Gasoline Tax Act
Loi de la taxe sur l’essence
R.R.O. 1990, REGULATION 533
Amended to O. Reg. 92/00
GENERAL
Historical version for the period March 1, 2000 to February 26, 2004.
Disclaimer: This consolidation is not an official copy of the law because it is affected by one or more retroactive provisions which have not been incorporated into it. For information about the retroactive provisions, see O. Reg. 38/04, section 4.
This Regulation is made in English only.
1., 2. Revoked: O. Reg. 320/97, s. 1.
Allowance to Retailers
3. (1) A person who applies to the Minister and,
(a) who is not a collector but is licensed under the Gasoline Handling Act; or
(b) is an employee of a collector who by reason of an agreement between the employee and the collector is held responsible for and must pay the collector for all losses and shortages incurred with respect to gasoline delivered to the person and sold by the person for the account of the collector,
and collects and pays over the tax under the Act may be paid a refund of 0.21 per cent of the amount by which the amount of tax paid by the person to the supplier of the person on gasoline sold by the person at retail exceeds any amount of tax with respect to which the person is or was or will be entitled to make an application for refund under any other section of the Act or regulations. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 533, s. 3 (1).
(2) A person shall make an application for a refund under subsection (1) in the form approved by the Minister and shall submit with the application properly receipted invoices covering the gasoline in respect of which the refund is claimed and any other information or documentation that may be specified by the Minister. O. Reg. 320/97, s. 6.
(3) No refund shall be paid if the tax has been paid more than four years before the date on which the application for refund is mailed or delivered to the Minister. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 533, s. 3 (3); O. Reg. 623/99, s. 1.
(4) Each invoice submitted in support of an application under subsection (1) shall clearly show the date upon which the tax was paid in respect of the gasoline and the quantity of such gasoline, and no refund shall be paid in respect of an invoice or invoices on or in connection with which the applicant has misrepresented any material fact.
(5) Where an application for a refund under subsection (1) is supported in whole or in part by an invoice or invoices on or in connection with which the applicant has misrepresented a material fact, the amount of the refund that may be granted by the Minister in respect of the application shall be reduced by the greater of $5 or 200 per cent of the amount of the refund claimed in respect of the invoice or invoices on or in connection with which such misrepresentation is made. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 533, s. 3 (4, 5).
Uncollectable Accounts
4. (1) In this section,
“applicant” means a collector, importer, wholesaler or retailer who applies for a refund under this section;
“bankruptcy debt” means a debt incurred by a person who subsequently becomes a bankrupt within the meaning of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada);
“debt” means the portion of the sale price of taxable product that remains unpaid and owing to an applicant;
“designated time limit” means, in respect of an application for a refund under this section, within four years after,
(a) the last day of the applicant’s fiscal year in which the applicant wrote off the debt as an uncollectable account, if the refund relates to a debt other than a bankruptcy debt or a receivership debt,
(b) the date of filing of the applicant’s claim with the debtor’s trustee in bankruptcy or receiver, as the case may be, if the refund relates to a bankruptcy debt or a receivership debt, or
(c) the date of the loss, destruction, theft or contamination of the taxable product, if the refund relates to taxable product that was lost, destroyed, stolen or contaminated;
“receiver” includes a receiver and manager;
“receivership debt” means a debt owed by a debtor who is in receivership and whose property is under the control of a receiver;
“sale price” includes, in respect of the sale of taxable product, the amount on account of the tax under the Act in respect of the taxable product;
“taxable product” means gasoline, aviation fuel or propane.
(2) The Minister may allow a refund to an applicant of an amount on account of tax collectable or payable under the Act that has been remitted by the applicant to the Minister, or that has been paid over by the applicant in accordance with the Act for subsequent remittance to the Minister,
(a) if the tax is in respect of taxable product sold by the applicant and all or part of the sale price has not been paid and has become an uncollectable debt; or
(b) if the tax is in respect of taxable product that has been lost, destroyed, stolen or contaminated, and cannot be sold or used by the applicant.
(3) Despite subsection (2), no refund is allowed in any of the following circumstances:
1. If any portion of the sale price of the taxable product referred to in clause (2) (a) has been assigned by private contract, with or without recourse, other than for security purposes, to a person other than the Minister.
2. If the applicant was not in compliance with legislation requiring licensing with respect to the handling of taxable product at the time of the sale of the taxable product referred to in clause (2) (a) or of the loss, destruction, theft or contamination of the taxable product referred to in clause (2) (b), as the case may be.
3. If a refund of an amount on account of the tax has previously been made, or the applicant is otherwise entitled under the Act or the regulations to receive or to apply to receive a refund of or an allowance in compensation for the amount on account of the tax.
4. If the applicant and the debtor were not dealing at arm’s length within the meaning of section 251 of the Income Tax Act (Canada) at the time of the sale of the taxable product, in the case of taxable product referred to in clause (2) (a).
5. If the applicant has not complied with the requirements of this section.
6. If the Minister is not satisfied that,
i. in the case of taxable product referred to in clause (2) (a), the debt is uncollectable, or
ii. in the case of taxable product referred to in clause (2) (b), the taxable product cannot be used or sold by the applicant and compensation referrable to the amount of the refund has not been received by the applicant.
7. If the application for the refund is not made before the end of the designated time limit.
(4) The amount of the refund is determined as follows:
1. If all or part of the sale price of the taxable product sold by the applicant has not been paid and has become an uncollectable debt, other than a receivership or bankruptcy debt, the amount of the refund is equal to that portion of the amount remitted or paid over by the applicant on account of tax with respect to the taxable product that the uncollectable debt bears to the total sale price of the taxable product.
2. If all or part of the sale price of the taxable product sold by the applicant has not been paid and has become a receivership or bankruptcy debt, the amount of the refund is equal to that portion of the amount remitted or paid over by the applicant on account of tax with respect to the taxable product that the receivership or bankruptcy debt bears to the total sale price for the taxable product.
3. If the taxable product has been lost, destroyed, stolen or contaminated, the amount of the refund is equal to the amount remitted or paid over by the applicant on account of tax with respect to the taxable product.
(5) If the applicant is not a collector, the applicant may apply for a refund under this section in respect of an uncollectable debt by delivering to the Minister an application for the refund in a form acceptable to the Minister, together with all other information and documents that the Minister requires, including the following:
1. Copies of all invoices for the sale of taxable product in respect of which the refund is claimed.
2. Proof satisfactory to the Minister that the amount claimed was remitted to the Minister under the Act or was paid over as required under the Act for remittance to the Minister.
3. A signed statement by the applicant certifying the amount of the debt and certifying that the applicant does not have any right to receive any payment in satisfaction of part or all of the debt from any person other than the debtor or the debtor’s representative.
4. Proof satisfactory to the Minister that all reasonable collection action has been taken to obtain payment of the debt, that the debt is unsecured, that the debt is uncollectable and that the applicant has written off the debt as uncollectable in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
5. If the debt is a receivership debt, a signed statement by the applicant certifying that the applicant has filed with the debtor’s receiver a claim in respect of the debt to which the refund relates.
6. If the debt is a bankruptcy debt, a copy of the applicant’s proof of claim in the bankruptcy in respect of the debt to which the application relates, proof satisfactory to the Minister that the proof of claim was not disallowed and proof satisfactory to the Minister that the applicant will not receive payment of the debt from the trustee in bankruptcy or other person.
7. If the debt is a bankruptcy debt or a receivership debt, an assignment to the Minister in a form satisfactory to the Minister of the portion of the debt equal to the amount of the refund claimed.
(6) If the applicant is not a collector, the applicant may apply for a refund under this section in respect of taxable product that has been lost, destroyed, stolen or contaminated by delivering to the Minister an application for the refund in a form acceptable to the Minister, together with all other information and documents that the Minister requires, including the following:
1. A copy of any settlement by or written confirmation from an insurance company confirming settlement of any claim for the loss with respect to which the refund is being claimed.
2. A copy of any police report made with respect to the loss.
3. A copy of any fire marshal’s report made with respect to the cause of the loss.
4. Proof that the amount claimed was remitted to the Minister under the Act or was paid over in accordance with the Act for remittance to the Minister.
(7) If the Minister is satisfied that an applicant, other than a collector, is entitled to a refund under this section, the Minister may pay the refund to the applicant.
(8) If the applicant under this section is a collector, the following rules apply:
1. The collector may deliver to the Minister an application for the refund in a form approved by the Minister and may then deduct and retain the amount of the refund from an amount that the collector would otherwise remit to the Minister under the Act.
2. The collector shall retain for subsequent verification by the Minister the material in connection with the refund application that would otherwise be required to be delivered to the Minister by an applicant under subsection (5) or (6) with an application for the refund.
3. If the Minister disallows all or part of the refund, the Minister shall cause to be served on the collector a statement of disallowance under section 11 of the Act. The collector shall remit to the Minister the amount of the refund disallowed by the Minister, together with interest on the amount at the calculated rate under section 8 for the period during which the collector retained the amount. The collector shall remit the amount with the next return or at any earlier time specified in the statement of disallowance, whether or not an objection to or an appeal from the disallowance is made or taken. O. Reg. 65/99, s. 1.
5. (1) This section applies if a refund in respect of a debt is made under section 4 and the applicant subsequently receives,
(a) a payment from the debtor; or
(b) a payment from another person in satisfaction of all or part of the debt.
(2) When the applicant receives a payment, the applicant shall pay to the Minister the portion of the payment that is determined by the Minister to have been paid to the applicant on account of tax payable under the Act.
(3) The payment to the applicant shall be allocated, for the purposes of this section, to the applicable sales of taxable product in the order of the dates of the applicable sales. O. Reg. 65/99, s. 1.
6., 7. Revoked: O. Reg. 320/97, s. 3.
Rates of Interest
8. (1) In this section,
“adjustment date” means January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1;
“average prime rate”, on a particular date, means the mean, rounded to the nearest whole percentage point, of the annual rates of interest announced by each of The Royal Bank of Canada, The Bank of Nova Scotia, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the Bank of Montreal and The Toronto-Dominion Bank to be its prime or reference rate of interest in effect on that date for determining interest rates on Canadian dollar commercial loans by that bank in Canada. O. Reg. 320/97, s. 5.
(2) For the purposes of the Act, the prescribed rates of interest shall be determined in accordance with the following rules:
1. A base rate of interest shall be determined for January 1, 1997 and for each adjustment date after January 1, 1997 and shall be equal to the average prime rate on,
i. October 15 of the previous year, if the adjustment date is January 1,
ii. January 15 of the same year, if the adjustment date is April 1,
iii. April 15 of the same year, if the adjustment date is July 1, and
iv. July 15 of the same year, if the adjustment date is October 1.
2. The base rate of interest in effect on a particular date shall be,
i. the base rate for the particular date, if the particular date is an adjustment date, and
ii. the base rate for the last adjustment date before the particular date, otherwise.
3. The prescribed rate of interest payable by a person under the Act in respect of a particular day shall be an annual interest rate that is three percentage points higher than the base rate of interest in effect on that day.
4. The prescribed rate of interest to be paid or allowed by the Minister to a person under the Act in respect of a particular day shall be an annual interest rate that is two percentage points lower than the base rate of interest in effect for that day.
5. For an overpayment that results from a decision of the Minister or a court on an objection to, or an appeal from, an assessment or a statement of disallowance, the prescribed rate of interest to be paid or allowed by the Minister in respect of a particular day after December 31, 1998 is the base rate of interest in effect for that day. O. Reg. 320/97, s. 5; O. Reg. 452/99, s. 1.
Persons Exempt
9. (1) The following classes of persons are exempt from payment of the tax imposed by the Act:
1. Those persons serving in or employed by a diplomatic or consular mission, high commission or trade commission, their spouses or same-sex partners and families as authorized by the Department of External Affairs Canada if such persons are not Canadian citizens or “permanent residents” of Canada as defined in the Immigration Act (Canada) and if such persons are assigned to duty from the state they represent and are not engaged locally by the mission or commission.
2. Members of the armed forces of a country other than Canada with respect to gasoline or aviation fuel intended for use exclusively in the service vehicles, aircraft or vessels of a visiting force as defined in the Visiting Forces Act (Canada) when such gasoline or aviation fuel is exempt from taxation under section 26 of that Act and regulations made thereunder.
3. Indians and bands with respect to the purchase of gasoline, aviation fuel or propane on a reserve for their exclusive use and with respect to the purchase of gasoline, aviation fuel or propane not on a reserve when the retailer delivers it to the reserve for their exclusive use. For the purposes of this paragraph “band”, “Indian” and “reserve” have the meaning set out in section 9.1. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 533, s. 9; O. Reg. 66/99, s. 1; O. Reg. 92/00, s. 1 (1).
(2) In subsection (1),
“same-sex partner” has the meaning given to that expression by section 29 of the Family Law Act;
“spouse” has the meaning given to that expression by section 29 of the Family Law Act. O. Reg. 92/00, s. 1 (2).
Certificate of Exemption
9.1 In paragraph 3 of section 9 and in sections 9.2 and 9.3,
“band” means a band within the meaning of the Indian Act (Canada);
“fuel” means gasoline, aviation fuel or propane but not fuel as defined in the Fuel Tax Act;
“Indian” means an Indian within the meaning of the Indian Act (Canada);
“reserve” means a reserve as defined in the Indian Act (Canada) or an Indian Settlement located on Crown land, the Indian inhabitants of which are treated by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada) in the same manner as Indians residing on a reserve as defined under the Indian Act (Canada). O. Reg. 66/99, s. 2.
9.2 (1) An Indian or a band shall apply to the Minister for a certificate of exemption if the Indian or band wishes to purchase, exempt from tax, fuel for his, her or its own use.
(2) The application must be made in a form approved by the Minister and must be accompanied by evidence satisfactory to the Minister that verifies the status of the applicant.
(3) Upon receiving the completed application and accompanying evidence, the Minister,
(a) shall issue a certificate of exemption to the applicant if the application was signed by the chief of the band or the person authorized by the chief to sign it; and
(b) may issue a certificate of exemption to the applicant if the application was not signed as described in clause (a).
(4) When purchasing fuel exempt from tax, the certificate holder shall present his, her or its certificate of exemption to the retailer and shall sign a voucher respecting the purchase.
(5) The voucher must be in a form approved by the Minister, must be imprinted with the information on the certificate of exemption and must contain the following information:
1. The name and authorization number of the retailer.
2. The date of the purchase.
3. The number of litres of fuel purchased or the number of litres received.
4. The total cost of the sale as recorded on the pump, including tax.
5. The amount of any tax charged.
6. The net cost of the sale to the certificate holder.
7. The license number of the vehicle into which any gasoline or propane is placed.
(6) The certificate holder shall not leave the certificate of exemption with the retailer or any other person.
(7) Upon request, the certificate holder shall give an employee of the Ministry such information as the employee may need to verify the certificate holder’s purchases of fuel exempt from tax. O. Reg. 66/99, s. 2.
9.3 (1) Every retailer located on a reserve and every retailer not located on a reserve who intends to sell or deliver fuel, exempt from tax, to an Indian or a band on a reserve shall apply for authorization to sell fuel without collecting tax on it.
(2) The application must be made in a form approved by the Minister.
(3) Upon receiving the completed application, the Minister may authorize the retailer, in writing, to sell or deliver fuel, exempt from tax, to an Indian or a band that holds a certificate of exemption.
(4) The Minister is not required to give an authorization to a retailer who fails to satisfy the Minister of the retailer’s ability to comply with the Act, the regulations and the requirements established by the Minister for the effective administration of the exemption described in paragraph 3 of section 9.
(5) The Minister may cancel or suspend a retailer’s authorization if the retailer contravenes the Act or regulations, permits another person to contravene the Act or regulations or fails to comply with the terms of the authorization.
(6) Section 7 of the Act applies, with necessary modifications, if the Minister proposes to cancel or suspend a retailer’s authorization.
(7) At the time of each sale or delivery, the retailer shall complete a voucher for the sale, imprint the voucher with the information on the applicable certificate of exemption and require the person purchasing the fuel or receiving the delivery to sign the voucher.
(8) The voucher must contain the information described in subsection 9.2 (6).
(9) The retailer shall not retain the purchaser’s certificate of exemption after completing the voucher.
(10) At the request of the Minister, a retailer shall obtain from a purchaser such information as the Minister may specify about future sales or deliveries of fuel by the retailer to the purchaser.
(11) A retailer applying for a refund under section 28.1 of the Act shall submit a completed voucher to verify the sale of the fuel, exempt from tax.
(12) The Minister may disallow a retailer’s application for a refund under section 28.1 of the Act or may assess the retailer under subsection 11 (12) of the Act if the voucher submitted by the retailer is not properly completed in the Minister’s opinion or if the retailer otherwise fails to establish his, her or its entitlement to a refund. O. Reg. 66/99, s. 2.
Products Excluded
10. The following products are excluded from the Act:
1. Distillate.
2. The products commonly known as diesel fuel, furnace oil, stove oil and bunker fuel.
3. Any product that is a solvent, naphtha or thinner that is obtained from a petroleum origin or from the destructive distillation of coal, wood or wood products, or is produced by fermentation or by synthetic chemical reaction.
4. Any product that is a compound or blend comprised wholly of two or more of the products mentioned in paragraph 3.
5. Kerosene certified by the vendor on the invoice as meeting the standard for type 1-K Kerosene specified by the American Society for Testing and Materials (A.S.T.M.). R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 533, s. 10.
11. For the purposes of clause (d) of the definition of “gasoline” in section 1 of the Act,
“natural gas” means any product commonly known as natural gas that conforms to the composition of natural gas for vehicles described in National Standard of Canada CAN/CGSB-3.513-M published by the Canadian General Standards Board. O. Reg. 600/94, s. 1.