Article by Mario Seyer, Audrey Diamant, Michael Firth1, Andrew Vanderwal, Eric Paton, Shawna Hansen and Zaheer Jamal
GST/HST
Regulations
On September 20, 2012, the Minister of Finance released the Regulations Amending Various GST/HST Regulations, No.3. These reflect the move by British Columbia to be a non-participating province, effective April 1, 2013, as a result of its decision to return to a provincial sales tax. Other regulations are also amended, including:
- Games of Chance (GST/HST) Regulations
- Taxes, Duties and Fees (GST/HST) Regulations
- Agriculture and Fishing Property (GST/HST) Regulations
- Streamlined Accounting (GST/HST) Regulations
- Federal Book Rebate (GST/HST) Regulations
- Automobile Operating Expense Benefit (GST/HST) Regulations
- Deduction for Provincial Rebate (GST/HST) Regulations
- New Harmonized Value-added Tax System Regulations
- New Harmonized Value-added Tax System Regulations, No.2
Publications released by the CRA
In August 2012, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) released GST/HST Info Sheet GI-127 – Documentary Evidence When Making Tax-Relieved Sales to Indians and Indian Bands Over the Telephone and Internet or Other Electronic Means.
The info sheet discusses the situations in which the CRA will accept documentation of Indian Status by electronic means to support the non-collection of tax.
In August 2012, the CRA released GST/HST Info Sheet GI-128 – Harmonized Sales Tax: Proposed Enhancements to British Columbia New Housing Rebates. It reflects proposed tax changes announced in the B.C. Ministry of Finance Tax Information HST Notice #12 – Enhanced New Housing Rebates and Transitional Rules for the Re-Implementation of British Columbia Provincial Sales Tax, issued on February 17, 2012.
In September 2012, the CRA released GST/HST Info Sheet GI-129 – Harmonized Sales Tax: Proposed Enhancements to the British Columbia New Residential Rental Property Rebates, which also reflects proposed tax changes announced in the B.C. Ministry of Finance Tax Information HST Notice #12 – Enhanced New Housing Rebates and Transitional Rules for the Re-Implementation of British Columbia Provincial Sales Tax, issued on February 17, 2012.
In September 2012, the CRA released GST/HST Info Sheet GI-130 –Stated Price Net of the British Columbia New Housing Rebate. It explains how to determine the consideration payable for new housing in British Columbia when a builder's price:
- includes the HST at 12%; and
- is net of the enhanced B.C. new housing rebate in respect of the provincial part of the HST, if the rebate amount is paid or credited by the builder to the purchaser.
British Columbia
Columbia-Shuswap Region
In September 2012, British Columbia updated its Municipal and Regional District Tax Bulletin MRDT 001 to show that, effective October 1, 2012, the participating area of the Columbia-Shuswap region has been expanded to include the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort Area.
Provincial sales tax
On October 1, 2012, the province issued Bulletin PST 001 – Registering to Collect Provincial Sales Tax (PST). This new bulletin provides information to help businesses understand when and how to register with the Ministry of Finance to collect and remit PST.
It is anticipated that the B.C. Ministry of Finance will commence issuing letters for B.C. PST registration in December 2012, and that the online business registration process will commence January 2, 2013.
The new PST numbers will be 11 characters long in the format: PST-1234-5678. Additional information is available at http://hstinbc.ca/moving-forward/faqs/faqs
Manitoba
Motor vehicle, trailer, off-road vehicle and boat dealers
In August 2012, Manitoba Finance issued revised Information Bulletin No. 12 – Motor Vehicle and Trailer Dealers and Information Bulletin No. 13 – Off-Road Vehicle and Boat Dealers.
Prince Edward Island
HST information sessions On its Tax and Land Information website, the Prince Edward Island Department of Finance, Energy and Municipal Affairs, has made available its HST Information Sessions presented in June through August 2012, to various industry groups, including residential construction, road builders and heavy construction, funeral directors and embalmers, massage therapy and book sellers.
Saskatchewan
Tobacco products
Saskatchewan announced that effective October 1, 2012, certain tobacco products destined for sale there requires specific Saskatchewan stamping.
Customs
Trade agreements
- The Canada-Jordan Free Trade Agreement came into force on October 1, 2012.
- The fifth round of negotiations towards a trade agreement with India took place in New Delhi in late July.
- The Department of Finance is seeking views from interested parties regarding proposed amendments to the NAFTA rules of origin and, in addition, invites new requests for the liberalization of the rules of origin.
The proposed changes to the NAFTA rules of origin would liberalize or simplify some of the rules of origin applicable to several product categories, including:
- miscellaneous edible preparations;
- petroleum;
- products of the chemical or allied industries;
- plastics and rubber, and articles thereof;
- cork;
- glass;
- non-ferrous metals;
- certain machinery and mechanical appliances;
- certain electrical machinery and equipment;
- sound and television image recorders and reproducers;
- locomotives;
- parts for trailers and semi-trailers;
- optical, medical and measuring instruments and parts;
- medical and other specialists' chairs and other furniture; and
- toys and games and miscellaneous manufactured articles.
The proposals were developed to respond to requests from producers seeking more liberal NAFTA rules of origin or to align the NAFTA rules of origin with more liberal rules of origin under other free trade agreements that each NAFTA country negotiated subsequent to NAFTA.
Submissions are due by October 19, 2012.
Administrative Monetary Penalty System
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) published AMPS bulletin 12-003 containing information on upcoming changes to the Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) that took effect July 4, 2012. The changes are:
- expiration of nine Customs Self Assessment (CSA) contraventions: C235, C237, C238, C241, C242, C256, C257, C258 and C259;
- amendments to the wording of contraventions C008, C037, C194, C246 and C360; and
- addition of a new document type - "Case" - to the document type drop-down list.
In addition, the guidelines, found in the Master Penalty Document (MPD) for contraventions C005, C008, C037, C170, C244, C246, C315, C317, C346, C368, and C369, have been revised to increase clarity to avoid any misinterpretation by the trade community or CBSA officers whenever these contraventions are applied. The generic principles provided on the first page of the MPD have also been updated to further elaborate on how AMPS penalties are applied.
Training, events and seminars
October
Toronto, Ontario: October 17, 2012
New! Mining Risk Forum Join the new Mining Risk Forum,
exclusively for senior mining executives. The focus of the monthly
forum is to bring together risk leaders in the mining industry to
discuss enterprise risk management, governance and compliance.
Toronto, Ontario: October 17, 2012
Changing the Game – Global State of Information Security®
Survey (GISS) 2013 – Bad guys are winning Join us
for an exciting interactive, live and online presentation on the
Canadian results of the Global State of Information
Security® Survey (GISS) 2013. Findings from the survey
show where Canadian companies stand when it comes to protecting
themselves and their customers from the security threats associated
with new technologies: social media, social activism and the cloud.
November
Waterloo, Ontario: November 1, 2012
PwC Insurance Club EyeOpener – Southwestern Ontario
Please join us at our next Insurance Club EyeOpener session:
Getting It Right — Becoming Consumer-Centric. During
this event we will discuss the challenges, implications and success
factors of effective consumer-centric strategies.
We will also consider how customer relationship management, customer experience and customer value proposition interact to support a consumer-centric model.
Footnotes
1.Member of PwC's Canadian National Tax Services
(CNTS)
www.pwc.com/ca/cnts.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.