If you imported steel, aluminum, or steel-based products since 2025, you have probably paid 25% surtax on at least some entries. Part of it may be recoverable. There are four federal mechanisms that can return surtax already paid, and none of them happen automatically. Someone has to claim.
The four ways money comes back
- Remission orders already on the books. The Steel Derivative Goods Surtax Remission Order (SOR/2026-34) and the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) (SOR/2025-122) relieve qualifying goods from surtax. Where your past entries qualify but the relief was never claimed, the entries can be corrected and the surtax refunded.
- Duty drawback. CBSA's duties relief and drawback programs can return duties and surtaxes paid in qualifying circumstances, claimed on Form K32. CBSA's published service standard for drawback claims is 90 days from a complete claim, and it pays interest when it takes longer.
- Adjustments to past entries. Where the original declaration charged surtax it should not have (wrong classification, missed authority code, qualifying goods), the entry can be adjusted and the difference refunded. Adjustments typically take two to four months.
- A remission application to the Department of Finance. Where no existing order covers your goods, you can apply to the Department of Finance for remission. This is discretionary and slower. We treat it as upside, never the plan.
Where the money actually arrives
Refunds post as credits or payments on your CBSA account, the same account your monthly statement comes from. They are applied first against any balance you owe CBSA; whatever remains is yours. An offset against a balance owed is real money, even though no cheque arrives.
The deadline that matters
Refund claims must be made within two years of each importation. The earliest surtax entries, from March 2025, become unclaimable in early 2027, and every month after that another month of refunds expires for good. The arithmetic of the window is worked through on our two-year deadline page.
What claiming actually requires
Your import history lives in CARM, CBSA's online portal. Reviewing two years of entries against the remission orders means matching tariff classifications, origins, and authority codes line by line, which is exactly the work most importers and brokers never do retrospectively. Our broker page explains why this falls through the cracks.
Dollar outcomes depend entirely on your actual entries. Any figures we publish are illustrative examples, not promises.
Common questions
How long does a surtax refund take?
CBSA's published service standard for drawback claims is 90 days from a complete claim, with interest payable when they exceed it. Adjustments typically take two to four months. Finance remission applications take longer.
What if we owe CBSA money?
Refunds are applied first against any balance you owe CBSA. The remainder is paid or credited to you. An offset against a balance owed is still recovered money.