Auditor General Flags CBSA System Inefficiencies

A new report reveals costly manual workarounds and significant backlogs within the agency's $800 million digital platform.

Updated on Oct. 29, 2026 in International Trade

Auditor General Flags CBSA System Inefficiencies

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The auditor general has released a report identifying major inefficiencies in the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management system. Launched in October 2024, the $800 million digital platform now requires 92,000 hours of manual labour annually to maintain operations.

Why it matters

The system was designed to streamline commercial imports, yet its current inefficiencies force employees to rely on legacy workarounds to ensure continuity. These operational failures hamper the agency, which collected $42 billion in duties and taxes during fiscal 2024-25.

The $800 million CARM system currently requires 92,000 hours of annual manual effort from employees, who have developed at least 38 workarounds. Help requests average 19,000 per month, contributing to a backlog of 4,000 unresolved items as of June 2026.

The players

Canada Border Services Agency

This federal agency is responsible for managing the flow of goods and people across the country's borders and collecting related duties and taxes.

Auditor General

This independent officer of Parliament is responsible for auditing federal government operations and reporting findings to the House of Commons.

The details

Compliance officers must navigate multiple systems to perform their duties because the new platform fails to replace older infrastructure. Some help requests submitted by the agency remain unresolved for more than 500 days.

The CBSA launched the new CARM system in October 2024.
The agency collected $42 billion in duties and taxes throughout fiscal 2024-25.
As of June 2026, manual workarounds required 92,000 hours of employee time annually.
The auditor general released the report regarding the system on October 29, 2026.

Market Dynamics

The rollout of the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system follows a pattern of large-scale government IT projects struggling to meet performance benchmarks. This audit highlights the risks inherent in replacing complex, legacy-dependent workflows with centralized digital infrastructure.

Businesses that rely on efficient import processing may face ongoing administrative delays due to the high volume of unresolved help requests. Investors should monitor how these operational bottlenecks affect the cost and speed of commercial goods movement across the border.

The takeaway

Large digital transformations in the public sector often encounter significant hurdles when legacy dependencies are not fully integrated. Organizations should prioritize user testing and infrastructure compatibility to avoid reliance on long-term manual workarounds.