Portal to do business with us". By 2025 the system "was used by over 213,000 businesses, all of which are registered to the CARM Client Portal".
- Delegate authority to your broker — in the portal. Your broker cannot act on your CARM account until you grant it. A broker who has your Power of Attorney but not your portal delegation still cannot file for you, and this is the step that surprises first-time importers after the vessel has sailed.
- Enrol in Release Prior to Payment and post financial security. CBSA is explicit: "Importers must post financial security to be able to obtain release prior to payment." Skip it and the consequence is not a slower release — the goods do not release until the duties and taxes are actually paid.
- Account on a CAD. The Commercial Accounting Declaration is submitted in the portal or by electronic data interchange, and CARM calculates duties and taxes from what is declared on it. CBSA notes the accounting process "does not affect the release process" — release and accounting are separate events, which is the whole point of RPP.
Payment then runs on a monthly account rather than per shipment: due dates are "communicated to customs account holders at the beginning of the calendar year", and balances must reach CBSA "by 16:00 Eastern time on the payment due date". The GST portion is collected by CBSA "on behalf of the Canada Revenue Agency" — the tax is CRA's, which is why questions about recovering it are CRA questions, not border questions.
Quoting a Canadian buyer and want the tariff line and origin wording settled before they cost it? Message us on WhatsApp at +62 821 3924 038 and we will put the classification, origin and packing particulars in writing for their broker.
Sources, all read 12 August 2026: CBSA, "CARM: Features and benefits" and "CARM: Assess and pay duties and taxes on imported commercial goods"; CBSA Memorandum D17-5-1, Payment of duties and taxes on imported commercial goods (25 May 2021); CBSA Customs Tariff 2026, Chapter 44 (issued 1 January 2026); Excise Tax Act ss. 212 and 215 via the Department of Justice (consolidation current to 17 June 2026). Import guidance, not legal or tax advice — the importer of record is liable for the declaration.