Please note that the following document, although correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Canada Revenue Agency. / Veuillez prendre note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'Agence du revenu du Canada.
Excise and GST/HST Rulings Directorate
Place de Ville, Tower A, 15th floor
320 Queen Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5
[Addressee]
Case Number: 155289r
Business Number: […]
Dear [Client]:
Subject: GST/HST RULING
Specially designed training to assist individuals with autism
Thank you for your letter dated January 2, 2016 and our telephone conversation on September 9, 2016, concerning the application of the Goods and Services Tax (GST)/Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) to specially designed training to assist individuals with autism.
You received a GST/HST interpretation letter […] providing general information on the application of the GST/HST to training services specially designed to assist an individual with a disorder or disability. After reviewing the information in the letter and GST/HST Info Sheet, GI-113, Specially Designed Training to Assist Individuals with Autism, you have provided a detailed description of your services along with sample invoices and are requesting a ruling as to whether your services are exempt supplies under section 14 of Part II of Schedule V.
The HST applies in the participating provinces at the following rates: 13% in Ontario; and 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The GST applies in the rest of Canada at the rate of 5%.
All legislative references are to the Excise Tax Act (ETA) unless otherwise specified.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
We understand the following from your letter and our telephone conversation:
1. You are […] working in the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). You are a Board Certified Assistant Behaviour Analyst (BCaBA) through the Behavior Analyst Certification Board […]
2. You design, plan and monitor the effectiveness of home-based ABA programs that are specifically and individually designed for a child with autism. This usually includes conducting an assessment with families to determine their goals and priorities for treatment, conducting skill assessments with the child to determine their current level of functioning or conducting functional behaviour assessments if problem behaviour is a concern, providing parent training, providing initial training to Behaviour Interventionists (BIs) who are hired to implement programming with children, and to monitor and evaluate progress on-going.
3. The […] (Ministry) provides funding for Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention/Applied Behaviour Analysis programs. Your clients use the […][funding] to acquire your services. You invoice the Ministry directly for your services which then pays you using the funds that are allotted to the individual. You will also bill the client directly if that is their preference or if the [funding] for that individual have been exhausted, although you stated that this rarely occurs.
4. Your current professional role and responsibilities conform with all three conditions outlined in GST/HST Info Sheet GI-113, Specially Designed Training to Assist Individuals with Autism, however your responsibilities also include providing additional services to paraprofessionals in a case-specific and individualized manner as part of an individual child’s intervention program. While parents and caregivers receive on-going training and support, in order to best support a child with challenging behaviour or skill deficits across environments, it is necessary to collaborate with other service providers so that support for the child is comprehensive. These service providers may include community service agencies such as […][associations] that provide speech-language, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy services for young children with autism, schools that the child may attend, and BIs, babysitters, or other caregivers that may work with a child in a home environment. You estimate approximately […]% of your time is spent collaborating with other service providers to ensure that the child’s individual intervention program is comprehensive and effective.
5. When collaborating with other professionals such as schools and community organizations, no direct training is provided. Information gathered from these professionals is used to inform home program development and is a necessary and ethically mandated component of providing behaviour analytic services. Occasionally, suggestions for behaviour management or skill acquisition procedures for a specific child may be provided in a collaborative manner with other professionals, such as at school Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings. This would only occur at the request of a parent, if necessary, to advocate for the child but you are only hired by the parents and only paid through government funds.
6. BIs are paraprofessionals who work directly with children with autism at home in implementing behaviour analytic programming on a daily or weekly basis. BIs are supervised by a […] professional (such as you) and may initially receive 3-9 hours of direct 1:1 training in a child’s behaviour support plan and strategies before beginning to work independently with a child. However, subsequent visits where you ([…]) overlap with BIs include a mixture of connecting with and providing support to parents/caregivers, assessing student progress through data monitoring and direct observation of the child, trouble-shooting or directly assessing skills with the child, and providing suggestions to staff and parents on how to manage certain situations or child behaviours that may arise.
7. All programming, training and support that may be given to service providers or BIs are individualized to a particular child, and receiving training on one child with autism does not provide staff with the skills to work independently with other children or to design programs themselves. Therefore, these services provided are specifically within the context of your role in order to support that individual child. On-going guidance from a trained and certified behaviour analyst is a mandatory requirement for accessing [funding].
8. Clients (parents) of an autistic child are referred to you by psychologists at the clinic you work at or they find your name in […]. Typically, a medical doctor or psychologist will diagnose a particular child as having autism and advise the parents […] to look for a behavioral consultant/analyst who can provide services to assist the client and child in coping with the effects of the disorder.
9. You enter into a […] (Agreement) with your client which describes the initial and on-going services and defines your respective roles and responsibilities. The Agreement provides that your role is to provide behaviour analytic services under the supervision of a qualified Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) and may include both on-site (direct) and off-site (indirect services). Your case work may include but is not limited to:
* Initial intake and assessment to identify target behaviours for change
* Development of behaviour support plans for targeted behaviours and skill acquisition programs based on current research
* Conducting functional assessments, including preference assessments, interviews, observation, and data collection
* Training significant others, such as the family or behaviour interventionists, and developing training procedures and documents as needed
* Monitoring progress of programs, analysis of data collection, and modifying programs based on data and client need
* Programming for maintenance and generalization of skills
* Collaboration and meetings with home or school teams, or other professionals
* Report writing, documentation and research, as needed or requested.
10. […][Services and billing information]
11. The Agreement also provides that the role of your supervisor (BCBA) is to provide you with resources and supervision, as well as to evaluate your performance and the progress of your clients. […][Information about fees]. Any direct consultation (e.g. attending team meetings) by the supervisor will be billed by the supervisor to the Ministry or the client. Your supervisor is responsible for overseeing your performance, however, she is not responsible for your program as a whole. In the event that you are no longer providing the client with behaviour consultation services, the supervisor will not be responsible for the program.
12. The consideration for your services is not covered under the […][provincial health plan].
13. […]
14. […]
RULING REQUESTED
You would like to know if supplies of your services described above are exempt from the GST/HST under section 14 of Part II of Schedule V.
RULING GIVEN
Based on the facts set out above, we rule that:
1. Supplies of your services of designing a training plan that is to be given to a particular individual with autism or to another individual who provides personal care or supervision to the particular individual otherwise than in a professional capacity, as they are described above, made after February 11, 2014 are exempt from GST/HST under section 14 of Part II of Schedule V where one of the following circumstances applies:
a) a person acting in the capacity of a practitioner, medical practitioner, social worker or registered nurse, and in the course of a professional-client relationship between the person and the particular individual, has certified in writing that the training plan will be an appropriate means to assist the particular individual in coping with the effects of the disorder or disability or to alleviate or eliminate those effects,
b) you are paid an amount for the service of designing the training plan by a government or organization administering a government program targeted at assisting individuals with a disorder or disability, or
c) you receive evidence satisfactory to the Minister of National Revenue that, for the purpose of acquiring the service of designing a training plan, an amount has been paid or is payable to a person by a government or organization administering a government program targeted at assisting individuals with a disorder or disability.
2. Supplies of your services of designing a training plan made prior to February 12, 2014 were not exempt from GST/HST.
EXPLANATION
Generally, supplies of property and services made in Canada are subject to GST/HST, pursuant to section 165, unless they are specifically exempt under Schedule V. Part II of Schedule V sets out the health care services that are exempt from GST/HST.
Effective for supplies made after February 11, 2014, section 14 of Part II of Schedule V exempts:
A supply (other than a zero-rated supply or a prescribed supply) of a training service, or of a service of designing a training plan, if
(a) the training is specially designed to assist individuals with a disorder or disability in coping with the effects of the disorder or disability or to alleviate or eliminate those effects and is given or, in the case of a service of designing a training plan, is to be given to a particular individual with the disorder or disability or to another individual who provides personal care or supervision to the particular individual otherwise than in a professional capacity; and
(b) one of the following circumstances exists:
(i) a person acting in the capacity of a practitioner, medical practitioner, social worker or registered nurse, and in the course of a professional-client relationship between the person and the particular individual, has certified in writing that the training is or, in the case of a service of designing a training plan, will be an appropriate means to assist the particular individual in coping with the effects of the disorder or disability or to alleviate or eliminate those effects,
(ii) a prescribed person, or a member of a prescribed class of persons, has, subject to prescribed circumstances or conditions, certified in writing that the training is or, in the case of a service of designing a training plan, will be an appropriate means to assist the particular individual in coping with the effects of the disorder or disability or to alleviate or eliminate those effects, or
(iii) the supplier
(A) is a government,
(B) is paid an amount to make the supply by a government or organization administering a government program targeted at assisting individuals with a disorder or disability, or
(C) receives evidence satisfactory to the Minister that, for the purpose of the acquisition of the service, an amount has been paid or is payable to a person by a government or organization administering a government program targeted at assisting individuals with a disorder or disability.
Under section 15 of Part II of Schedule V, a training service or a service of designing a training plan is not included in section 14 if the training is similar to training ordinarily given to individuals who do not have a disorder or disability, or given to individuals who do not provide personal care or supervision to an individual with a disorder or disability. This is also effective for supplies made after February 11, 2014. Section 15 of Part II of Schedule V is not applicable in this case since the training involved is training specially designed to be given to individuals who have a disorder or disability.
In addition, under section 1.1 of Part II of Schedule V, a cosmetic service supply and a supply, in respect of a cosmetic service supply, that is not made for medical or reconstructive purposes are deemed not to be included in Part II of Schedule V (Footnote 1). A cosmetic service supply is defined in section 1 of Part II of Schedule V to mean a supply of property or a service that is made for cosmetic purposes and not for medical or reconstructive purposes. This section does not apply to the services you provide.
Where a supplier provides a combination of service elements to its clients it is important to determine if the supplier has made a single supply or multiple supplies. This [is] especially important where some of the service elements may be taxable and some may be exempt.
As explained below, before February 12, 2014 only supplies of training services were exempt from the GST/HST. Supplies of a service of designing a training plan were taxable before February 12, 2014. As you provide an element of training services, it is important to properly characterize the supplies you make to be able to apply the ETA provisions to your situation.
Whether a person is making a single supply or multiple supplies is a question of fact. The common law principles of single supply and multiple supplies are described in GST/HST Policy Statement P-077R2, Single and Multiple Supplies. The characterization of a transaction as a single supply or multiple supplies considers the interrelationships among the various elements of the agreement, the purpose of an agreement, the needs of the client, and the economic reality of the transaction. There is a single supply where one or more elements constitute the supply and any remaining elements serve only to enhance the supply. Where the essential elements are part of a single composite supply, that single supply cannot be artificially split into separate supplies.
In addition, an important question to consider is what has been supplied for the payment made. Policy Statement P-077R2 also explains that the way in which the consideration for a transaction is set out does not in itself determine whether there are one or more supplies. A single consideration does not automatically mean that there is one supply. Equally, separately identified consideration for certain elements do not necessarily mean that there are two or more supplies. Thus, one cannot rely solely on the breakdown of charges in an agreement or on an invoice to conclude that a supplier is making multiple supplies of different property and/or services.
Based on the facts set out above, we conclude that you are making a single supply of a service of designing a training plan.
To arrive at this conclusion, we considered information obtained from your letters, our telephone conversation, and the Agreement you enter into with your clients. Your main activity is to design, plan and monitor the effectiveness of home-based applied behaviour analysis programs that are specifically and individually designed for an individual child with autism. There are numerous work elements, such as training or instruction, included as part of this overall supply of services, however, we do not consider that these individual tasks or elements carry sufficient weight on their own to warrant being considered separate supplies. Your work revolves around the effectiveness of the training plan (e.g., assessment, observation, evaluation, modification of the plan). The dominant aspect of your work revolves around the status of the designed plan. The various work elements are integral components of designing the training plan that are all intertwined, interdependent, and inextricably bound up with each other. Therefore, we conclude that the characterization of your supply is of a service of designing a training plan.
The training plans you design are for training that is specially designed to assist individuals with autism in coping with its effects or to alleviate or eliminate those effects. The training is to be given to a particular individual with autism or to another individual who provides personal care or supervision to the particular individual otherwise than in a professional capacity (e.g., parents/guardians). Therefore, the criterion in paragraph 14(a) of Part II of Schedule V is met.
Where a person acting in the capacity of a practitioner (e.g. psychologist), medical practitioner, social worker or registered nurse has certified in writing that the service of designing a training plan is an appropriate means to assist the particular child with autism in coping with the effects of the disorder or disability or to alleviate or eliminate those effects, the criterion of subparagraph 14(b)(i) of Part II of Schedule V is met.
Where you are paid by the Ministry for your services of designing a training plan with [funding] under the Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention/Applied Behaviour Analysis programs, the criterion of clause 14(b)(iii)(B) of Part II of Schedule V is met. Where the [funding] [is] exhausted (e.g., due to the approved limit being exceeded) for a particular individual, provided an amount of funding is paid for part of your services of designing a training plan for that particular individual, the criterion of clause 14(b)(iii)(B) of Part II of Schedule V is met.
Note that should the Ministry provide funding directly to your client in order to pay for your services, you are required to maintain satisfactory documentary evidence to that effect in order to substantiate that the criterion in clause 14(b)(iii)(C) has been met.
Based on the facts as described above, the criteria under section 14 of Part II of Schedule V (as it currently reads) are satisfied and supplies of your services of designing a training plan made after February 11, 2014 are exempt under section 14 of Part II of Schedule V.
However, prior to February 12, 2014, there was no exemption in the ETA for supplies of services of designing a training plan. Under section 14 of Part II of Schedule V, only supplies of training services were exempt. Therefore, supplies of your services of designing a training plan prior to February 12, 2014 were not exempt under section 14 of Part II of Schedule V. As no other exempting provision applied, supplies of your services of designing a training plan made prior to February 12, 2014 were taxable supplies.
[…].
In accordance with the qualifications and guidelines set out in GST/HST Memorandum 1.4, Excise and GST/HST Rulings and Interpretations Service, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is bound by the ruling(s) given in this letter provided that: none of the issues discussed in the ruling(s) are currently under audit, objection, or appeal; no future changes to the ETA, regulations or the CRA’s interpretative policy affect its validity; and all relevant facts and transactions have been fully and accurately disclosed.
If you require clarification with respect to any of the issues discussed in this letter, please call me directly at 905-572-2636. Should you have additional questions on the interpretation and application of GST/HST, please contact a GST/HST Rulings officer at 1-800-959-8287.
Yours truly,
Maria Forte-Long
Health Care Sectors Unit
Public Service Bodies and Governments Division
Excise and GST/HST Rulings Directorate
FOOTNOTES
1 Section 1.1 is not applicable to section 9 of Part II of Schedule V which exempts supplies of properties and services covered by provincial health insurance plans.
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