Gill – Tax Court of Canada finds that the requisite intention for GST-rebate purposes to purchase a new home as a primary residence is determined at the time of agreement rather than closing

One of the requirements for the GST rebate for new homes is that “at the time the particular individual becomes liable…under an agreement of purchase and sale of the complex…[with] the builder…the particular individual is acquiring the complex… for use as the primary residence of the particular individual or a relation… .” The French version of ETA s. 254 seems to indicate that the relevant time for determining this primary-residence intention is the closing, whereas the English version (evincing a recurring standard of ETA drafting) has so far been interpreted as pointing more to the time of signing the purchase agreement.

Smith J has interpreted the French version as pointing to the time of signing the purchase agreement (which under Art. 1785 of the Civil Code can be styled as a “preliminary contract”), as “this interpretation accords a common meaning to the two versions of the provision.”

Neal Armstrong. Summary of Gill v. The Queen, 2016 CCI 13, under ETA s. 254(2)(b).