IMPORTING
For various reasons, you may decide to have your goods enter the market without the help of a distributor, agent, third-party importer or have your customers deal with the importation process by shipping directly to them.
Commercial goods may instead enter the Canadian market through the importation process where you act as the importer, whether your company is registered in Canada or directly from Sweden as a Non-resident Importer. The first step is to obtain a BN (Business Number) which is issued by the federal tax office, called the Canada Revenue Agency, in which the Import Account Number you require to import can also be obtained and attached to your Business Number. There are no fees associated with obtaining these numbers and can be both obtained over the phone on the same call.
IMPORTER
An Importer is a person or business based in Canada that brings goods or services into Canada from abroad for sale. If you are a Canadian company or a Swedish company registered in Canada, you would be considered an Importer.
NON RESIDENT IMPORTER
A Non-Resident Importer is a business based outside of Canada that does not have a physical presence in Canada, but imports goods into Canada under their own name. With this, you may act as the Importer when selling products on Canadian online marketplaces such as Amazon.ca. This allows the business the opportunity to act as the importer on record despite not being in Canada.
As an Importer on Record, there are many benefits, but also many responsibilities. Benefits include:
Reduced cost
Supply chain control
Accessibility for customers
Competitive in the Canadian Marketplace
Responsibilities include:
Submitting correct Information
Paying duties & taxes
Maintaining records
STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO
COMMERCIALLY IMPORTING INTO CANADA
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is the equivalent of Tullverket in Sweden. It is a department of the Government of Canada that facilitates and oversees international travel and trade across Canada's border. The guide by the CBSA provided below is an overview of the commercial importing process for businesses importing goods into Canada. A detailed reference of the guide can be found here. The CBSA licences Customs Brokers with Online Customs Brokers such as ClearIt.ca serving Non-Resident Importers to allow ease of clearance of goods into Canada.
PREPARING TO IMPORT
OBTAIN A BUSINESS NUMBER
Before importing commercial goods into Canada, as a business or an individual, you will need to obtain a Business Number (BN) issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for an import/export account. This import/export account is free of charge and can usually be obtained in a matter of minutes.
To register for a BN or add an import/export RM account identifier to an existing BN:
Call the CRA's Business Window at 1-800-959-5525
For Non-resident Importers, call the CRA Non-resident Importer line at 1-613-940-8497
Visit the CRA's Business Registration Online (BRO)
IDENTIFY THE GOODS YOU WANT TO IMPORT
You should gather as much information as possible about the goods you intend to import. Obtain descriptive literature, product composition information and, whenever possible, product samples. This information will be crucial when it comes time to determine the tariff classification of the goods you wish to import. The tariff clarification number will be used to determine the rate of duty that will be applied to your goods.