Place of supply – IPP relating to goods

Use the following rules to determine which  GST/HST rate applies for intangible personal property (IPP) relating to:

• Goods located in one province
• Goods located in more than one province

Since goods can be moved from one location to another, the ruled for IPP that relate to goods are based on the ordinary location of the goods at any given time. When we mention the location of goods on this page, we are referring to the ordinary location of those goods.

Goods located in one province

If your supply of IPP relates to goods that are entirely located in one province, GST/HST applies at the rate for that province.

Goods in more than one province

If you make a single supply of IPP that relates to goods located in more than one province, use the following rules to determine the GST/HST rate.

IPP relating to goods located in two provinces

If your supply of IPP relates to goods that are located in two provinces, GST/HST applies at the rate for the province where the goods are primarily located.

If exactly 50% of the goods are located in a participating province and 50% in a non-participating province, GST applies at the rate of 5%.

IPP relating to goods in more than two provinces

You must first determine if the goods are located primarily in participating provinces or at least 50% in non-participating provinces.

If the IPP relates to goods that are located at least 50% in the non-participating provinces, GST applies at the rate of 5%.

IPP relating to goods located primarily in the participating provinces

If your supply of IPP relates to goods that are located primarily in the participating provinces, HST applies at the rate for the participating province where the greatest portion of the goods are located.

If there is not a province with the greatest portion of the goods, HST generally applies a the highest rate among the provinces where the goods are located, if the following conditions are met:

• the goods are located primarily in the participating provinces
• the goods are located equally in two or more participating provinces
• a greater portion of the goods are not located in any other participating province

However, in that situation, if the provinces where the goods are equally located have the same highest rate, HST applies at the rate for the province where your business address that is most closely connected with the supply is located.

Forms and publications

• GST/HST Technical Information Bulletin B-103, Harmonized Sales Tax - Place of supply rules for determining whether a supply is made in a province

Date modified:

2016-07-07