CRA maintains its position that the provincial Crown exemption does not apply to Alberta employees using their own credit card for provincial purchases

CRA has significantly expanded its GST/HST Memorandum on Provincial Governments, but by way of expanding its exposition of its positions rather than changing them.

All the provincial governments collect GST on the taxable supplies made by them, with various departments (and often various Crown agents) using the same provincial registration number, but with different filings (presumably using different branch suffixes) made for each department or agency.

All of the provinces other than Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, have agreed with the federal government to a “pay-and-rebate” model, under which all government departments and Crown agents pay the GST/HST at the time of purchase and listed entities (authorized Crown agents) subsequently claim a government rebate of 100% of the GST/HST paid or payable.

Listed entities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Yukon do not pay the GST/HST on purchases of taxable property and services, provided that an authorized official of the listed entity provides sufficient evidence to the supplier that the supplies are being purchased by a listed entity on its own behalf (as to which, CRA provides a suggested form of exemption certificate).

Otherwise taxable purchases made by employees of a listed entity in the employee’s own name (e.g., hotel and meal expenses) are subject to GST/HST even if the employee makes the purchase in the course of employment (unless the purchase is made using a credit card for which the listed entity employer is solely liable.) (This position seems to implicitly assume that it is legally impossible for an employee to purchase as agent of the employer. Absence of agency might be the case for travel expense reports which the employer might not approve, but will not always be the case, e.g., where the expenditure has been pre-approved or the employee has been accorded broad authority.)

Neal Armstrong. Summaries of GST/HST Memorandum 18-2 “Provincial Governments” February 2020 under ETA s. 122(b), s. 122, s. 239(2), s. 146, Sched. V, Pt. VI, s. 10, s. 20.