9141-5315 Québec - Court of Quebec finds that a restaurant established due diligence respecting a cashier’s failure to provide a receipt

A Revenue Quebec employee made a purchase at a Tim Hortons restaurant in Montreal and was not provided by the cashier with a receipt. The restaurant was charged for this failure under a more rigorous Quebec version of ETA s. 223(2) that was applicable to Quebec restaurants.

In finding that the restaurant had made out a due diligence defence, Costom JCQ noted that it had a detailed system in place to remind employees of the obligation to provide a receipt (including a pop-up reminder on the cash register on each sale, required written acknowledgements of this obligation by the employees and potential disciplinary consequences) and stated:

All these measures have satisfied the Court that the accused was not simply content to inform its employees of the obligation to provide customers with their invoice, but that it had put into effect a system of control and supervision of the application of this directive.

Neal Armstrong. Summary of Agence du revenu du Québec v. 9141-5315 Québec Inc., 2017 QCCQ 12233 under ETA s. 223(2).