10 May 1999 GST/HST Interpretation HQR0001756 - Supplies Made by a Charity

This is concerning an e-mail you sent me on April 21, 1999, regarding the exemption provided in section 3 of Part V.1 of Schedule V. More specifically, you have a case where a charity sells admission tickets to professional performances that take place over a four day period. The tickets are sold on a regular and continuous period for 11 months prior to the performances through a professional ticket agency.

You would like confirmation that the time frame over which the tickets are sold is long enough to exclude the charity from the fund-raising exemption found in section 3 of Part V.1 of Schedule V. It is your understanding that the criterion used in these instances is the period of the ticket sales and not the performance period.

We agree with the above interpretation of section 3 of Part V.1 of Schedule V. That is, in accordance with section 3 of Part V.1 of Schedule V to the Excise Tax Act, and subject to the exceptions specified in that section, supplies of most types of personal property or services made by a charity in the course of a fund[-]raising activity are exempt provided the charity does not make (or agree to make) such sales on a regular or continuous basis throughout the year or a significant portion of the year. Where admissions to a performance are sold in advance, we view the period over which the admissions are sold as the critical period in applying section 3 of Part V.1, rather than the period of the performances.

Should you have any further questions or require clarification on the above matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at (613) 952-0329.