Before your shipments can re-enter Canada, they must be in compliance with the CBSA. This requires you to file a document called a Power of Attorney (POA) that allows Chit Chats and our customs broker to clear returns on your behalf. The CBSA is introducing a new digital initiative called CARM (CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management). CARM will become the official system of record that customs brokers will use with CBSA.
Please note the CARM portal will not be available Sat, Apr 20 (8am to 6pm ET) and Fri, Apr 26 to Mon, May 13.
Chit Chats clients who have an approved POA on file, or clients who wish to have Chit Chats manage any U.S. return shipments, will be required to create an account with CBSA on the CARM Client Portal. To create a user account in the CARM Client Portal, follow the steps outlined in the CBSA’s support article here.
Creating an account requires a federal business number, which is also required for submitting a POA.
Registering for a federal business number is free and as simple as going online or making a phone call to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) at 1-800-959-5525. On average it takes 5-10 minutes to complete the call once you reach an agent. You can find live wait times on the CRA’s website.
Before you call, make sure to have your SIN number and other identification ready. You may be asked to answer a few questions about your business during the call.
If you do not currently own or help run a business, you still have the option to register with the CRA for their Import/Export program, which is needed to bring your returns back to Canada. For more information on what's required, please contact the CRA directly.
If you choose not to register for a business number, Chit Chats will be unable to manage your U.S. returns. You can add your own U.S. return address to manage your return shipments or you can opt to dispose of your returns instead.
Once you have created your user account in the CARM Client Portal, head back to your Returns Settings and confirm that you have registered with CARM.
We are in the process of updating our platform; in the meantime, send an email to support@chitchats.com with your client ID in order to confirm your registration with CARM.
Chit Chats will then forward your Returns Account number and Business Number to our broker.
Our broker will then request Program Access to your portal to manage any returns coming back into the country.
Important: It is important that once you have registered on the CARM client portal that you log in on a regular basis. For security purposes, accounts created in the CARM Client Portal are deactivated after 180 days of inactivity.