2024

On April 24, 2020, the United States publicly announced that the Canada-United States- Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) – USMCA under US terminology – will enter into effect to replace the North America Free Trade Agreement on July 1, 2020. It is time to get prepared and ensure that your business processes are in place to comply with the new CUSMA rules.

We regularly get asked whether the Canada Revenue Agency can request particular documents during the course of a goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax audit or during a GST/HST appeal. Usually, the question is in the form of a statement "they are not allowed to ask for that".

The GST/HST zero-rating rules for interline freight (which apply to both domestic and international freight movements) were supposed to be straightforward and help small Canadian freight carriers, their employees, and independent contractors (who are often tasked with moving the freight with company-owned or independently owned trucks).

The Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) came into full force on January 15, 2019 when the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) were adopted.

Direct sellers (also known as network sellers) enter the lucrative Canadian market, often without asking about relevant laws. Canadians sign up as independent sales contractors and start to build their sales networks before all questions are asked and answers are received.

Recent court cases have highlighted the taxing authorities’ focus on the scrap industry, with many businesses that deal in scrap paper and various scrap metals being reassessed in the past several years.

By Robert G. Kreklewetz and Rebecca Loo In general, property owners look to their own activities in determining the taxable status of their use of the property under the Excise Tax Act (ETA).

In the Federal Court of Appeal decision, CIBC World Markets Inc. v Canada, 2019 FCA 147, the Canadian investment banking subsidiary (investment dealer) of a large Canadian bank won its appeal of an adverse 2018 Tax Court of Canada ruling with respect to its claim for input tax credits (ITCs). The ITCs in question related to GST/HST paid on expenses attributable to certain exported supplies made by the investment dealer in connection with the bank’s activities outside Canada.

The Tax Court of Canada dismissed a large Canadian bank’s appeal for eligibility to claim a rebate for GST/HST that it was charged in connection with its payments in a credit-card loyalty rewards program. The bank subsequently took the view that GST/HST should not have applied and sought to recover the monies.

Form B13A, the Export Declaration form, will be eliminated from use as of June 30, 2020 and no longer accepted. The Canada Border Services Agency issued Customs Notice 19-14 Mandatory electronic export reporting for exporters on July 8, 2019, in which it announced the end of paper reporting.