Section 282

CRA indicated that where a reporting platform operator also sells goods in its own name directly via its platform, such a reporting platform operator, it is not a “seller” for purposes of s. 292, as it did not register on the platform for the purpose of being connected to a platform user for the sale of goods.

The operator (the “Operator”) of a proprietary digital platform (the “Platform”), who was also an equipment manufacturer, allowed independent vendors (the “Vendors”) to list their goods for sale on the Platform to select customers. Orders were initiated via the platform by such customers, but once confirmed, the Platform was no longer involved in the transaction, which was completed by the Vendors in the same manner as sales made outside of the Platform. The Operator had access to order data captured at the time of transaction initiation, such as the value of the orders, but had no visibility into subsequent developments, such as fulfillment, final sale price, or any modifications to the order.

Regarding what assumptions the reporting platform operator could make in relation to its reporting obligations, CRA noted that the OECD commentary on the platform reporting rules indicated that, under certain circumstances, the reporting platform operator's knowledge of the seller's listed price posted on the platform could render the amount of consideration reasonably knowable to the reporting platform operator. CRA then indicated that, generally, if a particular seller was determined by a reporting platform operator to be a reportable seller, CRA expected the operator to report the information set out in s. 292, including the total consideration paid or credited during each quarter of the reportable period. The CRA reiterated that if the reporting platform operator knew the total value of orders placed with the seller, this could make the seller's consideration "reasonably knowable" to the reporting platform operator as per the definition of consideration.