Clarification of the Business Number Requirements for Exporters

This notice provides information on the Canada Border Service Agency’s (CBSA) requirements for business number (BN) for exporters.

The BN is a unique nine digit number assigned by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to identify a specific business. These nine digits form the root of the 15 character program account numbers. The program account number is used to identify the programs and specific accounts used by a business. A program account number has three parts: a nine numbers to identify the business, a two letter program identifier, used to identify the program type and a four-digit reference number to identify each account. In order to be considered an exporter, the BN must be activated and registered for export. Export declarations submitted with an invalid BN will be considered a failure to provide accurate information and would be subject to an Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP). In addition, an export declaration reported to the CBSA with an incorrect BN or without a BN will be considered as providing information that is untrue or incomplete and may be subject to an AMPs penalty.