What does a non-resident importer need to import into Canada?

Who counts as a non-resident importer?

The CBSA's page on high-volume e-commerce shipments defines a non-resident importer (NRI) as "an importer whose fixed place of business is located in a country other than Canada". Typical cases: a US manufacturer that sells delivered duty paid to Canadian retailers, a European brand that holds stock in a Canadian third-party warehouse, an online seller shipping to Canadian consumers under its own account.

The law does not give a non-resident a lighter set of rules. Memorandum D17-1-21 says "Non-resident importers have the same obligations as any resident importer, owner or consignee of imported goods." What changes is how each obligation is met from outside the country: where the records sit, who posts security, who can claim the GST, and who the CBSA pursues when a reassessment arrives.

What does a non-resident need before the first entry?

The records agreement comes first. D17-1-21 says that after May 13, 2024, import and export business accounts for resident and non-resident importers "will not be issued unless the Agreement to Maintain Records Elsewhere than the Place of Business in Canada (BSF900) has been approved through the CARM Client Portal." A non-resident has no place of business in Canada, so it needs the agreement before it can get the account.

Records outside Canada means the US or Mexico only. D17-1-21 allows records outside Canada "specifically in the United States of America or in Mexico", and Customs Notice 25-01 says non-resident importers "located outside North America" must designate a licensed customs broker, accountant or other authorized agent to keep their books and records in Canada. Even then, D17-1-21 says the importer "continues to be responsible" for the record-keeping obligations. The records themselves are kept for six years following the importation, under section 2 of the Imported Goods Records Regulations; the detail is in Canadian customs record keeping.

Does a non-resident post its own security?

Yes, if it wants goods released before the duties and taxes are paid. Memorandum D17-5-2 says "both resident and non-resident importers must provide a financial security that is equal or higher than the requirement calculated by the CBSA":

• the requirement is the account's highest monthly balance of duties, taxes including GST, and other debts over the previous 12 months;
• a bond or other written security agreement covers 50% of it, with a minimum of CAD 5,000 per RM account;
• a cash deposit covers 100%, with no minimum;
• the maximum is CAD 10 million per RM account.

The mechanics, and how surtax pushes the requirement up, are in CARM financial security and release prior to payment. For a non-resident the practical point is that its Canadian balance includes the GST it pays at the border, even when the GST will later come back as a credit, so the security is sized on duty plus GST.

Who pays when an entry is reassessed?

Memorandum D17-2-5, which came into effect on January 1, 2026, says "There is only one self-declared importer of record for an importation of goods" and that the CBSA considers the importer of record "the primary contact for verifications and the entity with direct liability for post-accounting obligations, including record keeping, making corrections, and payment of duties." For a non-resident that files under its own BN15, that is the non-resident.

It does not stop there. Section 17(3) of the Customs Act makes "the owner of the goods at the time of release and the importer of record" jointly and severally liable with the importer for duties, and D17-2-5 says that if the importer of record defaults "the CBSA may hold the importers or owners of the goods liable, jointly or individually." A Canadian buyer that took title before release is exposed to a reassessment on goods its non-resident supplier imported. D17-2-5 encourages the importer of record, importers and owners to share "clear and transparent provisions" on how they will manage duty liabilities and refunds; a supply contract with a non-resident importer should say who pays a section 32.2 correction and who keeps a refund.

The same applies to the obligation to correct. A non-resident importer that finds an underpayment has 90 days to correct it under section 32.2, exactly like a resident; see correcting a Canadian entry.

Who claims the import GST?

GST at 5% of the value for tax is paid at the border by whoever is liable for the duty, which on an NRI entry is the non-resident. Whether anyone gets it back depends on the non-resident's GST status.

If the non-resident is registered. Section 240 of the Excise Tax Act requires registration from every person making taxable supplies in Canada in the course of a commercial activity in Canada, with an exception for a non-resident "who does not carry on any business in Canada"; subsection 240(3) lets a non-resident that regularly solicits orders for goods to be delivered in Canada register voluntarily. A registered non-resident claims the import GST as its own input tax credit and charges GST on its sale to the Canadian customer. Subsection 240(6) adds a condition: a non-resident without a permanent establishment in Canada that applies or is required to register "shall give and thereafter maintain security, in an amount and a form satisfactory to the Minister."

If the non-resident is not registered. Section 180 of the Excise Tax Act lets the GST flow through. Where an unregistered non-resident supplies goods to a person and delivers them in Canada before using them itself, has paid the import GST, and "provides to the particular person evidence, satisfactory to the Minister, that the tax has been paid", the customer is deemed to have paid that tax and can claim the input tax credit. The CRA's Policy Statement P-125R describes the purpose as the flow-through of an input tax credit "to a registrant for unrecoverable tax", and its examples require the customer to obtain a copy of the import documentation.

In practice the customer needs the CAD, or the line-level GST figures from it, from a supplier that has no tax reason to send them. Without that evidence the GST is a cost to nobody's credit.

Provincial tax is not on the CAD. Customs Notice 25-01 says the CBSA's authority to collect PST or HST is limited to casual goods; a non-resident collecting provincial tax from consumers remits it to the province or the CRA, not on the CAD.

A worked line: one shipment, two GST set-ups

The figures are illustrative and round, and so is the duty rate. A US manufacturer ships goods to an Ontario retailer under its own BN15 as importer of record. Value for duty CAD 80,000; customs duty at 6% is CAD 4,800; no surtax applies to the line.

Set-up A: the non-resident is registered for GST. It claims CAD 4,240 as an input tax credit on its own return, then charges GST on its sale to the retailer, which the retailer claims in turn. The non-resident has posted security under section 240(6), and its RPP security covers a monthly balance that includes the CAD 4,240.

Set-up B: the non-resident is not registered. It cannot claim the CAD 4,240. The retailer can, under section 180, but only with evidence that the tax was paid. If the supplier sends a copy of the CAD, the retailer claims CAD 4,240. If it does not, the GST stays as a cost in the supply chain, usually priced into the retailer's purchase price.

Six months later the CBSA reclassifies the line to an item at 8%. Duty rises by CAD 1,600, value for tax by the same amount, and GST by CAD 80. The non-resident, as importer of record, owes CAD 1,680 plus interest. In set-up A it claims the CAD 80 back. In set-up B the retailer can claim the extra CAD 80 only with the corrected CAD. If the non-resident does not pay, section 17(3) lets the CBSA turn to the retailer if it owned the goods at release. The GST mechanics of corrections are in GST on imports after a CAD correction.

Can a non-resident claim refunds and remission?

Yes. Refunds under section 74 of the Customs Act go to the person who paid, which on an NRI entry is the non-resident. Customs Notice 25-19, on the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025), says claims for relief or refund of surtax "must be made by the importer", and that "This may include non-resident importers." The supporting documents (the CAD, purchase order, commercial invoice) are the non-resident's records, kept where its BSF900 agreement says.

One more point turns on non-resident status: value for duty. A non-resident that imports its own goods and then sells them to Canadian customers raises the question of which sale, if any, is the sale for export to Canada. That is covered in value for duty in Canada.

How do you audit a non-resident importer's entries?

1. Confirm the set-up. BN15 in the importer's name, an approved BSF900 with the records location, and RPP security that matches the account's balance, GST included.
2. Pull the full accounting export from the broker or the CARM Client Portal for the BN15, not a sample, and check each line for classification, origin, value for duty, surtax and SIMA, as described in auditing CAD/B3 entries after accounting.
3. Recompute the GST on every line and reconcile it to whoever claims it: the non-resident's own returns, or the customers' section 180 claims.
4. Map liability. For each customer, who owned the goods at release, and what the contract says about corrections and refunds.
5. Find the money both ways. Underpayments go to a section 32.2 correction within 90 days; overpayments, unclaimed preferences and remission are refunds the non-resident can claim.

TariffSense reads CAD/B3 lines from broker accounting exports and CARM, recomputes duty, surtax and GST per line, flags lines where the duty or GST does not match the tariff, origin and value on the documents, and shows the GST on each finding so the non-resident and its customers can see whose credit moves. The post-entry audit page shows what goes in and what comes back.

What should you do next on your own entries?

If you import into Canada from outside the country, check three things this month: that your BSF900 agreement is approved and names the place your records actually are, that your RPP security covers your highest monthly balance including GST, and that your GST position is deliberate, either registered with security posted or unregistered with a process that sends your customers the CAD evidence they need under section 180. If you buy from a non-resident importer, ask for those CADs and settle in your contract who pays a reassessment. Confirm registration and filing questions with a licensed customs broker or tax advisor.