Leave a comment

Due to significant operator costs, the Ontario government will not penalize vendors who do not transition their systems to accommodate the eight per cent point-of-sale (POS) tax exemption on take-out foods for First Nations status cardholders. 

Where the POS tax exemption is not provided, First Nations status cardholders can submit receipts to the Ministry of Revenue to receive refunds for the provincial portion of the HST for all eligible off-reserve purchases (similar to the interim agreement in July and August).

In June, the province announced that starting Sept. 1, 2010, First Nations status cardholders are qualified to receive an exemption on the provincial part of the HST on all take-out meals.

Previously, only food and beverage deliveries to a reserve qualified for the tax exemption. However, in practice, the exemption was sometimes extended to First Nations status cardholders who picked up take-out items themselves from companies offering a delivery service. Therefore, for many operators that do not offer delivery, a POS exemption would now require costly reprogramming or replacement of their existing systems.

CRFA has prepared a letter for operators to use at point-of-sale in response to queries from customers who are First Nations status cardholders. Click here to read and download the letter.