CBSA AMPS Penalties in 2026: What Every Canadian Importer Must Know

The Canada Border Services Agency does not send warnings for most trade compliance errors. It sends penalties. Financial ones, and they escalate for repeat offenders. The system is called the Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS), and since CARM went live in October 2024, the importer of record bears direct responsibility for every classification, valuation, and origin determination on their imports.

This guide covers how AMPS works in 2026, what triggers penalties, how much they cost, and what you can do about it.

What is AMPS?

AMPS is CBSA's enforcement framework for trade compliance infractions. Established under the Customs Act, it lets CBSA impose monetary penalties on importers, exporters, customs brokers, and warehouse operators who contravene the Act or its regulations.

For importers, AMPS covers errors across the full import lifecycle: classification, valuation, origin, surtax compliance, accounting, and record-keeping.

AMPS is civil, not criminal. CBSA does not need to prove intent. If the contravention occurred, the penalty applies. An honest mistake and a deliberate misstatement attract the same penalty at the first occurrence level.

Penalty tiers and escalation

AMPS penalties are organized into contravention levels (C-level), each with its own base penalty amount and escalation schedule.

Level 1: Administrative errors

Examples: Late filing of a B3 entry, minor documentation errors, failure to keep records in prescribed format.

Penalties:

• First occurrence: Warning or $150
• Second occurrence: $225
• Third and subsequent: $450

Level 2: Compliance errors

Examples: Incorrect tariff classification, incorrect valuation for duty, failure to pay duties within the prescribed period.

Penalties:

• First occurrence: $150–$400
• Second occurrence: $225–$800
• Third and subsequent: $450–$2,000

Level 3: Serious contraventions

Examples: Fraudulent or misleading origin claims, deliberate misclassification to avoid duties, failure to report surtax-applicable goods.

Penalties:

• First occurrence: Up to $25,000
• Second and subsequent: Up to $50,000

Level 4: Evasion

Examples: Smuggling, deliberate evasion of duties or surtaxes, falsified commercial documents.

Penalties:

• Up to $400,000 per contravention, plus seizure of goods

These are base penalties. CBSA has discretion to adjust within the prescribed range based on severity and the importer's compliance history.

The 4-year lookback period

CBSA maintains a compliance history for every importer. When assessing penalties, CBSA looks back four years to determine whether the current contravention is a first, second, or subsequent occurrence.

Why this matters in practice:

• A classification error in 2026 might be treated as a "third occurrence" if CBSA finds two similar errors in 2022–2025
• The lookback applies per contravention type. A valuation error does not escalate a classification error.
• The clock starts from the date of the contravention, not the date CBSA discovers it
• CBSA can reassess duties and penalties for any import within that four-year window

If you discover a compliance error, do not assume it will go unnoticed because the shipment cleared months ago. CBSA's post-release verification program regularly identifies historical errors, and they are not shy about reassessing.

Common penalty triggers in 2026

Based on CBSA's published verification priorities and what we're hearing across the industry, these are the most frequent AMPS penalty triggers for Canadian importers right now.

Tariff misclassification

Still the single most common compliance error. An incorrect HS code means the wrong duty rate, and it runs both ways. You can over-classify (paying more than owed) or under-classify (paying less).

CBSA primarily pursues under-classification, but over-classification can also trigger penalties when it distorts origin claims or trade statistics.

Surtax non-compliance

With four active surtax orders in effect, this is a 2026 verification priority. The errors CBSA keeps catching:

• Importers who did not realize a product falls under a surtax order
• CUSMA exemption claims on a surtax that does not provide CUSMA relief (SOR/2025-66 is the big one here)
• Wrong country of origin for goods transshipped through third countries
• Missing the TRQ structure on steel products under SOR/2025-148

The free Surtax Checker shows whether your HS codes are affected by any active order.

Valuation errors

Under the Customs Act, value for duty is typically the transaction value, meaning the price actually paid or payable for the goods. Where importers get tripped up:

• Failing to add assists (tooling, dies, moulds provided to the foreign supplier) to the value for duty
• Omitting royalties or licence fees that are a condition of sale
• Using the wrong exchange rate. CBSA publishes weekly exchange rates. Use those, not your bank's rate.
• Deducting post-importation charges that are not permitted deductions

Origin misstatement

Claiming preferential treatment under CUSMA or another trade agreement when the goods do not actually qualify. This includes claiming CUSMA origin for goods that fail the product-specific rule of origin, using an expired certification of origin, and failing to update origin status when your supplier changes production processes or sourcing.

Late accounting

Importers must account for goods (file a B3 declaration) within five business days of release. Late accounting triggers automatic AMPS penalties regardless of the reason for the delay. No exceptions.

The Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP)

CBSA's VDP lets importers self-correct compliance errors before CBSA discovers them. A valid voluntary disclosure can reduce or eliminate penalties, though the underlying duties, taxes, and interest must still be paid.

How VDP works

Four conditions must all be met:

1. The disclosure must be voluntary. If CBSA has already initiated a verification or audit on the issue, VDP is no longer available.
2. The disclosure must be complete. Partial or misleading disclosures do not qualify.
3. The disclosure must include a corrective action plan explaining what went wrong and how you will prevent recurrence.
4. Duties, taxes, and interest owing must be paid in full with the disclosure.

VDP and TariffTrail

TariffTrail helps identify discrepancies in your tariff classifications and duty calculations. Your customs broker or trade lawyer files the actual voluntary disclosure with CBSA. By regularly reviewing your import data against current tariff schedules and surtax orders, you can catch errors early, before they become verification findings.

When to consider VDP

• You discover a classification error that has been applied to multiple shipments
• A surtax order came into effect and you continued importing affected goods at the pre-surtax rate
• Your supplier changed production sourcing and your CUSMA origin claim is no longer valid
• A valuation adjustment (say, a retrospective price increase) was not reported to CBSA

The earlier you disclose, the better the outcome. CBSA treats timely, complete disclosures more favourably than errors they find during a verification.

What CARM changed

The CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system went live on October 21, 2024, and it shifted the importer-CBSA relationship in ways that are still playing out.

The biggest change is direct accountability. Before CARM, customs brokers filed on behalf of importers and often managed compliance end to end. Now the importer of record is directly accountable. Every importer must have a CARM account and can see every transaction filed in their name. That visibility cuts both ways: it makes compliance easier to manage, but CBSA now expects importers to actually know their obligations.

The CARM Client Portal gives importers direct access to their import history, duty statements, and compliance status. CARM also streamlined the process for requesting advance rulings on classification, origin, and valuation. If you are unsure about the correct treatment of a product, an advance ruling gives you certainty and penalty protection. CBSA cannot penalize you for following a ruling they issued.

How to reduce your AMPS exposure

None of this is complicated, but it does require consistency.

Start with classification. Accurate HS codes sit underneath every other compliance obligation. Review your classifications periodically, especially when product specs change, when CBSA publishes new classification opinions, or when tariff schedules are updated.

Surtax orders deserve their own attention because they can change your duty exposure overnight. A product that entered Canada duty-free last month could face a 25% surtax today. Stay current on active surtax orders and check each new order against your product portfolio.

On origin claims: do not take your supplier's word for it. If you are claiming CUSMA or other preferential origin, verify that the product actually meets the applicable rule of origin. Keep certifications of origin current and request updated ones when supplier sourcing changes. The CUSMA Impact Calculator can help you spot where your exposure sits.

Valuation is where a lot of importers quietly accumulate risk. Make sure your value for duty includes all required additions (assists, royalties, commissions) and excludes only permitted deductions. If you have transfer pricing arrangements with related suppliers, consider requesting a CBSA advance ruling on valuation.

And keep records. CBSA can request import records going back six years. That means organized commercial invoices, bills of lading, certifications of origin, and any internal classification or valuation analyses. Poor record-keeping is itself an AMPS contravention.

Before every import, run your HS codes through the Surtax Checker to verify they are clear. Catching an error before goods arrive at the border is always cheaper than correcting it after CBSA sends you an AMPS notice.

Where this leaves importers

AMPS is not new, but the enforcement environment in 2026 is more aggressive than it was even two years ago. CARM put importers directly in CBSA's line of sight. Four active surtax orders created new compliance obligations that did not exist in 2024. And CBSA's post-release verification program is running at capacity.

The importers who avoid penalties are the ones treating compliance as ongoing work rather than an annual checkbox. Review your classifications regularly. Monitor surtax exposure as new orders come in. And if you find something wrong, disclose it before CBSA does.