28 July 2005 GST/HST Interpretation 60913 - Delivery requirements and relief of GST on property of an Indian or Indian band situated on a reserve

Please note that the following document, although correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Agency. / Veuillez prendre note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'Agence.

Dear XXXXX:

This is in reply to your letter XXXXX concerning the application of the Goods and Services Tax (GST)/Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) to supplies of physiotherapy services made by your client.

All legislative references are to the Excise Tax Act (ETA) and the regulations therein, unless otherwise specified.

Interpretation Requested

On the basis of your letter and our telephone conversation XXXXX, we understand that your client, who is a licensed physiotherapist, will be starting a new business as a sole proprietor. The physiotherapist will be providing physiotherapy services to individuals in a private clinic. You had requested a GST/HST ruling on whether these services would be exempt or zero-rated for purposes of the ETA. As we discussed on the telephone, we are providing an interpretation on the provisions in the ETA that exempt physiotherapy services.

Interpretation Given

Section 7 of Part II of Schedule V enumerates certain services that are exempt from GST/HST when these services are supplied by a practitioner of the service and rendered to an individual. A "practitioner" is defined in section 1 of that Part as a person who practises the profession of optometry, chiropractic, physiotherapy, chiropody, podiatry, osteopathy, audiology, speech therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, or dietetics and has the appropriate license or certification in the province in which the service is supplied to practise the profession. If no license or certification is required, then the person must have the qualifications equivalent to those necessary to be licensed or certified in another province in order to fall within the meaning of "practitioner" for purposes of the ETA.

Paragraph 7(c) of Part II of Schedule V exempts a supply of a physiotherapy service rendered to an individual made by a person licensed or otherwise certified to practise the profession of physiotherapy. A physiotherapy service is not defined in the ETA. Therefore, for purposes of the exemption, it will be a question of fact whether a particular supply can reasonably be regarded as a physiotherapy service. Because physiotherapy is a regulated profession, among the factors that we would consider is the scope of the practice as described in the legislation and regulations applicable to the licence or certification in the province in which the service is supplied.

We would also consider the object and context of the interaction between the physiotherapist and the individual. For instance, a supply would fall within the exemption where the object of the supply is to treat or otherwise help the individual; i.e., where the physiotherapist's interaction with the individual occurs within the context of treating the individual for an ailment, injury, or disability, or of promoting or maintaining the individual's health.

Accordingly, a supply made by a licensed physiotherapist operating as a sole proprietor of a physiotherapy service rendered to an individual would fall within the exemption. The tax status of this supply is not affected by whether another party, such as the individual's private insurer, pays the physiotherapist directly for this supply nor is the tax status affected by the location where the physiotherapist renders the service.

The foregoing comments represent our general views with respect to the subject matter of your request. These comments are not rulings and, in accordance with the guidelines set out in GST/HST Memorandum 1.4, Goods and Services Tax Rulings, do not bind the Canada Revenue Agency with respect to a particular situation. Future changes to the ETA, regulations, or our interpretative policy could affect this interpretation.

If you require clarification with respect to any of the issues discussed in this letter, please call me directly at (613) 952-6761.

Yours truly,

Susan Eastman
Municipalities and Health Care Services Unit
Public Service Bodies and Governments Division
Excise and GST/HST Rulings Directorate

2005/07/05 — RITS 61521 — Buy-One-Jug- XXXXX Get-One- XXXXX -Free Coupon