GST on Imports: Claiming Customs GST From Broker Invoices

Who pays GST on imported goods, and can I claim it back as an input tax credit?

The owner or importer of record pays the GST/HST on imported goods, collected at the border with the duty (CRA: imports and exports). The importer of record is the party named on the customs entry as responsible for accounting for the goods and paying the duties and taxes (CBSA: Memorandum D17-1-5). A GST/HST registrant that is the importer can claim the tax as an input tax credit when the usual credit conditions are met (CRA: imports and exports).

The federal tax is 5% of the value of the goods (Act, s. 212). That value is the customs value plus the duties and taxes payable on the goods under customs and excise laws, such as duty and excise tax (Act, s. 215). The tax can apply even when the duty rate is nil. Duty is not GST/HST, so it earns no credit, and a broker's own fee carries its own tax, charged by the broker.

Five things make a case not simple:

• Whose name is on the entry. The CRA ties the credit to the importer, the person who caused the goods to be imported. That is not always the importer of record on the customs papers. Papers in a supplier's, forwarder's or fulfilment centre's name need extra steps, set out below.
• What the broker invoice shows. Duty, tax and fees on one total cannot be claimed or booked until they are split.
• Where you are. In an HST province, the provincial part of HST on commercial goods works differently from the federal part.
• Whether you can claim. The Act gives the credit only to a registrant, and only for the share of use in commercial activities (Act, s. 169). Most capital equipment follows a primary-use test instead (see the claim section below).
• How many periods are open. Credits you missed can still be claimed, but only inside a time limit (four years for most registrants). Each reporting period has its own deadline, so older imports need sorting first.

To start, list every import in the last four years and, for each shipment, gather the customs accounting document or the courier's receipt, the broker's invoice, the supplier's invoice, the payment record and your GST/HST registration number. If the CRA asks for these documents in a review, see GST/HST reviews and audits.

What proves the GST I paid at the border: customs statement, CAD (old B3) or courier receipt?

Start with the customs accounting document for each shipment: for commercial goods the commercial accounting declaration (CAD), which replaced the old B3-3 form, for courier shipments the courier's receipt with a tax breakdown, or for small commercial mail shipments Form E14 (see the courier and mail section). A registrant may not claim a credit unless, before filing, it holds sufficient evidence to work out the amount (Act, s. 169(4)). For imports, the CRA's policy statement speaks of a copy of the import documentation (CRA: P-125R).

The CAD is filed through the CBSA's Assessment and Revenue Management system (CARM). The CBSA says it replaced the old B3-3 coding form and is the official invoice for the duties and taxes owing (CBSA: Memorandum D17-1-5). Older CRA guidance still names the B3-3 form (CRA: RC4027). An importer registered in the CARM client portal can view and print each declaration and its transaction history (CBSA: Memorandum D17-1-5). Daily notices and monthly statements of account list what was posted to the account (CBSA: daily notice and statement of account).

On each declaration, check three things:

• Your name and import-export account number as importer. The CBSA requires commercial import documents to show the importer's valid number, and a broker's own account may be used only in narrow cases (CBSA: Memorandum D17-1-5).
• The 14-digit transaction number. It identifies the shipment, so use it to match the declaration to the broker's invoice (CBSA: Memorandum D17-1-5).
• The dates. They matter for the return period (see below).

These checks describe current declarations. For older shipments inside the claim window, the CBSA let brokers use their own account for more entries until the end of 2025 (CBSA: Customs Notice 24-27), so an older entry may carry the broker's number, not yours. Ask the broker for the documents and have each older shipment reviewed.

CRA and CBSA guidance does not say whether a broker's invoice, a monthly statement or a courier's receipt alone is enough. The CBSA calls the declaration the official invoice and requires a courier to give a receipt with a breakdown of taxes paid, so start from those and keep the broker's invoice with them. A declaration can be corrected until its payment due date and adjusted after it (CBSA: Memorandum D17-1-5). Tax refunded or recovered under an Act of Parliament before the end of the reporting period is left out of the credit (Act, s. 225(3.1)), and a later refund or adjustment may also change it, so keep any CBSA adjustment notice with the shipment. Keep the records for 6 years. For what an ordinary supplier invoice must show, including the broker's own fee, see GST/HST receipt details for input tax credits.

My broker's invoice lumps duty, GST and fees: how do I split it in the books?

Split each broker invoice into the parts below and book each part on its own line, tied to the shipment's transaction number.

If you pay the CBSA statement of account directly, one bank payment covers several declarations. Book it from the statement and the declarations, one line per declaration, matched by transaction number (CBSA: daily notice and statement of account).

A broker that pays duty and tax for you may be acting as your agent, depending on the arrangement. The CBSA says importers stay ultimately responsible for the accounting documents and for paying duties and taxes, even when they use a broker (CBSA: Memorandum D17-1-5). The CRA's eligibility memorandum treats the principal, not an agent that only pays on its behalf, as the person who acquires for credit purposes (CRA: Memorandum 8-1). The memorandum does not name customs brokers, so this is the general agency rule applied.

Check the arithmetic before booking. The federal tax on the entry should normally equal 5% of the customs value plus the duties and taxes payable on the goods under customs and excise laws (Act, s. 215). If it does not, ask the broker why before you claim; special valuation rules in the Act can explain a difference.

Use the Canadian-dollar tax shown on the declaration; the CRA says the tax is calculated on the Canadian-dollar value of the goods. For the goods' own cost in Canadian dollars, see US-dollar inventory cost in Canadian books.

How do I claim it on the return, and in which period?

Claim the GST on line 106 of the GST/HST return for the reporting period in which the tax became payable or, if you paid it without it having become payable, the period you paid it (Act, s. 169(1); CRA: return instructions). The credit covers the share of the goods used in commercial activities. For the return itself and mixed use, see filing GST/HST and claiming input tax credits.

Which date counts for a deferred statement is the fact-dependent part. The declaration shows when the goods were released. Only importers with release-prior-to-payment privileges, who post financial security, pay later on a monthly statement; others pay at release. A statement's billing period runs from the 18th of one month to the 17th of the next, and payment is due 10 weekdays after the 17th (CBSA: Memorandum D17-1-5). The Act has import tax paid and collected under the Customs Act as if it were duty (Act, s. 214), but CRA and CBSA guidance does not say which date applies to a deferred statement. Record the release date and the statement payment date for each entry. If they fall in different return periods, settle that point before filing. A credit claimed a period late is still allowed inside the time limit below.

Four cases where the claim works differently:

• Not registered. The Act gives the credit to a registrant. The tax stays a cost. If you registered after paying, see claiming GST/HST paid before registering.
• Quick Method. The CRA says the remittance rates already take into account credits for operating expenses and inventory purchases (CRA: RC4058). The regulation's credit formula covers imported property and generally limits a Quick Method registrant's purchase credits to real property and capital assets (Regulations, s. 17(1); s. 15(1)). So import GST on stock or operating supplies is not a separate credit; import GST on capital assets other than real property can be. See the Quick Method guide.
• Mixed use and capital equipment. The credit shrinks to the commercial share (Act, s. 169(1)). For most capital personal property, commercial use over 50% permits a full credit and use at or below it permits none; passenger vehicles and aircraft of individuals and partnerships have separate rules (Act, s. 199). See filing GST/HST and claiming input tax credits.

How does the provincial part of HST work on commercial imports?

In a participating (HST) province, the provincial part of HST on commercial goods is not collected at the border. The CRA says a registrant pays it by self-assessing (CRA: imports and exports). Check the exemption below first; it can leave nothing to self-assess.

The Act defines commercial goods as goods imported for sale or for commercial, industrial, occupational, institutional or other like use, and exempts goods accounted for as commercial goods from the provincial part that is collected at the border on the basis of the importer's residence (Act, s. 212.1). The self-assessed tax is the province's rate on the goods' value under section 215. It does not apply to goods, other than a specified motor vehicle, that a registrant brings in for consumption, use or supply exclusively in its commercial activities. The exemption is lost for a registrant that uses the Quick Method or the special net-tax method for charities (Act, s. 220.07). The CRA's imports page does not mention it; the statute governs. Where tax is still payable, for example on goods not used exclusively in commercial activities, the CRA says:

• A registrant enters the self-assessed amount on line 405 of its GST/HST return.
• It may claim an input tax credit on that tax, depending on its commercial use. The line 106 instructions cover tax on property brought into a participating province (CRA: return instructions).
• A non-registrant that must self-assess uses form GST489.

A separate rule can apply when an unregistered non-resident supplier delivers goods to you in a participating province, or sends them there by mail or courier: you self-assess the provincial part on the lesser of the price paid and the goods' fair market value, for an arm's-length purchase. No tax is payable under it on property in Part I of Schedule X, which includes the same exclusive commercial-use goods and has the same Quick Method and charity exceptions (Act, s. 220.06; Schedule X, Part I, s. 22). The CRA's imports page does not say how this rule fits with the import tax on the same shipment, so have the amount and the matching credit confirmed before you file.

The federal part is still paid at the border and claimed on line 106. Québec's own sales tax on imports follows Revenu Québec's rules, which this page does not cover.

Courier and mail shipments: who collects the tax, and what do I receive?

For commercial goods cleared through the CBSA's Courier Low Value Shipment Program, the courier must give the importer or broker a receipt with a breakdown of any duties and taxes paid (CBSA: importing commercial goods by courier). The program covers shipments by an approved courier with an estimated value for duty up to $3,300 that are not controlled, prohibited or regulated (CBSA: Memorandum D17-1-5). A registrant importer claims the GST shown on that receipt, subject to the usual conditions, and keeps the receipt with the shipment's records. Treat a courier's own handling charge like the broker's fee in the table above. A courier shipment outside the program is accounted for with a declaration like other commercial goods (CBSA: Memorandum D17-1-5).

Small parcels may carry no tax. Goods valued at $20 or less sent by mail or courier to an address in Canada are non-taxable, with exceptions such as excisable goods and certain publications (CRA: imports and exports). If a courier charge arrives without the breakdown, ask for the receipt before claiming.

Commercial goods sent by mail with a value for duty of $3,300 or less are assessed by border services officers. If duties or taxes are owing, the CBSA affixes Form E14, the postal import form, showing the amount, and Canada Post collects it for the CBSA (CBSA: D5-1-1). Keep the E14 and the payment record with the supplier's invoice. Higher-value commercial mail is released on release and accounting documents instead.

Delivered duty paid or delivered at place: who is the importer if the papers are not in my name?

Trade terms such as delivered duty paid (DDP) and delivered at place (DAP) do not decide your credit. They are terms of the sale contract, and CRA and CBSA guidance does not base a rule on them. What decides it is who caused the goods to be imported, who holds the import documents, and where the sale is made.

The place of the sale flips the route. A sale of goods delivered to you outside Canada, or in Canada before customs release, is made outside Canada (Act, s. 142(2); s. 144), and you are the importer for credit purposes, as set out below. If the supplier imports, releases and then delivers the goods in Canada, the sale is generally made in Canada (Act, s. 142(1)(a)): a registered supplier charges GST/HST on its invoice and you claim that tax; an unregistered non-resident charges none, and step 2 below applies.

The CRA says the person entitled to the credit is the one who essentially causes the goods to be imported, who is not necessarily the importer of record (CRA: P-125R). The Act backs this. For credit purposes, a buyer of goods supplied from outside Canada, imported for the buyer's consumption, use or supply, is treated as the importer, unless the buyer supplies the goods outside Canada before their release, and import tax that anyone paid on the importation is treated as paid on the buyer's behalf (Act, s. 178.8(2)). The importer of record stays liable to pay the tax (CRA: P-125R).

The CRA's current form instructions say the same: the constructive importer is the only person who can claim the credit, but must hold the import documents, which may have to come from the supplier that accounted for the importation (CRA: GST532). So:

1. Ask the supplier or forwarder for the declaration or other import documents showing the tax on your shipments.
2. If the supplier is an unregistered non-resident that paid the import tax, and supplies and delivers the goods to you in Canada before the supplier or anyone acting for it uses them in Canada, the Act treats you as having paid that tax, at the time the supplier paid it, once the supplier gives you evidence, satisfactory to the Minister, that it was paid (Act, s. 180). Your claim window counts from that deemed payment, not from the day the proof arrives. The CRA's guide for non-residents lists a copy of the CBSA form showing the tax paid as satisfactory proof (CRA: RC4027).
3. If the supplier is registered, makes the sale outside Canada and is the one that imports the goods and pays the import tax, you and the supplier may agree at any time to treat the sale as made in Canada, on Form GST532. Both sign; each keeps a copy and none goes to the CRA. The supplier then claims the import tax as its own credit and charges GST/HST on its invoice, including the duties and taxes you reimburse, and you claim that tax in place of the import tax (Act, s. 178.8(3) and (4); CRA: GST532). Your evidence is then the supplier's invoice. For an earlier importation, the CRA has four years from the agreement date to assess its effects (Act, s. 178.8(10)).

With no import documents and no such agreement, the claim may lack the evidence the Act requires. A professional can confirm which route fits each shipment.

Goods sent to a warehouse or fulfilment centre: whose name is on the entry?

The importer named on the declaration is the one the CBSA bills. The CBSA holds importers responsible for the accounting documents and payment even when a broker acts for them (CBSA: Memorandum D17-1-5). The owner of the goods at release and the importer of record are also jointly and severally liable with the importer for the duties (Customs Act, s. 17(3); in force from January 1, 2026 per CBSA: Customs Notice 24-27), and import GST falls on the person liable for duty (Act, s. 212). A forwarder or warehouse named on the entry does not by itself remove the owner's liability.

If a fulfilment centre, warehouse operator or forwarder is named on the entry, the declaration is theirs. You may be able to claim as the person who caused the import if you hold their documents, as in the previous section. Ask for the declaration before the period closes. CRA and CBSA guidance gives no separate rule for a fulfilment centre that handles a Canadian seller's own imports.

If the goods belong to a non-resident owner and the warehouse operator is importer of record, the CRA has special drop-shipment rules; see US sellers with Canadian inventory. When a platform already collected tax on your sales, see when a marketplace collects GST/HST.

How far back can I claim import GST I missed?

Usually four years, counted from the end of the reporting period in which the tax became payable or was paid. Claim by the due date of the return for the last reporting period that ends within that time; previously unclaimed credits can go on a future return (CRA: input tax credits). Listed financial institutions and other specified persons generally have two years from the end of the fiscal year that includes that period (Act, s. 225(4)); the filing guide lists who is caught.

Shipments in the same reporting period share one deadline. List every import in the open years with its declaration, grouped by period, then claim what is missing. If a filed return needs fixing, see correcting a filed GST/HST return. If the CRA is asking for import documents, see GST/HST reviews and audits.

Example

These examples are illustrative; all amounts are in Canadian dollars.

A broker invoice that lumps everything

An Alberta online seller, registered for GST/HST, imports goods for resale with a customs value of C$20,000 and pays the supplier directly. The broker's invoice shows duty of C$1,000, GST on the entry of C$1,050, the broker's fee of C$150 and C$7.50 of GST on that fee, for C$2,207.50 in all.

• The check: 5% of (C$20,000 + C$1,000) is C$1,050, so the entry agrees.
• The seller claims C$1,057.50 (C$1,050 + C$7.50) on line 106 for the period the tax became payable, or was paid without becoming payable. The goods are stock for sale, so the commercial share is all of it, and the seller uses the regular method, not the Quick Method.
• The C$1,000 of duty goes into the goods' cost. The C$150 fee is a brokerage cost.

The supplier cleared the goods

A registered online seller buys stock worth C$5,000 from an overseas supplier. The supplier acts as importer of record and pays C$250 of GST at the border (5% of C$5,000, no duty payable). The seller's invoice shows one price and no tax line.

• Without import documents, the seller may not be able to claim the C$250 until it holds evidence of the tax paid.
• If the sale was made outside Canada (the goods were delivered to the seller before release), the seller is the importer for credit purposes under section 178.8(2). With a copy of the import documentation, it can claim the C$250 as the commercial share of stock for sale.
• If the supplier released the goods and then delivered them in Canada, a registered supplier should have charged GST/HST on its invoice. An unregistered non-resident supplier charges none, and section 180 treats the seller as having paid the C$250 when the supplier paid it, once the supplier gives satisfactory proof and delivery came before the supplier used the goods in Canada.

A courier receipt for parts

A registered partnership, on the regular method, receives a courier receipt for imported parts used up in its taxable business (not capital equipment) showing C$40 of GST. It claims C$40 on line 106 for the period the tax became payable or, if paid without becoming payable, was paid. Had it left the credit off that return, it could claim the same amount on a later return inside the time limit.

Different for you?

• One CBSA payment or one broker total covers many shipments: which part is duty, which is GST and which is a fee depends on the documents behind each line. See bookkeeping help.
• The customs papers are in a supplier's, forwarder's or fulfilment centre's name, or you ship delivered duty paid: whether any shipment gives you a credit depends on the documents you can get. See bookkeeping help.
• You have years of imports and no credit claimed: the time limit runs shipment by shipment, so older imports are sorted first. See bookkeeping help.
• The CRA has asked for import documents: see GST/HST reviews and audits and, for the shipment-by-shipment records, bookkeeping help.
• You already filed without the credit: see correcting a filed GST/HST return.
• You are in Québec, or the CBSA has reassessed an entry: Québec tax on imports and corrected customs amounts change the figures. See bookkeeping help.
• You import equipment or a vehicle, use the Quick Method, or are in an HST province: whether the credit is full, partial or none, and whether the provincial part is owed, turns on use and method. See bookkeeping help.
• You bought services or software from outside Canada, not goods: see invoices from foreign suppliers and contractors.
• Your supplier bills in US dollars and you cost inventory in Canadian dollars: see US-dollar inventory cost in Canadian books.
• You are a US seller with stock in Canada: see US sellers with Canadian inventory.
• Your books are behind: see catching up on overdue books and bookkeeping help.