CRA may accept a late-filed ETA s. 211 election

The Alberta CPAs have published the May 2019 CPA Alberta CRA Roundtable. Although there was also an income tax session the GST session is more useful, as CRA declined to answer any specific technical questions in the income tax session since the Alberta CPAs were not one of the “national organizations with a national or international focus” (like the APFF?)

Respecting the ETA s. 211 election (to make otherwise exempted supplies by a public service body, such as a charity, taxable), CRA stated:

[I]f a charity has been charging the GST/HST on supplies of real property that would otherwise be exempt and has been accounting for that tax and claiming any ITCs it may be eligible to claim in its net tax calculations and remittances as if the election had been filed in accordance with subsection 211(5), the CRA may accept a late filed-election, effective as of the date the charity began charging the tax, if the charity was eligible to file the election on that date.

There was more strident language about such a late election only being accommodated in “exceptional circumstances” three months earlier at the 28 February 2019 CBA Roundtable, Q.1.

Neal Armstrong. Summary of May 2019 CPA Alberta CRA Roundtable, GST Session – Q.3 under ETA s. 211(5)(c).