14 February 1996 GST/HST Interpretation 11645-8 - Proposal for the Imposition of GST Under Division III of the Excise Tax Act

                                                                        11645-8(ms)

                                                                        February 14, 1996

This is in response to a facsimile message from Rob Allwright dated May 12, 1995, requesting our comments with respect to the implications of the above-referenced proposal for the imposition of GST under Division III of the Excise Tax Act.

The Seasonal Residents Remission Order (P.C. 1991 - 0985) currently provides for the remission of customs duties imposed under the Customs Tariff and taxes imposed under Division III of Part IX (i.e., GST on imported goods) and any other Part of the Excise Tax Act on certain goods (household effects) that are imported by seasonal residents, subject to certain conditions.

Under the proposed change, this remission order would be repealed and replaced with a duty-free tariff item. Accordingly, these goods would generally become taxable at seven per cent upon importation, under Division III of the Excise Tax Act, assuming no other legislative provision applied which would provide non-taxable status in a particular case.

If a policy decision is made to maintain the status quo, section 1 of Schedule VII to the Excise Tax Act could be amended to include the new tariff item. This would permit non-taxable importation for the goods which qualify as duty free under the new tariff item.

If you have any questions regarding the above comments, please contact Cheryl Leyton of the GST Imports Unit at 954-5124.

H.L. Jones
Director
General Applications Division
GST Rulings and Interpretations
Policy and Legislation

Doc. # 2213 (GENL)