If you have read about surtax remission, you have met three pieces of jargon: CARM, CAD, and special authority codes. Here is what they mean, in order, and why one small field is probably the reason you overpaid.
CARM, the CAD, and the code
CARM (the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system) is the agency's online portal. Every commercial importer has an account there; it holds your statements, your declarations, and your payment history.
A CAD, or Commercial Accounting Declaration, is the document filed in CARM for each shipment. It declares what the goods are (the tariff classification), where they are from, and what they are worth, and from those facts the system calculates what you owe, including any surtax.
A special authority code is a field on the CAD. Entering the right code tells CBSA that a relief measure, such as the Steel Derivative Goods Surtax Remission Order (SOR/2026-34), applies to the goods, so the surtax is not charged. The legal relief exists either way; the code is how a specific shipment actually receives it.
Why the field gets left blank
Your customs broker files the CAD based on the instructions and product information you have given them, usually under time pressure, shipment by shipment. Unless someone has determined that your goods qualify under a remission order and told the broker which authority to cite, the field stays empty and the surtax is charged in full. Remission orders also arrive after the surtaxes they relieve; SOR/2026-34 followed the derivative surtax by weeks. Every entry filed in between paid full freight by default.
Claiming remission, forward and backward
Going forward, the fix is straightforward and permanent: identify which of your products qualify, then have your broker apply the correct special authority code on future CADs. The overpaying stops at the next shipment.
Looking backward, entries that already paid can be corrected through CARM and the surtax refunded, as long as the claim is made within two years of the importation. The mechanics of corrections and adjustments are covered on our CARM corrections page, and the refund routes are compared on the refund guide.
You do not need to learn CARM to recover anything. Importers can delegate read-only access to their CARM data in minutes, which is how an outside audit works without touching your operations.
Common questions
Can I add a special authority code to a shipment that already cleared?
Not retroactively on the original CAD, but the entry can be corrected or adjusted in CARM so qualifying surtax is refunded, provided the claim is made within two years of the importation.
Who is allowed to file in CARM?
The importer, and service providers the importer authorizes. Filings we arrange are prepared and transmitted by licensed customs brokers.