Under new rules announced in the recent Quebec budget, certain businesses from outside the province providing goods and services to Quebec residents must register for an expanded Quebec Sales Tax (QST). The Revenu Quebec website (https://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/) has further information, and your GGFL advisor is available to help navigate these changes.
The QST is a non-recoverable sales tax charged at the regular rate of 9.975%.
Recognizing an increasing amount of online business, the Quebec government is requiring non-residents of Canada, including digital platforms, to register for the new QST. In these situations, registration is either immediate or required by September 1, 2019, depending on the specific circumstances of the supplier’s business.
The new QST requirement affects businesses that earned more than $30,000 in 12 consecutive months from taxable supplies to a ‘specified Quebec consumer’ – an individual or business that is a resident of Quebec not registered for QST.
Where an Ontario company is only providing taxable supplies occasionally to Quebec businesses already registered for QST, the Ontario company does not have to register.
For non-Quebec businesses already registered for GST/HST, they are required to register and begin charging the new QST by September 1, 2019. Registration is available through the Revenu Quebec website.
If this applies to your business, you will be required to collect this new non-resident QST and file quarterly QST returns online through the Revenu Quebec website. The quarterly QST returns and remittances are due one month after the end of each calendar quarter. This reporting requirement will require an update to accounting systems to track and support filings.
