Do goods already in transit pay a new Canadian surtax?

Which day decides in-transit status under each surtax order?

Each order fixes its own day, and the wording differs. The table lists the in-transit rule in each order, read from the order itself on Justice Laws.

The in-force dates for the two safeguards come from Customs Notices 26-14 and 26-17, because both orders came into force on registration. The rest are in each order's coming-into-force section.

Two patterns stand out. First, the exemption normally attaches to the day the order itself came into force, not to the day a schedule grew. Customs Notice 25-24 says that "no such exemption for in transit steel goods exists" for the second and third amending orders of the steel quota order. Second, a rate increase protects goods only where the amending text says so, as subsection 1(1.2) of the US steel and aluminum order does for September 8, 2026. There the goods do not escape the surtax; they keep the old rate.

What does "in transit to Canada" mean?

None of the orders defines it. The CBSA does, in the same words in each customs notice from 2025 on. Customs Notice 26-23, paragraph 19, is typical:

• the exemption "includes goods that were in transit before the surtax comes into force";
• "in transit to Canada" means "goods bound for but not yet arrived in Canada, and under the control of a carrier";
• "importers must have proof in their possession that such goods were in transit to Canada";
• the proof "may include ... shipping documents (for example, a bill of lading), report of entry documents, and cargo control documents", and "may be requested at any time by a CBSA officer".

The China order's notice, Customs Notice 24-36, is shorter: goods "bound for Canada under the control of a carrier", with proof that "may include, but is not limited to" the same documents.

Read with the facts of a shipment, the definition has three parts, and each needs a document:

1. Under a carrier's control on the day. A shipped-on-board ocean bill of lading, an air waybill, a rail waybill or a truck pickup record dated on or before the start date. A purchase order, a commercial invoice or a factory dispatch note does not show a carrier had the goods.
2. Bound for Canada. A consignee or place of delivery in Canada on the transport document. Goods shipped to a US or third-country warehouse, then re-sold to Canada after the start date, were not bound for Canada on the day.
3. Not yet arrived. The arrival and release dates in the cargo control and report of entry records, after the start date.

Goods that had already arrived in Canada before the start date are not "in transit" on that definition. Whether a surtax reaches such goods at all is a separate timing question for your broker, not an in-transit claim.

How is an in-transit line declared?

For an order with a full exemption, Customs Notice 26-23 says commercial goods qualifying for an exception "must be declared as non-subject to surtax at the time of accounting." The line carries no surtax amount, and the proof stays on file.

For US steel and aluminum caught by the September 8, 2026 increase, Customs Notice 25-11 says the 50% rate "does not apply to goods that were in transit on or before September 8, 2026", that "the surtax rate of 25% applies", and that "for goods that were in transit on or before September 8, 2026, the surtax code is 25095A", with the amount in field 85 (the number CBSA's notices use; the CAD field by field explains why D17-1-10 calls the same field 68).

Worked lines: one order exempts, the other only keeps the old rate

The figures are illustrative and round. Two US-origin shipments, both loaded onto a railcar in the United States on September 4, 2026 under a through waybill to Toronto, arriving September 10 and released September 11, 2026.

Line A: structural steel, tariff item 7308.90.00, value for duty CAD 200,000. The Customs Tariff 2026, Chapter 73, lists it as free under the MFN tariff, and 7308.90.00 is on Schedule 2.1 of the US steel and aluminum order, at 50% from September 8, 2026.

Line B: wooden kitchen cabinets, tariff item 9403.40.00, value for duty CAD 80,000, CUSMA claimed (UST free). 9403.40.00 is on Schedule 2 of the United States Surtax Order (2026), at 25%. US-origin goods are outside the wood cabinet safeguard.

With the waybill on file, line A overpaid CAD 52,500 and line B overpaid CAD 21,000. Without it, both lines as declared at the new rates are correct, and a line declared with 25095A or as non-subject would be the underpayment.

How do you fix lines that paid a surtax they did not owe?

Memorandum D16-1-1, paragraph 13, says that where surtax was overpaid "an importer may submit an adjustment to request a refund of the amount overpaid", following Memorandum D17-2-1 on adjusting CADs. The refund rests on section 74 of the Customs Act, and subsection 74(3) requires the application within four years after the goods were accounted for. Subsection 74(7) leaves surtaxes out of the refunds the CBSA may grant without an application, so the importer has to file.

1. Find the candidate lines: surtax lines released within a few weeks after each start date in the table, by tariff item and origin.
2. Get the transport documents for each, and check the three parts above against the start date.
3. Recompute the surtax as non-subject, or at the old rate with code 25095A for US steel and aluminum, and recompute the GST on the lower base.
4. File refund adjustments within four years of accounting, with the proof ready for the CBSA. The adjustment steps and reason codes are covered in correcting a Canadian entry.

The other direction matters as much. D16-1-1, paragraph 12, says that if an importer identifies that surtax is payable, "they must submit a self-adjustment and declare the applicable surtax code." A line declared in transit without the documents, or for goods that left a warehouse after the start date, should be corrected before the CBSA finds it.

Where do in-transit claims go wrong?

• The wrong day. The quota order uses "on or before" dates; the others use "on the day" the order came into force. US steel and aluminum use September 8, 2026 for the rate increase, not March 13, 2025.
• A schedule addition treated as a new order. Goods added to an existing order by amendment get in-transit relief only if the amending order gives it.
• Full exemption claimed for a rate increase. US steel and aluminum in transit on September 8, 2026 still owed 25%.
• Order date on file, no carrier document. Purchase orders and invoices do not show a carrier had the goods.
• Multi-leg shipments. Goods that stopped at a distributor's warehouse were not under a carrier's control on their way to Canada for that leg.
• Proof missing at verification. Each notice says it can be requested "at any time".

The same question arises on the US side, where CBP's in-transit rules work differently; see does a new tariff apply to goods already in transit.

How can you check in-transit status across your entries?

TariffSense reads CAD/B3 lines with their release dates, carrier and cargo control references, and flags surtax lines released shortly after an order's start date, so the transport documents can be checked: lines that paid and may qualify, and lines declared non-subject or at the old rate that need proof. Filing stays with your broker. The post-entry audit page shows what goes in and what comes back; the orders themselves are compared in why your CAD shows the wrong surtax, and the CAD audit guide covers the rest of the line.

What should you do next?

Pull every surtax line released in the four weeks after September 8, 2026, and after each earlier start date in the table that falls inside your four-year window. For each, ask your broker or carrier for the transport document dated on or before the start date. Claim the ones that qualify; correct the ones declared in transit without proof. Confirm each adjustment with a licensed customs broker before you file.