July 2010

On July 12, 2010, the Jobs and Economic Growth Act (Bill C-9) received Royal Assent. This act contains the legislative amendments to the Excise Act, 2001 required to implement a new stamping regime for tobacco products. These amendments establish the legislative framework required to support the announcements made on September 4, 2008 and September 14, 2009 by the Minister of National Revenue regarding the new stamping regime for tobacco products.

The implementation date of the new stamping regime, as set out in the formula contained in the legislative amendments, is September 1, 2010. At that time, the new excise stamp can be applied to tobacco products destined for the Canadian duty-paid market. Please note that the excise stamp must be applied in accordance with the proposals to amend the stamping regulations issued on September 14, 2009. For more information on the new stamping regime for tobacco products, see the News Release of September 14, 2009 and Fact sheet, on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Web site.

It is anticipated that the proposed regulatory amendments will be published in the Canada Gazette in the fall of 2010 and will apply retroactively to the implementation date of September 1, 2010. Also, the legislative amendments include a transitional period between the implementation date and March 31, 2011, during which time, tobacco products may be stamped in compliance with the current stamping regime or with the new excise stamp in compliance with the new stamping regime for tobacco products.

Effective April 1, 2011, all domestically manufactured tobacco products entered into the Canadian duty-paid market or imported tobacco products released under the Customs Act for entry into the duty-paid market must be stamped with the new excise stamp.

The Excise Act, 2001 restricts the production of the excise stamp to a CRA authorized stamp provider and restricts distribution to tobacco licensees and CRA prescribed persons who import tobacco products into the duty-paid market . An excise duty notice will soon be published to outline the process of becoming a prescribed person.

To order the excise stamp, tobacco licensees and prescribed persons must register with the CRA and provide security in a form satisfactory to the Minister and in an amount determined in accordance with the proposed regulations. Purchasers of excise stamps will also be required to enter into a supply arrangement with the authorized stamp provider. An excise duty notice will soon be published to provide guidance for ordering excise stamps. The CRA will forward this excise duty notice to identified tobacco licensees and persons who import tobacco products into the Canadian duty-paid market. If you do not receive this information, you may contact any CRA regional excise duty office or the excise stamp order desk to obtain copies.

A list of all regional excise duty offices is available in Excise Duty Memorandum 1.1.2, Regional Excise Duty Offices. The excise stamp order desk can be reached at the following address:

Excise Stamp Order Desk
Canada Revenue Agency
Excise Duties and Taxes Division
Strategic Policy and Program Improvement
320 Queen Street, 20th floor
Ottawa, ON K1A 0L5
Telephone: 1-866-330-3304
Fax: 613-954-2226
Email: Tobacco.stamp@cra.gc.ca

For more information on the legislative amendments, please see Part 2 of the Jobs and Economic Growth Act or contact any CRA regional excise duty office or the excise stamp order desk.