Allstaff Inc. – Federal Court confirms that GST/HST remittance obligations are triggered by invoicing

The taxpayer, in seeking relief under ITA ss. 153(1.1) and 220(3.1) regarding interest and penalties on substantial arrears in its source-deduction remittances, argued that those arrears were caused by CRA incorrectly requiring it to remit GST/HST based on when it invoiced its supplies rather than when it collected those invoices.

Shirzad J found that even if the taxpayer’s ETA interpretation were correct, this would not have justified late source-deduction remittances – and that, in any, event “subsections 152(1)(a) and 168(1) of the ETA clearly indicate that the Applicant’s GST/HST payments are due on the date in which the Applicant issues its invoices.” Thus, CRA’s decision to deny relief was reasonable.

Neal Armstrong. Summary of Allstaff Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2021 FC 52 under ITA 153(1.1).