Canadian steel. Out of the 25%, back to day one.

Certain steel derivative goods imported into Canada carry a 25% surtax on the value for duty, in force since 26 December 2025. An amendment registered on 22 June 2026 took goods originating in Canada out of it, and that exemption does not start on the day it was registered. It is deemed to have come into force on the day the surtax itself began.

Which field does 25267A go in

Field 85 "Surtax". This one is a surtax, not a safeguard, so it does not go in field 87. CBSA states the coding and who does the arithmetic:

"The surtax code is 25267A. The amount of surtax owing is entered in field 85 'Surtax' of the CAD. If importers elect to use the self-declare option in CARM, the amount of surtax owing must be calculated by the importer and entered in the 'Surtax' field."

Canada's two 2026 safeguards go in a different field for a different reason, which is the easiest thing on this page to get backwards. We wrote that up separately: field 87, not field 85.

What the June 2026 amendment changed

Three things, and they do not all start on the same date.

The backdating is written into the amending Order itself, in its coming into force section:

"Section 1 and subsection 2(2) are deemed to have come into force on December 26, 2025."

Subsection 2(2) is the provision that adds paragraph 2(h), the Canadian-origin exemption. So the exemption reaches every entry back to the first day of the surtax, not only entries filed after June.

How origin is decided for this exemption

The amendment does not leave it to be argued. It names the test:

"For the purposes of this Order, the origin of goods is determined in accordance with the rules of origin set out in the Determination of Country of Origin for the Purpose of Marking Goods (CUSMA Countries) Regulations."

Those are the marking regulations, which decide what country a good is from for the purpose of marking it. They are not the preferential rules of origin used to claim CUSMA tariff treatment on a line. A good can sit differently under the two, so the question to ask about a past entry is the marking question, and the answer has to come off the documents.

Which goods are outside the surtax

From the notice, the surtax does not apply to goods that originate or are in transit to Canada on the day it comes into force, goods already subject to one of the other steel or aluminum surtax orders, casual goods, goods classified under a tariff item of Chapter 98, goods imported before 1 July 2027 for use in the manufacture of motor vehicles or chassis, goods imported before 1 July 2027 for use in aircraft, ground flying trainers or spacecraft, and utility wind towers and their sections under tariff item 7308.20.00 imported for installation in energy projects west of the Ontario and Manitoba border.

In transit carries a documentary burden that is easy to lose:

"Importers must have proof in their possession that such goods were in transit to Canada in order to demonstrate that the surtax is not applicable."

There is also a separate remission order, registered 24 February 2026, but it is narrow. It remits the surtax on goods imported for use by certain entities for health care, public health, public safety, national defence or national security, it requires that no other relief has been granted for the goods, and the claim goes to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness within two years after the date of importation. That is a different route with a different deadline, and it is not the Canadian-origin exemption.

Does the surtax change the GST

Yes. Under section 215 of the Excise Tax Act the value of imported goods for tax is the value of the goods plus "the amount of all duties and taxes, if any, payable on the goods under the Customs Tariff". Memorandum D13-2-5 puts the same rule as the value determined under sections 47 to 55 of the Customs Act plus all federal duties and taxes other than the GST.

A surtax imposed under the Customs Tariff is inside that base. So 25% charged in error did not only overstate the surtax line, it overstated the amount the GST was calculated on underneath it.

What to do if the surtax was paid on Canadian-origin goods

CBSA names the route in the notice itself:

"If surtax was not correctly self-assessed or was self-assessed in error for commercial goods, then an adjustment to the CAD may be submitted via the CCP or via EDI/API."

Which entries are worth looking at is a documents question, not a memory question. It is the lines coded 25267A between 26 December 2025 and the date the amendment was registered, on goods that meet the marking test for Canada. What comes back on the duty side and what has to come back a different way is set out here: what happens to the GST on a refund.