Importing used goods from the USA to Canada for resale is a commercial import: a business number and import account, CARM accounting, tariff classification and origin, duties and GST on the duty-paid value, and a current surtax check for every shipment.
Applies in: across Canada
Importing used goods from the USA to Canada for resale is a commercial import, and the CBSA treats it as one. Condition does not change the stream. A pallet of used tools, a lot of refurbished electronics, or a shipment of second-hand furniture bought in the United States and brought into Canada to sell is accounted for through the same commercial system as new goods: a business number, an import account, tariff classification, origin, duties and taxes, and an accounting declaration in the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) system. The personal rules that many buyers know — traveller exemptions, the gift allowance, settlers' effects — do not apply to a resale shipment, and planning a commercial import around them is the fastest way to a held shipment and an unexpected bill.
The second fact that shapes this guide is that duty and surtax rates move. Tariff classification decides the regular duty rate, origin decides whether a free-trade preference applies, and surtax schedules layered on top of both have changed repeatedly. This guide therefore states the method the CBSA uses to calculate what is owing, and the checks that must be run for each shipment, and quotes no duty or surtax rate for any category of goods. A rate in a guide written last month is not evidence for a shipment arriving next month. The Department of Finance surtax schedule and the CARM duties and taxes calculator are the current sources, and both are checked per shipment, not per business plan.
A commercial importer needs a nine-digit business number (BN9) from the Canada Revenue Agency, and an import-export program account. The CBSA's CARM registration page states the requirement directly: businesses must have a business number to complete registration in the CARM Client Portal. Most new resident businesses can obtain a business number during the portal registration process, with exceptions, including trusts and other entity types, that must register for a business number with the CRA before attempting to register in the portal. Non-resident businesses must request their business number from the CRA before attempting to register; the CBSA warns that failure to do so causes a registration error that must be resolved through the CARM Client Support Helpdesk.
The import account itself is identified by the business number plus an RM program identifier. The CBSA's example format is a 15-digit number made up of the nine-digit business number and a six-character alphanumeric program identifier, such as 123456789RM0001. That account number is the account used for commercial payments, including online banking payments to the CBSA, where the 15-digit business number RM account is entered as the account number for the payee. Register the business in the CARM Client Portal before the first shipment, not when the goods are already at the border: first-time registration and the security arrangements for release before payment take time, and a shipment waiting on an unregistered importer waits at the importer's cost.
Three declarations decide the duty on a shipment: the customs value of the goods, the tariff classification of the goods under the Harmonized System, and the origin of the goods, together with the quantity. The CBSA and the tariff guidance state the same three elements, and the importer is responsible for getting each one right. Classification is done per item, not per shipment: a mixed load of used goods can carry several classifications, each with its own rate, and a single wrong classification can hold the whole shipment or produce the wrong duty.
Origin is where used-goods importers most often go wrong. The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) gives preferential, often duty-free, treatment to goods that qualify as originating in Canada, the United States, or Mexico, supported by proper proof of origin. Shipment from the United States is not origin. Goods bought from a US seller that were made in a third country do not qualify on the basis of the US sale, and goods that do qualify still need the origin documentation to claim the preference. For used goods, origin evidence can be harder to assemble than for new goods, because the original manufacturer, country of manufacture, and prior ownership chain may not be documented. If origin cannot be proved, the regular duty rate applies, and the landed cost should be calculated on that basis before the purchase is made.
Customs value follows the transaction-value method in the CBSA's guidance: broadly, the price paid for the goods at the place of direct shipment, the point where they begin their continuous journey to Canada. International transport and insurance from that point to Canada are not included in the value for duty, while foreign inland costs before that point are. An invoice that bundles freight and insurance into one price needs those elements shown separately to back them out. Keep the seller's invoice, the proof of payment, and any origin documentation with the import record; they are the evidence the classification, value, and origin declarations rest on.
Some goods are regulated by departments other than the CBSA: Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Global Affairs Canada each regulate specific categories, and the CBSA holds goods flagged as regulated until the importer presents the required authorization. Holds can last days to weeks. Permit status must be confirmed before the goods leave the seller, not after they arrive. Used goods are not exempt from these controls because they are used; a used item in a regulated category faces the same permit requirement as a new one, and some used categories, such as used tires, used clothing in bulk, or goods containing regulated substances, carry their own restrictions. Check the category, not just the shipment.
The surtax check runs in parallel. Canada has applied retaliatory surtaxes to listed US-origin goods, and the lists and rates have changed more than once, with relief for some CUSMA-qualifying goods and continued surtaxes on steel, aluminum, and vehicle categories. This guide quotes no surtax rate and no list, because both are liable to change between writing and arrival. For each shipment, look up the goods on the current Department of Finance surtax schedule and run the CARM calculator with the current classification and origin. A surtax that applies stacks on top of the regular duty, and it is charged on the value for duty, so it changes the GST base as well.
Vehicles deserve a separate warning. A used vehicle imported for resale faces the CBSA commercial import steps plus the federal vehicle import process administered through Transport Canada, with provincial registration, inspection, and safety requirements after import. Do not buy a used vehicle in the USA for resale in Canada on the basis of the general import steps alone; check the vehicle import rules for that specific vehicle before paying the seller.
The CARM Client Portal carries a duties and taxes calculator that estimates how much duty and tax may be payable before the goods are imported, and helps identify the tariff classification number. The estimate assumes the goods are imported on the day the commercial accounting declaration is submitted, and the actual exchange rate used is based on the date the goods were shipped, the date of direct shipment. The calculator's estimate is an estimate; CARM uses the same calculation method to determine the final amount once the declaration is submitted.
The calculation itself is fixed, and the CBSA publishes a worked example that shows the method. Using the CBSA's illustrative figures — goods valued at US$100, an exchange rate of US$1 to C$1.37, an illustrative duty rate of 4 percent, and GST at 5 percent — the value for duty is C$137.00, the customs duty is $5.48, the value for tax is $142.48, the GST is $7.12, and the total duty and GST payable is $12.60. The 4 percent rate in that example is the CBSA's illustration. It is not the rate for tools, electronics, furniture, clothing, or any other category, and it must not be used as a planning rate. The real rate comes from the classification and origin work in Step 2 and the surtax check in Step 3, run through the calculator for the actual goods.
GST on imported goods is charged at the federal rate on the duty-paid value, and the CBSA collects it at import. Provincial sales tax may also apply depending on the province and the collection arrangements in place. A GST/HST registrant generally claims input tax credits for the GST paid on the import under the normal GST/HST rules, which is why the import record and the GST/HST return need to agree; the input tax credit guide linked below covers the mechanics.
The shipment is reported at the border, released, accounted for, and paid for, in that order. Commercial goods can be released before the final accounting and payment of duties where the importer has satisfied the conditions for release, including providing security through the CARM Client Portal. The accounting itself is a commercial accounting declaration (CAD) submitted through the CARM Client Portal, and payment follows the CBSA's commercial payment methods: online banking, electronic data interchange, payment through the CARM Client Portal, or, where electronic payment is not possible, cheque or in-person payment. The CBSA does not accept electronic fund transfers, direct deposit, wire transfers, or automated clearing house payments for commercial import payments.
A customs broker can prepare and submit the declaration, but only with authority. The CBSA states that a broker may submit a commercial accounting declaration on an importer's behalf only if the importer has granted a delegation of authority in the CARM Client Portal, and that a declaration will not be accepted from a broker without one. The importer of record remains liable for the duties and taxes owing, whether the declaration was filed directly or through a broker. Keep the delegation current, and check that the broker's filing names the importer, not the broker, as the importer of record.
Once the goods are released and accounted for, they can be sold in Canada under the normal rules for the goods: consumer product safety, labelling, and provincial sales rules where they apply, and GST/HST charged on the resale under the normal place-of-supply rules. Keep the import file with the resale file: the seller's invoice, the classification and origin evidence, the CARM accounting record, and the payment record. If the CBSA or the CRA ever questions the duty paid or the input tax credits claimed, that file is the answer, and reconstructing it months later from bank statements is not a substitute.
Price the resale from the landed cost, not the purchase price. The landed cost is the purchase price converted at the shipment-date exchange rate, plus duty at the classified rate, plus any surtax, plus GST, plus transport, broker fees, and any repair, cleaning, testing, or certification the goods needed before resale. A margin calculated on the US purchase price alone disappears into duty, surtax, and transport. Run the CARM calculator before buying, not after the goods arrive, so the margin is known while the purchase can still be declined.
No general one. Commercial goods imported for resale are accounted for as commercial imports, whatever their condition, and duty is decided by tariff classification, customs value, and origin. The personal exemptions that apply to travellers, settlers' effects, and gifts are personal-import rules; they do not turn a commercial resale shipment into a personal import. A used item's condition can affect its customs value and its classification, but condition alone does not remove duty or GST. Price every shipment as a commercial import and check the classification for the specific goods.
A nine-digit business number from the Canada Revenue Agency, an import-export program account identified by that business number plus RM and a program number, such as 123456789RM0001 in the CBSA's example, and registration of the business in the CARM Client Portal, the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system. The CBSA states that businesses must have a business number to complete CARM registration, and that non-resident businesses must request their business number from the CRA before attempting to register in the portal. Most new resident businesses can obtain a business number during portal registration, with exceptions that must register with the CRA first.
Duty is charged on the value for duty, and GST is charged on the duty-paid value: value for duty plus customs duty, then GST on that total. The CBSA's own worked example, using an illustrative 4 percent duty rate and a 5 percent GST rate on goods valued at US$100 at an exchange rate of US$1 to C$1.37, gives a value for duty of C$137.00, customs duty of $5.48, a value for tax of $142.48, GST of $7.12, and a total of $12.60. The 4 percent in that example is the CBSA's illustration, not a rate for any particular goods. The exchange rate used is the rate from the date the goods began their direct journey to Canada, and the CARM calculator's estimate assumes the goods are imported on the day the declaration is submitted.
No. Preferential treatment under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement depends on the goods qualifying as originating under the agreement's rules of origin, supported by proper proof of origin. Goods shipped from the USA that were made elsewhere do not qualify on shipment alone, and goods that do qualify still need the origin documentation. On top of the regular duty, Canada's surtax schedules can apply to specific US-origin goods, including steel, aluminum, and vehicle categories, and those schedules have changed more than once. Check the current Department of Finance surtax schedule for the specific goods on every shipment; this guide quotes no surtax rate, because a rate quoted here could be out of date before the goods arrive.
Yes, with a delegation of authority. A customs broker may submit a commercial accounting declaration on an importer's behalf only if the importer has granted a delegation of authority in the CARM Client Portal; the CBSA states that a declaration will not be accepted from a broker without one. Commercial importers can also submit the declaration directly through the CARM Client Portal. Either way, the importer of record is the person identified as the importer on the accounting documents and is liable for the duties and taxes owing. Using a broker does not transfer that liability.
Four checks, before the goods leave the seller. First, tariff classification and origin for the exact goods, with proof of origin if CUSMA treatment is claimed. Second, whether any other government department regulates the goods, such as health, food, plant, or vehicle-safety rules, and whether a permit or inspection is required before arrival. Third, the current surtax schedule for the goods, since a rate in force last month may not be the rate in force on arrival. Fourth, the full landed cost: purchase price, transport, duty, GST, broker fees where a broker is used, and any repair, cleaning, testing, or certification the goods need before they can legally be resold in Canada. Vehicles carry a separate federal import process on top of the CBSA steps, so check the Transport Canada vehicle import rules before buying a used vehicle for resale.
Where a rate could not be verified as current at the time of writing — every tariff-classification duty rate, every surtax rate and list, and every permit requirement for a specific category of used goods — this guide quotes no rate and no list, and directs the reader to the tariff classification for the goods, the current Department of Finance surtax schedule, the CARM duties and taxes calculator, and the regulating department's permit pages for each shipment. Duty and surtax rules for imports from the USA changed repeatedly through 2025 and 2026; a figure from any secondary source, including a broker's blog post or a calculator site, is not a substitute for the current official schedule. Check the schedule for the specific goods before the shipment leaves the seller.