26 April 2018 GST/HST Ruling 175073 - Eligibility to an 83% public service body rebate

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, 11th floor
320 Queen Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5

Case Number: 175073

Dear [Client]:

Subject: GST/HST RULING
Eligibility to an 83% public service body rebate

Thank you for your letter of January 8, 2016 concerning the […] (the Corporation)’s eligibility to claim the 83% public service body (PSB) rebate of the goods and services tax (GST) and the federal part of the harmonized sales tax (HST), and an 87% PSB rebate of the provincial part of the HST, under section 259 of the Excise Tax Act (ETA) in respect of its activities. We apologize for the delay in our response.

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 ETA unless otherwise specified.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

We understand the facts to be:

1. The Corporation is a registered charity within the meaning assigned to that expression by subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act, and is a charity for purposes of the ETA.

2. The Corporation operates […](the Facility) and […][other property].

3. The Facility which is located in […][City 1] is a […] long-term care home for seniors, […]. At the Facility, staff takes […][care of seniors with multiple health issues].

4. The Facility’s interdisciplinary professional healthcare team includes physicians, nurses, a physiotherapist and physiotherapist assistant, a dietician, pharmacists, a recreation therapist and social workers.

5. The Corporation holds a Long-Term Care Home Licence, pursuant to the Long-term Care Homes Act, 2007, issued by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC).

6. Individuals wishing to apply for admission to the Facility must contact a Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) for eligibility.

7. All of the Facility’s residents have nursing needs that cannot be met through home care. Publicly-funded community-based services available to a person, and other caregiving, support or companionship arrangements available to the person, are not sufficient, in any combination, to meet the person’s requirements, and this results in their needing to reside in a long-term care facility.

8. Most residents suffer from some form of dementia and usually have complex medical problems. All residents require personal care, registered nursing services on-site at all times, and medication administration.

9. The Corporation provides a range of services to the Facility’s residents to meet their health care needs including, for example, nursing, physiotherapy, music therapy, pastoral care services, occupational therapy and dietetic services.

10. At frequent intervals throughout the day, all residents require assistance with activities of daily living and on-site supervision or on-site monitoring to ensure their safety or well-being.

11. A tailored care plan is created for each resident, documented and implemented. Resident care plans cover aspects such as the resident’s medical history, treatments, therapeutic interventions, dietary needs, and the resident’s requirements regarding the activities of daily living.

12. Medical care includes such activities as the administration of medications, treatment and therapies.

13. All residents are under the care of a physician, who is either associated with the Facility or has a pre-existing relationship with the resident.

14. Physicians visit all residents frequently (e.g., bi-weekly). Physicians are at, or on-call to attend, the Facility at all times. All residents have a physician on-call at all times.

15. Physicians provide substantial medical care (e.g., addressing medical concerns), due to residents requiring such care. Their services consist of such activities as assessing patients, providing physical examinations and making diagnoses, and making treatment decisions.

16. Physicians regularly review and, as necessary adjust the treatment of acute medical conditions, chronic health conditions and medication management of residents.

17. Physicians review resident diets. They also participate in medication reviews for each resident with relevant members of the Facility’s health care team. Reviews are performed quarterly or when there is a change in the status of a resident.

18. Physicians participate on an interdisciplinary health care team and attend interdisciplinary meetings regarding residents. They engage collaboratively with the team, for example, to determine a mutually agreeable approach that enables the development and modification of resident care plans.

19. Physicians discuss the course of resident treatment with nursing staff and with the health care team.

20. Physicians make notes on health records which are used by other registered health care disciplines involved in the residents’ care.

21. The Corporation has an Attending Physician Agreement with physicians. The Agreement indicates, in part, that the physician: […][list of duties]:

Appendix A to the Agreement lists the services for which the physician is responsible: […]

22. The Facility has a Medical Director. The Agreement between the Corporation and the Medical Director indicates that the Medical Director’s duties include, in part, to: […]

23. Nurses ensure individual resident care plans, as prescribed by physicians, are carried out.

24. Registered Nurses are at the Facility at all times, and are in regular communication with physicians to keep physicians up-to-date.

25. Personal support workers and health care aides work at the Facility. They carry out individual resident care plans as prescribed by physicians and nursing staff. Their main work is assisting with the activities of daily living of residents (feeding, bathing, etc.).

26. The CCAC provides additional services, such as occupational therapy, speech pathology and nurse specialists to address complex needs.

27. A report of therapeutic health care services (Footnote 1) indicates […] hours of services being rendered per resident per day.

28. […]

29. […]

30. The Corporation receives funding from the Government of Ontario which is to be used by the Corporation to provide health services (health services include accommodation, programs, dietary services, goods, social work services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, personal care and skilled nursing care). The Service Accountability Agreement that the Corporation currently has with the Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) defines “services” to be provided, […]

RULING REQUESTED

You would like to know whether the Corporation is entitled to claim an 83% PSB rebate of the GST and the federal part of the HST and, as a person resident in Ontario, an 87% rebate of the provincial part of the HST, as a facility operator.

RULING GIVEN

Based on the facts set out above, we rule that the Corporation is a facility operator making facility supplies at a qualifying facility, that is, the Facility.

As such, the Corporation is eligible to claim an 83% PSB rebate of the GST and the federal part of the HST for non-creditable tax charged (Footnote 2) in respect of property or services to the extent that the property or services are for consumption, use or supply in activities engaged in by the Corporation in the course of operating the Facility for use in making facility supplies, or in the course of making facility supplies.

In addition, the Corporation, as a facility operator resident only in Ontario, is also eligible to claim an 87% PSB rebate of the provincial part of the HST for non-creditable tax charged in respect of property or services to the extent that the property or services are for consumption, use or supply in activities engaged in by the Corporation in Ontario in the course of operating the Facility for use in making facility supplies, or in the course of making facility supplies.

This ruling is subject to the qualifications in GST/HST Memorandum 1.4, Excise and GST/HST Rulings and Interpretations Service. We are bound by this ruling provided that none of the above issues are currently under audit, objection, or appeal, that no future changes to the ETA, regulations or our interpretative policy affect its validity, and all relevant facts and transactions have been fully disclosed.

EXPLANATION

To be eligible for an 83% PSB rebate of the GST and the federal part of the HST, and in the case of a person resident in Ontario, an 87% PSB rebate of the provincial part of the HST (hereafter these two rebates will be referred to as the “83% (and 87%) PSB rebate”), paid or payable on its purchases and expenses related to the making of facility supplies, the person must be a “hospital authority”, a “facility operator” or an “external supplier”.

Hospital Authority

A “hospital authority” is defined in subsection 123(1) as “an organization that operates a public hospital and that is designated by the Minister [of National Revenue] as a hospital authority” for GST/HST purposes.

The Corporation does not operate a public hospital and is not designated as a hospital authority.

Therefore, to determine whether there is eligibility for the 83% (and 87%) PSB rebate, it is necessary to determine whether the Corporation is a “facility operator” or an “external supplier”.

Facility Operator

A “facility operator” is defined in subsection 259(1) as meaning “a charity, a public institution or a qualifying non-profit organization (other than a hospital authority), that operates a qualifying facility”.

As the Corporation is a charity, it meets the first requirement of the definition. In order to meet the second requirement, the Corporation must operate a “qualifying facility”.

Subsection 259(2.1) sets out three criteria that must be met for a facility, or part of a facility, other than a public hospital, to be a qualifying facility, for a fiscal year, or any part of a fiscal year, of the operator of the facility or part.

A facility or part of a facility will be considered a qualifying facility if:

(a) supplies of services that are ordinarily rendered during that fiscal year or part to the public at the facility or part would be facility supplies if the references in the definition of “facility supply” in subsection 259(1) to “public hospital or qualifying facility” were references to the facility or part;

(b) an amount, other than a nominal amount, is paid or payable to the operator as qualifying funding in respect of the facility or part for the fiscal year or part; and

(c) an accreditation, licence or other authorization that is recognized or provided for under a law of Canada or a province in respect of facilities for the provision of health care services applies to the facility or part during that fiscal year or part.

The requirements contained in (a) to (c) above must be met in order for a particular facility to be a “qualifying facility” for purposes of section 259. A discussion of these requirements follows.

Facility Supply

Subsection 259(1) defines the term “facility supply” as

“an exempt supply (other than a prescribed supply) of property or a service in respect of which

(a) the property is made available, or the service is rendered, to an individual at a public hospital or qualifying facility as part of a medically necessary process of health care for the individual for the purpose of maintaining health, preventing disease, diagnosing or treating an injury, illness or disability or providing palliative health care, which process

(i) is undertaken in whole or in part at the public hospital or qualifying facility,

(ii) is reasonably expected to take place under the active direction or supervision, or with the active involvement, of

(A) a physician acting in the course of the practise of medicine,

(B) a midwife acting in the course of the practise of midwifery,

(C) if a physician is not readily accessible in the geographic area in which the process takes place, a nurse practitioner acting in the course of the practise of a nurse practitioner, or

(D) a prescribed person acting in prescribed circumstances, and

(iii) in the case of chronic care that requires the individual to stay overnight at the public hospital or qualifying facility, requires or is reasonably expected to require that

(A) a registered nurse be at the public hospital or qualifying facility at all times when the individual is at the public hospital or qualifying facility,

(B) a physician or, if a physician is not readily accessible in the geographic area in which the process takes place, a nurse practitioner, be at, or be on-call to attend at, the public hospital or qualifying facility at all times when the individual is at the public hospital or qualifying facility,

(C) throughout the process, the individual be subject to medical management and receive a range of therapeutic health care services that includes registered nursing care, and

(D) it not be the case that all or substantially all of each calendar day or part during which the individual stays at the public hospital or qualifying facility is time during which the individual does not receive therapeutic health care services referred to in clause (C), and

(b) if the supplier does not operate the public hospital or qualifying facility, an amount, other than a nominal amount, is paid or payable as medical funding to the supplier.”

A “physician” is defined in subsection 259(1) as “a person who is entitled under the laws of a province to practise the profession of medicine”.

The definition of “facility supply” is to be applied on a supply-by-supply basis. To be a “facility supply”, the property made available or the service rendered to an individual at the public hospital or qualifying facility must be an exempt supply (other than a prescribed supply). Exempt supplies are listed in Schedule V to the ETA.

Section 1 of Part V.1 of Schedule V exempts supplies of property or a service made by a charity unless specifically excluded under paragraphs (a) to (p) of that section. As the Corporation is a charity, the supplies it makes to the residents would generally be exempt under section 1 of Part V.1 of Schedule V.

Section 2 of Part II of Schedule V exempts a supply of an institutional health care service made by the operator of a health care facility if the institutional health care service is rendered to a patient or resident of the facility. The terms “institutional health care service” and “health care facility” are defined in section 1 of Part II of Schedule V. This section may also apply to exempt supplies of services that the Corporation makes.

Paragraph (a), subparagraphs (a)(i) and (a)(ii), and clause (a)(ii)(A) of the definition of “facility supply” further require that the exempt supply of property be made available, or the exempt supply of a service be rendered, at a public hospital or qualifying facility and be part of a medically necessary process of health care for an individual for the purpose of maintaining health, preventing disease, diagnosing or treating an injury, illness or disability or providing palliative care. This process must be undertaken in whole or in part at the public hospital or qualifying facility and reasonably be expected to take place under the active direction or supervision, or with the active involvement, of a physician acting in the course of practise of medicine (or in certain circumstances, a midwife, a nurse practitioner or a prescribed person in prescribed circumstances).

In circumstances where chronic care requires the individual to stay overnight at the public hospital or qualifying facility, the definition of “facility supply” in subsection 259(1) provides that the process must require, or reasonably be expected to require, the additional elements referred to in clauses (a)(iii)(A) to (D) of the definition of “facility supply”. That is, a registered nurse must be at the public hospital or qualifying facility at all times when the individual is there; a physician or, if a physician is not readily accessible in the geographic area in which the process takes place, a nurse practitioner, must be at, or be on-call to attend at, the public hospital or qualifying facility at all times when the individual is there; the individual must be subject to medical management and receive a range of therapeutic health care services that includes registered nursing care; and it must not be the case that all or substantially all of each calendar day or part during which the individual stays at the public hospital or qualifying facility is time during which the individual does not receive therapeutic health care services.

The decision of the Tax Court of Canada in Elim Housing Society v The Queen (2013-148(GST)G) addressed the question as to whether Elim Housing Society (Elim) was a facility operator operating a qualifying facility. In this decision, the judge determined that Elim was entitled to claim the 83% PSB rebate as a facility operator operating a qualifying facility based on the presence of the following elements which indicated Elim to be making facility supplies:

• all of the residents had conditions that required “complex care” as that term was defined in a policy manual of the B.C. Ministry of Health Services;

• the residents were extremely dependent on care either by reason of mental or physical impairment, or both;

• residents were under the care of a physician, who was either associated with the facility or had a pre-existing relationship with the resident;

• a tailored care plan was created for each resident, documented and implemented:

• detailed records were kept on the implementation of the care plans,
• medication reviews were required every six months, and
• inter-disciplinary meetings were held annually;

• physicians visited residents frequently (e.g., roughly on a bi-weekly basis);

• physicians were at, or on-call to attend, the facility at all times;

• physicians provided substantial medical care (e.g., addressed medical concerns, participated in medication reviews, attended interdisciplinary meetings);

• registered nurses were at the facility at all times, and nurses were in regular communication with physicians for prescription or advice;

• the facility received funding for 2.8 hours of care per resident per day (the calculation was based on scheduled staffing hours);

• the care provided was of a different type than ordinary assistance with activities of daily living that a more robust individual might require.

After comparing the services and the care provided at the Facility to its residents to the elements described in Elim, we are of the view that facility supplies are provided at the Facility by the Corporation.

As mentioned above, subsection 259(2.1) sets out three criteria that must be met in order for a facility or part of a facility to be considered a qualifying facility for all or part of a fiscal year. The first criterion that must be met, under paragraph 259(2.1)(a), is that the exempt supplies made at the qualifying facility must be facility supplies. The exempt supplies that are facility supplies made by the Corporation would meet this first criterion.

Qualifying Funding

The second criterion that must be met under paragraph 259(2.1)(b) for a facility to be a “qualifying facility” is that an amount, other than a nominal amount, is paid or payable to the operator as qualifying funding in respect of the facility or part for the fiscal year or part.

Subsection 259(1) defines “qualifying funding” of the operator of a facility for all or part of a fiscal year of the operator as meaning “a readily ascertainable amount of money (including a forgivable loan but not including any other loan or a refund, remission or rebate of, or credit in respect of, taxes, duties or fees imposed under any statute) that is paid or payable to the operator in respect of the delivery of health care services to the public for the purpose of financially assisting in operating the facility during the fiscal year or part, as consideration for an exempt supply of making the facility available for use in making facility supplies at the facility during the fiscal year or part or as consideration for facility supplies of property that are made available, or services that are rendered, at the facility during the fiscal year or part and is paid or payable by

(a) a government, or

(b) a person that is a charity, a public institution or a qualifying non-profit organization

(i) one of the purposes of which is organizing or coordinating the delivery of health care services to the public, and

(ii) in respect of which it is reasonable to expect that a government will be the primary source of funding for the activities of the person that are in respect of the delivery of health care services to the public during the fiscal year of the person in which the supply is made.”

The Province of Ontario is a major source of funds for the operation. The Corporation receives funding paid by the Province in order to support the provision of the various services rendered to the residents. The Corporation is to provide health services (including accommodation, programs, dietary services, goods, social work services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, personal and skilled nursing care). This criterion is thus satisfied.

Accreditation, licence or other authorization

The third criterion that must be met under paragraph 259(2.1)(c) for a facility, or part of a facility, other than a public hospital, to be a qualifying facility for a fiscal year, or any part of a fiscal year of the operator of the facility, or part, is that an accreditation, licence or other authorization that is recognized or provided for under a law of Canada or a province in respect of facilities for the provision of health care services applies to the facility or part during that fiscal year or part.

The Corporation has a Long-Term Care Home Licence issued by the MOHLTC pursuant to the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 for the Facility. The Corporation is, therefore, authorized to operate a long-term care home (i.e., the Facility).

Thus the third criterion that must be met under paragraph 259(2.1)(c) for a facility to be a qualifying facility is satisfied.

Overall summary

To summarize, the Facility meets all of the requirements of paragraphs (a) to (c) of the definition of “qualifying facility” in subsection 259(2.1) and, as a result, the Corporation is a facility operator for purposes of section 259. Accordingly, the Corporation qualifies for an 83% PSB rebate of the GST and the federal part of the HST and an 87% PSB rebate for the provincial part of the HST for non-creditable tax charged in respect of property and services, to the extent that the property and services are for consumption, use or supply in activities engaged in by the Corporation in the course of operating the Facility for use in making facility supplies, or in the course of making facility supplies.

For supplies that the Corporation makes which are not facility supplies, the 83% (and 87%) PSB rebate may still be available if the supplies are “ancillary supplies” or “home medical supplies”.

As the Corporation is a facility operator, it is not an external supplier, since the definition of “external supplier” in subsection 259(1) excludes a facility operator.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

As there is no indication that the Corporation is involved in the provision of ancillary supplies or home medical supplies, we offer the following information for your reference.

Ancillary supplies

Subsection 259(1) defines an “ancillary supply” to mean

“a) an exempt supply of a service of organizing or coordinating the making of facility supplies or home medical supplies in respect of which supply an amount, other than a nominal amount, is paid or payable to the supplier as medical funding, or

(b) the portion of an exempt supply (other than a facility supply, a home medical supply or a prescribed supply) of property or a service (other than a financial service) that represents the extent to which the property or service is, or is reasonably expected to be, consumed or used for making a facility supply and in respect of which portion an amount, other than a nominal amount, is paid or payable to the supplier as medical funding.”

Home medical supply

Subsection 259(1) defines a “home medical supply” to mean

“an exempt supply (other than a facility supply or a prescribed supply) of property or a service

(a) that is made

(i) as part of a medically necessary process of health care for an individual for the purpose of maintaining health, preventing disease, diagnosing or treating an injury, illness or disability or providing palliative health care, and

(ii) after a physician acting in the course of the practise of medicine, or a prescribed person acting in prescribed circumstances, has identified or confirmed that it is appropriate for the process to take place at the individual’s place of residence or lodging (other than a public hospital or a qualifying facility),

(b) in respect of which the property is made available, or the service is rendered, to the individual at the individual’s place of residence or lodging (other than a public hospital or a qualifying facility), on the authorization of a person who is responsible for coordinating the process and under circumstances in which it is reasonable to expect that the person will carry out that responsibility in consultation with, or with ongoing reference to instructions for the process given by, a physician acting in the course of the practise of medicine, or a prescribed person acting in prescribed circumstances,

(c) all or substantially all of which is of property or a service other than meals, accommodation, domestic services of an ordinary household nature, assistance with the activities of daily living and social, recreational and other related services to meet the psycho-social needs of the individual, and

(d) in respect of which an amount, other than a nominal amount, is paid or payable as medical funding to the supplier.”

Subsection 259(1) defines “medical funding” of a supplier in respect of a supply to be

“an amount of money (including a forgivable loan but not including any other loan or a refund, remission or rebate of, or credit in respect of, taxes, duties or fees imposed under any statute) that is paid or payable to the supplier in respect of health care services for the purpose of financially assisting the supplier in making the supply or as consideration for the supply by

(a) a government, or

(b) a person that is a charity, a public institution or a qualifying non-profit organization

(i) one of the purposes of which is organizing or coordinating the delivery of health care services to the public, and

(ii) in respect of which it is reasonable to expect that a government will be the primary source of funding for the activities of the person that are in respect of the delivery of health care services to the public during the fiscal year of the person in which the supply is made.”

Calculation of the PSB rebate

The rules in section 259 of the ETA provide that the PSB rebate is calculated and claimed on a claim period by claim period basis. The claim periods of a GST/HST registrant are the same as the reporting periods for its GST/HST returns (i.e., annually, quarterly or monthly). A PSB that is not a GST/HST registrant has two claim periods per fiscal year – the first six months and the last six months of its fiscal year.

A PSB claims its rebate on a property-by-property or service-by-service basis. It is the intended consumption, use or supply of a particular property or service at the relevant time that determines the PSB rebate entitlement for the non-creditable GST or HST paid on that property or service, not the overall activities of the PSB. Generally, the relevant time will be the time the supply was made to, or the property was imported or brought into Ontario by, the Corporation.

The Corporation’s entitlement to an 83% (and 87%) PSB rebate may be limited and require apportionment where the tax paid or payable is for activities that do not qualify for the rebate, unless subsection 259(14) applies.

Subsection 259(14) provides that:

“For the purposes of this section, if a person incurs all or substantially all of the tax that is included in determining the amount of the non-creditable tax charged in respect of property or a service for a claim period of the person acting in the person's capacity as a hospital authority, a facility operator or an external supplier, the person is deemed to have incurred all of the tax that is included in determining that amount in the course of fulfilling the person's responsibilities as a hospital authority, a facility operator or an external supplier, as the case may be.”

The CRA defines “all or substantially all” to mean 90% or more. Generally, subsection 259(14) means that where the Corporation incurs 90% or more of the GST/HST for a property or a service acquired in its capacity as a facility operator (e.g., for use in making facility supplies), all of that GST/HST is deemed to have been incurred in that capacity. As such, the Corporation could claim a PSB rebate for that property or service at the rate of 83% for the GST and the federal part of the HST and, as a resident only in Ontario, at 87% for the provincial part of the HST. For example, if the Corporation incurs GST/HST on its utilities, and the Corporation determines it incurs 93% of the GST/HST in its activities as a facility operator for making facility supplies, the Corporation may claim 100% of the GST/HST it pays on the utilities using the 83% (and 87%) PSB rebate rates.

Please note that the wording of subsection 259(14) requires an allocation to be performed for each property or service identified in the claim period.

Rebate for purchases that do not qualify for 83% rebate

As a charity for purposes of the GST/HST, the Corporation is eligible to claim a 50% PSB rebate of the GST and the federal part of the HST paid or payable on eligible purchases and expenses intended for consumption, use or supply in activities engaged in by the Corporation otherwise than in the course of operating the Facility for use in making facility supplies, or in the course of making facility supplies.

As the Corporation is only resident in Ontario, it is also eligible for an 82% PSB rebate of the provincial part of the HST paid or payable on eligible purchases and expenses intended for consumption, use or supply in activities engaged in by the Corporation otherwise than in the course of operating the Facility for use in making facility supplies, or in the course of making facility supplies.

PSB rebates from previous periods

The Corporation may find that it has GST/HST that was paid or payable but has not been claimed in a rebate or that it has claimed rebates in respect of certain activities at an incorrect rate. The requirements for claiming such additional rebate amounts are not the same and are described in detail below.

Where a person has made an application for a PSB rebate for a particular claim period and later discovers additional GST/HST that was paid or payable in that claim period but was not claimed, subsection 259(6.1) may apply. Where certain conditions are met, new subsection 259(6.1) allows a PSB to claim a rebate in respect of property or a service for a particular claim period in a rebate application for a subsequent claim period ending after September 8, 2017. If a PSB has not claimed a rebate in respect of property or a service for a particular claim period, new subsection 259(6.1) allows the rebate to be carried forward where the following four conditions are met:

• The PSB did not claim the rebate in the application for any other claim period;
• The application for the subsequent claim period is filed within two years after

• if the person is a registrant, the day on or before which the person is required to file its GST/HST return for the particular claim period, and
• if the person is not a registrant, the day that is three months after the last day of the particular claim period;

• The PSB did not change the claimant type under which it was eligible to claim PSB rebates at any time from the beginning of the claim period in which the GST/HST was paid or payable to the end of the subsequent claim period; and
• The applicable rebate factor(s) did not change at any time from the beginning of the claim period in which the GST/HST was paid or payable to the end of the subsequent claim period.

Subsection 259(6.1) does not apply in situations where a person has claimed a PSB rebate in respect of a property or service and later finds out that it was eligible to claim the rebate at a higher rate. If the Corporation has already claimed a PSB rebate for a claim period and subsequently discovers that the rebate was not claimed at the proper rate, the Corporation must adjust the previously filed rebate application to claim a PSB rebate at the higher rate. The Corporation cannot include the additional rebate amount in the PSB rebate application for a different claim period. For more information on how to adjust a previously filed rebate claim, see "How do you make changes to a rebate application you already filed?" in GST/HST Guide RC4034, GST/HST Public Service Bodies' Rebate. A reassessment or additional assessment of a rebate claim shall not normally be made more than four years after the day the application for the rebate was filed.

For more information on the calculation of the rebate, please refer to the GST/HST guide, RC4034, GST/HST Public Service Bodies' Rebate. This guide is available on our website.

If you require clarification with respect to any of the issues discussed in this letter, please call me directly at 613-670-7935. 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,

John Ware
Health Care Sectors Unit
Public Service Bodies and Governments Division
Excise and GST/HST Rulings Directorate

FOOTNOTES

1 “Therapeutic health care services” are those services which alleviate medical concerns or specifically address the special health care needs detailed in resident care plans. Therapeutic health care services time includes that of registered nurses, health care aides, and therapists which are worked according to resident care plans.

2 In general terms, "non-creditable tax charged" means the GST/HST paid or payable on property or services for which the Corporation cannot claim an input tax credit, rebate, refund or remission other than a PSB rebate.