As we have previously written about here and here, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) has been in the process of rolling out their “CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management” (CARM) project.
Despite recent concerns over more delays, the scheduled CARM cutover period is now underway and the full functionality of the CARM Client Portal is set to be released on October 21, 2024.
Global Affairs Canada (“GAC”) has announced it is now accepting applications for the 2025-year tariff rate quotas (the “TRQs”) for most dairy products (including cheese and ice cream), and poultry (including eggs). Applications opened October 1, 2024, and the deadline to apply is November 15, 2024.
What is a TRQ?
On October 7, 2024, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the “CITT”) issued a notice that it was beginning an expiry review in respect of certain hot-rolled carbon steel plate and high-strength low-alloy steel plate originating in or exported from the Republic of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania (the “Subject Goods”). On October 8, 2024, the Canada Border Services Agency (the “CBSA”) similarly gave notice of the initiation of their parallel expiry review investigation.
More details on the technical definition of the Subject Goods can be found here.
On September 19, 2024, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the “CITT”) announced an Order in Expiry Review RR-2023-006 (the “Order”), continuing its finding of material injury in respect of the dumping and subsidizing of Cold-Rolled Steel originating in or exported from China, South Korea, and Vietnam (the “Subject Goods”).
The Subject Goods
The Subject Goods are defined as:
In yet another interesting legal battle involving Uber, the Ontario Court of Appeal has confirmed that even when a party overpaid on GST/HST, there is no right to recover that tax from the person or company that charged that tax.
This means the only redress is through the refund or rebate provisions in the Excise Tax Act (“ETA”).
The Government of Canada’s website cautions returning travellers to “Be sure . . . declare everything”. However, problems can arise, and the Canada Border Security Agency (“CBSA”) could seize your goods like jewellery.
Having one’s jewellery, especially rings and necklaces of sentimental or significant value, seized can be an incredibly stressful situation. Our previous blog considered this subject, and we will provide you with further insight into the appeal process.
On October 1, 2024, the Canadian government released the final list of which goods will be subject to the 25% surtax on steel and aluminium products coming from the People’s Republic of China effective October 22, 2024 (the “Final List”).
The Final List is rather broad, and includes many items of iron, steel, or aluminum that could be used by manufacturers across various industries, including ingots, flat-rolled coils, bars and rods, extrusion shapes and sections, tubes pipes and hollow profiles, etc.
The Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”) is asking for public feedback on how the recent Competition Act'greenwashing' amendments should be enforced.
The amendments, which came into effect June 24, 2024, add two new types of “reviewable conduct” covering representations made about products and/or business activities being beneficial for the environment. Non-compliant businesses can face potentially serious penalties!
On August 21, 2024, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the “CITT”) issued an Order in Expiry Review RR-2023-005 (the “Order”), continuing its finding of material injury in respect of the dumping and subsidizing of sucker rods originating in or exported from the People’s Republic of China (the “Subject Goods”).
More detail, including the full definition of the Subject Goods, can be found in the Expiry Review.
A Trusted Traveller Program Violation Card is a notification issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) when a member of a Trusted Traveller Program (like Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, or TSA PreCheck) is found to have violated the program’s terms and conditions. This notice typically outlines the specific violation and the consequences, which can include suspension or revocation of membership.
Terms & Conditions of NEXUS Membership
Travellers receiving their NEXUS Membership are usually cautioned to obey the conditions of the Membership, although one wonders how many actually do!
As we wrote about previously, on May 27, 2023 the Canada Border Services Agency (the “CBSA”) proposed amendments to close what they termed “loopholes” allowing certain importers to use a lower value for duty (“VFD”) than what CBSA thought was appropriate.
The draft changes to Canada’s Valuation for Duty Regulations (the “Regulations”) generated significant feedback from interested parties, but over one year later importers are left wondering about the status of the proposed amendments.
One thing that usually goes undiscussed when contemplating appeals to the Tax Court of Canada (“TCC”) is what happens if a taxpayer loses.
One thing that CAN happen is a “costs award” against the taxpayer, which is where a TCC judge orders the taxpayer to pay a portion of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) costs in defending the appeal – which puts a significant premium on understanding one’s “chances of success” BEFORE filing the appeal!
Unexpected Costs
As we have previously written about here, the CRA has been modernizing its electronic services. As part of these changes, the CRA has updated the GST/HST e-filing returns to require additional lines of detail. Businesses e-filing their GST/HST returns need to understand this new change and complete their GST/HST e-filing returns properly!
As of May 13, 2024, registrants e-filing their GST/HST returns have been encountering the new forms, and the CRA reminded registrants of the change in its Excise GST/HST News – No. 117.
Those who previously filed paper returns will immediately recognize these additional details as lines from the paper returns which have now been migrated over to the e-filing system.
On September 13, 2024, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) released a notice of its preliminary determination of dumping in respect of certain concrete reinforcing bar from Bulgaria, Thailand and the UAE (the “Subject Goods”).
Provisional duties are now imposed on imports of the Subject Goods released from the CBSA on or after September 13, 2024!
"Reverse and rebill" situations are very common in the Oil, Gas and Petrochem industry, especially in situations where goods are delivered in one reporting period but invoiced (or reversed and rebilled) in another reporting period because of formula-based pricing. There are a number of other situations where it is also necessary to "true-up" commercial invoice previously issued, and the GST/HST reporting and remittance requirements in these situations are counterintuitive.
Unwary businesses often face subsequent CRA assessments for taxes not collected, with the CRA taking the position that taxes were required to be collected on the issuance of both invoices unless proper credit note steps are taken.
With the new Canadian fuel charge provided for in the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (the “GGPPA”), many Canadian and non-resident oil and gas companies doing business in Canada with fossil fuel products have now successfully registered.
Now comes the unexpectedly difficult part: monthly reporting.
General Reporting Requirement
In general, the GGPPA imposes timely reporting requirements including monthly returns for most businesses that are not “road carriers”. Most returns are due the last day of the calendar month (1) following a registrant’s reporting period OR (2) following the reporting period in which a charge became payable for non-registrants.
As we have blogged about here and here, the CRA is after a whole swath of residential homeowners who are finding themselves being taxed on the sale of their new or used residential properties, after substantially renovating them.
A recent decision of the Tax Court of Canada (“TCC”) in Bryan v. The King, 2024 TCC 108 highlights the problems that homeowners face when going into these ventures with possible “dual motivations”.
On September 9, 2024, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the “CITT”) issued a notice that it was beginning an expiry review in respect of certain Structural Tubing (also called Hollow Structural Sections) originating in or exported from the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Türkiye (the “Subject Goods”). On September 10, 2024, the Canada Border Services Agency (the “CBSA”) similarly gave notice of the initiation of their parallel expiry review investigation.
More details on the technical definition of the Subject Goods can be found here.
As a firm specializing in International Trade and related regulatory issues, we have noticed a marked increase in recent inquiries regarding the new regulatory requirements for Nicotine Pouches. This uptick coincides with Health Canada’s recent announcement effectively restricting the sale of Nicotine Replacement Therapies (“NRTs”), including Nicotine Pouches, to pharmacies – and the need to understand how comprehensive these apply to current business, and what options there are for moving forward.
As we have blogged here and here, dealing with and appealing Director’s Liability Assessments for GST/HST purposes or source withholding purposes on the Income Tax side is generally an uphill battle.
The Tax Court’s recent decision in Donaldson v. The King (2022 TCC 159) underscores that a corporation dealing with business down-turns by holding off on paying the CRA its required remittances is a losing strategy!
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