Excise Tax Act

Marginal note:Supply on behalf of person not required to collect tax

• 177 (1) Where

  • (a) a person (in this subsection referred to as the “principal”) makes a supply (other than an exempt or zero-rated supply) of tangible personal property to a recipient (otherwise than by auction),

  • (b) the principal is not required to collect tax in respect of the supply except as provided in this subsection, and

  • (c) a registrant (in this subsection referred to as the “agent”), in the course of a commercial activity of the agent, acts as agent in making the supply on behalf of the principal,

  the following rules apply:

  • (d) where the principal is a registrant and the property was last used, or acquired for consumption or use, by the principal in an endeavour of the principal, within the meaning of subsection 141.01(1), and the principal and agent jointly elect in writing, the supply of the property to the recipient is deemed to be a taxable supply for the following purposes:

    • (i) all purposes of this Part, other than determining whether the principal may claim an input tax credit in respect of property or services acquired or imported by the principal for consumption or use in making the supply to the recipient, and

    • (ii) the purpose of determining whether the principal may claim an input tax credit in respect of services supplied by the agent relating to the supply of the property to the recipient, and

  • (e) in any other case, the supply of the property to the recipient is deemed, for the purposes of this Part, to be a taxable supply made by the agent and not by the principal and the agent is deemed, for the purposes of this Part other than section 180, not to have made a supply to the principal of services relating to the supply of the property to the recipient.

• Marginal note:Election for agent to account for tax

  (1.1) Where a registrant, in the course of a commercial activity of the registrant, acts as agent in making a supply (otherwise than by auction) on behalf of a person who is required to collect tax in respect of the supply otherwise than as a consequence of the application of paragraph (1)(d) and the registrant and the person jointly elect in prescribed form containing prescribed information,

  • (a) the tax collectible in respect of the supply or any amount charged or collected by the registrant on behalf of the person as or on account of tax in respect of the supply is deemed to be collectible, charged or collected, as the case may be, by the registrant, and not by the person, for the purposes of

    • (i) determining the net tax of the registrant and of the person, and

    • (ii) applying sections 222 and 232;

  • (b) the registrant and the person are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable for all obligations under this Part that arise upon or as a consequence of

    • (i) the tax becoming collectible,

    • (ii) a failure to account for or pay as and when required under this Part an amount of net tax of the registrant, or an amount required under section 230.1 to be paid by the registrant, that is reasonably attributable to the supply,

    • (iii) the registrant claiming, in respect of the supply, an amount as a deduction under section 231 or 232 to which the registrant was not entitled or in excess of the amount to which the registrant was entitled,

    • (iv) a failure to pay as and when required under this Part the amount of any underpayment of net tax by the registrant, or an amount required under section 230.1 to be paid by the registrant, that is reasonably attributable to a claim referred to in subparagraph (iii),

    • (v) a recovery of all or part of a bad debt relating to the supply in respect of which the registrant claimed a deduction under subsection 231(1), or

    • (vi) a failure to account for or pay as and when required under this Part an amount of net tax of the registrant, or an amount required under section 230.1 to be paid by the registrant, that is reasonably attributable to an amount required under subsection 231(3) to be added to the net tax of the registrant in respect of a bad debt referred to in subparagraph (v); and

  • (c) the threshold amounts of the registrant and of the person under subsections 249(1) and (2) shall be determined as if any consideration that became due to the person, or was paid to the person without having become due, in respect of the supply had become due to the registrant, or had been paid to the registrant without having become due, as the case may be, and not to the person.

• Marginal note:Billing agent

  (1.11) If a registrant acts as agent of a supplier in charging and collecting consideration and tax payable in respect of a supply made by the supplier but the registrant does not act as agent in making the supply, the registrant is deemed to have acted as agent of the supplier in making the supply for the purposes of

  • (a) subsection (1.1); and

  • (b) if an election under subsection (1.1) is made in respect of the supply, any other provision that refers to a supply in respect of which an election under that subsection has been made.

• Marginal note:Joint revocation

  (1.12) A registrant and a supplier who have jointly made an election under subsection (1.1) may, in prescribed form containing prescribed information, jointly revoke the election with respect to any supply made on or after the effective date specified in the revocation, and the election is thereby deemed, for the purposes of this Part, not to have been made with respect to that supply.

• Marginal note:Supply by auctioneer

  (1.2) Where a registrant (in this subsection referred to as the “auctioneer”), acting as auctioneer and agent for another person (in this subsection referred to as the “principal”) in the course of a commercial activity of the auctioneer, makes on behalf of the principal a supply by auction of tangible personal property to a recipient, the supply is deemed, for the purposes of this Part, to be a taxable supply made by the auctioneer and not by the principal and the auctioneer is deemed, for the purposes of this Part other than section 180, not to have made a supply to the principal of services relating to the supply of the property to the recipient.

• Marginal note:Exception where election

  (1.3) Where

  • (a) a registrant (in this subsection referred to as the “auctioneer”), on a particular day, makes a particular supply by auction of prescribed property on behalf of another registrant (in this subsection referred to as the “principal”) and, but for subsection (1.2), that supply would be a taxable supply made by the principal,

  • (b) the auctioneer and principal jointly elect in prescribed form containing prescribed information in respect of the particular supply, and

  • (c) all or substantially all of the consideration for supplies made by auction on the particular day by the auctioneer on behalf of the principal is attributable to supplies of prescribed property in respect of which the auctioneer and principal have elected under this subsection,

  subsection (1.2) does not apply to the particular supply or to any supply made by the auctioneer to the principal of services relating to the particular supply.

• (1.4) [Repealed, 1997, c. 10, s. 26]

• Marginal note:Supply for artists, etc.

  (2) For the purposes of this Part other than sections 148 and 249, where a prescribed registrant, acting in the course of a commercial activity, makes a supply on behalf of another person of intangible personal property in respect of a product of an author, performing artist, painter, sculptor or other artist, the following rules apply:

  • (a) the other person shall be deemed not to have made the supply to the recipient;

  • (b) the registrant shall be deemed to have made the supply to the recipient; and

  • (c) the registrant shall be deemed not to have made a supply to the other person of a service in relation to the supply to the recipient.