Fourth Tranche of U.S. Surtax Remission: What Changed June 22, 2026

The June 22 Amendment

The Department of Finance amended the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) on June 22, 2026. The Order itself entered into force that day. Full text won’t appear in Part II of the Canada Gazette until July 1, but the change is already live. The amendment adds products to schedules 2, 3, 4, and 4.1 as part of a fourth tranche of remission.

If you’ve been filing CADs under the prior version of the Order and assuming certain goods were ineligible for surtax relief, check again. Your importers may now qualify for remission they didn’t qualify for last week.

Why This Matters for CAD Filing

The surtax remission schedules determine which U.S.-origin goods can get relief from the surtax imposed under the original 2025 Order. When Finance adds products mid-cycle, you have two problems:

1. Goods released between June 22 and the date you learned about the change. If you filed the CAD at full surtax rate because the product wasn’t on the old schedule, and it’s now on the amended schedule, the importer overpaid. You can file a duty adjustment post-release, but that takes time and the importer is out the cash until CBSA processes the refund.

2. Goods in transit or awaiting release. If you’re filing CADs this week using old assumptions, you’re leaving money on the table. The amended schedules are in force now, not July 1. The Gazette publication is administrative formality.

Most brokers I know don’t monitor Gazette pre-publication notices daily. You find out when Finance sends a notice to CSCB or when a client asks why their competitor got remission and they didn’t. By that point you’ve already filed a dozen entries at the wrong rate.

What’s in Schedules 2, 3, 4, and 4.1

The original surtax remission framework divided U.S. goods into schedules based on sector, end-use, or HS grouping. Schedule 2 typically covers intermediate goods and industrial inputs. Schedule 3 hits consumer durables. Schedule 4 and 4.1 deal with ag products, certain machinery, and other carve-outs negotiated after the initial Order went live.

Finance didn’t publish the line-item HS codes in the June 22 notice. The full amendment text will appear July 1 in Part II. Until then, you’re working off the attached Order text that Finance sent to CSCB members. If you’re not a CSCB member and didn’t get the attachment, you’re filing blind until the Gazette drops.

That’s a problem if you’re clearing high-value entries this week. You can’t wait nine days to confirm eligibility. Call your compliance contact at CBSA or pull the attachment from CSCB if you have access. If you don’t, call someone who does.

HS Classification and Remission Overlap

Remission eligibility hinges on correct HS classification. If you misclassified the product at six-digit level, you might think it’s newly eligible when it isn’t, or vice versa. This is especially messy when the fourth tranche adds narrow subheadings within chapters that were already partially covered.

Example: if Schedule 4 previously covered HS 8537.10 (boards and panels for electric control, for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V) and the amendment now adds 8537.20 (for a voltage exceeding 1,000 V), your June 15 entry for high-voltage panels was ineligible. Your June 23 entry for the same product is eligible. If you didn’t catch the change, you filed at full surtax rate and your client paid extra duty they didn’t owe.

If you’re not confident in the classification, use the HS classification tool or get a binding ruling before you file the CAD. Remission disputes are easier to avoid than to fix after the fact.

Post-Release Adjustments and RPP Bond Impact

If you filed CADs between June 22 and now and overpaid surtax because you didn’t know about the amendment, you’ll need to file a post-release adjustment under CARM. That means amending the CAD, supporting it with the amended Order citation, and waiting for CBSA to process the refund.

Meanwhile, the importer’s cash is tied up. If they’re operating under an RPP bond (release prior to payment), the overpayment doesn’t hit the bond directly, but it does show up on the K84 monthly statement as duty paid that month. When the refund comes through, it offsets future statements. The importer doesn’t get a cheque; they get a credit. If their import volume is lumpy or seasonal, that credit might sit unused for weeks.

If the surtax overpayment is large enough to skew the importer’s monthly duty liability, it can also distort your RPP bond sizing. CBSA calculates required bond amounts based on average monthly duty. A one-time spike from an overpaid surtax in June will inflate the July calculation unless you explain it. File the adjustment fast and document it on the bond review.

Timing and the July 1 Gazette

The Order is in force June 22. The Gazette publication July 1 is notice, not activation. Don’t wait until July 1 to apply the amended schedules. If CBSA examines an entry filed June 25 and you claimed remission under the old schedule, you’ll get kicked. If you didn’t claim remission because you thought the product was ineligible, and the examiner sees it’s now on schedule 4.1, they’ll note the discrepancy but won’t fix it for you. You’ll have to file the adjustment yourself.

CBSA doesn’t automatically apply remission. You claim it on the CAD. If you don’t claim it, you don’t get it, even if you qualify. That’s always been true, but it’s especially painful when the eligibility rules change mid-month and you didn’t notice.

What to Do This Week

Pull the amended Order text from the CSCB notice or wait for the July 1 Gazette. Compare schedules 2, 3, 4, and 4.1 line by line against your active import portfolio. Flag any HS codes that moved from ineligible to eligible. Review CADs filed June 22 onward for those codes. If you filed at full surtax and the product is now eligible, file a post-release adjustment and notify the importer.

If you have entries releasing this week, apply the amended schedules now. Don’t wait for the Gazette. CBSA is already applying it.

If you’re not sure whether a product is covered, check the HS code at six-digit minimum, confirm origin (remission applies to U.S. goods only, not CUSMA-qualifying goods transshipped through the U.S.), and cross-reference the schedule. If it’s still ambiguous, don’t guess. Get a second opinion or file at full rate and adjust later once the Gazette text is final.

We run these schedule comparisons every time Finance amends a surtax or trade remedy order. If you want a second set of eyes on the June 22 changes before you file your next batch of CADs, get in touch.

Source: CSCB