Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada

Search

Excise Tax Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-15)

Full Document:  

Act current to 2024-08-18 and last amended on 2024-06-28. Previous Versions

Excise Tax Act

R.S.C., 1985, c. E-15

An Act respecting excise taxes

Application provisions are not included in the consolidated text; see relevant amending Acts.

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

 This Act may be cited as the Excise Tax Act.

  • [NOTE: Application provisions are not included in the consolidated text
  • see relevant amending Acts and regulations.]
  • R.S., c. E-13, s. 1

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

  •  (1) The following definitions apply in this section, Parts I to VIII (other than section 121) and Schedules I to IV:

    accredited representative

    accredited representative[Repealed, 2002, c. 22, s. 366]

    Agency

    Agency means the Canada Revenue Agency continued by subsection 4(1) of the Canada Revenue Agency Act; (Agence)

    Atlantic manufactured tobacco

    Atlantic manufactured tobacco[Repealed, 2001, c. 16, s. 16]

    bank

    bank means a bank or an authorized foreign bank within the meaning of section 2 of the Bank Act; (banque)

    black stock

    black stock[Repealed, 2002, c. 22, s. 413]

    black stock cigarettes

    black stock cigarettes[Repealed, 2002, c. 22, s. 413]

    black stock manufactured tobacco

    black stock manufactured tobacco[Repealed, 2001, c. 16, s. 16]

    cigar

    cigar[Repealed, 2002, c. 22, s. 366]

    cigarette

    cigarette[Repealed, 2002, c. 22, s. 366]

    Commissioner

    Commissioner means the Commissioner of Revenue appointed under section 25 of the Canada Revenue Agency Act; (commissaire)

    cosmetics

    cosmetics means goods, whether possessing therapeutic or prophylactic properties or not, commonly or commercially known as toilet articles, preparations or cosmetics, that are intended for use or application for toilet purposes, or for use in connection with the care of the human body, including the hair, nails, eyes, teeth, or any other part or parts thereof, whether for cleansing, deodorizing, beautifying, preserving or restoring, and includes toilet soaps, shaving soaps and shaving creams, skin creams and lotions, shampoos, mouth washes, oral rinses, toothpastes, tooth powders, denture creams and adhesives, antiseptics, bleaches, depilatories, perfumes, scents and similar preparations; (cosmétiques)

    diesel fuel

    diesel fuel includes any fuel oil that is suitable for use in internal combustion engines of the compression-ignition type, other than any such fuel oil that is intended for use and is actually used as heating oil; (combustible diesel)

    document

    document includes money, a security and a record; (document)

    duty free shop

    duty free shop has the meaning assigned by subsection 2(1) of the Customs Act; (boutique hors taxes)

    foreign duty free shop

    foreign duty free shop means a retail store that is located in a country other than Canada and that is authorized under the laws of that country to sell goods free of certain duties and taxes to individuals who are about to leave that country; (boutique hors taxes à l’étranger)

    foreign ships’ stores

    foreign ships’ stores means tobacco products taken on board a vessel or aircraft while the vessel or aircraft is outside Canada and that are intended for consumption by or sale to the passengers or crew while the passengers and crew are on board the vessel or aircraft; (provisions de bord à l’étranger)

    gasoline

    gasoline means gasoline type fuels for use in internal combustion engines other than aircraft engines; (essence)

    health goods

    health goods means any material, substance, mixture, compound or preparation, of whatever composition or in whatever form, sold or represented for use in the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of a disease, a disorder, an abnormal physical state or the symptoms thereof in human beings or animals or for use in restoring, correcting or modifying organic functions in human beings or animals; (marchandises relatives à la santé)

    heating oil

    heating oil means any fuel oil that is consumed exclusively for providing heat to a home, building or similar structure and that is not consumed for generating heat in an industrial process, including any commercial process that involves removing moisture from a good; (huile à chauffage)

    Indian

    Indian[Repealed, 2002, c. 22, s. 413]

    licensed tobacco manufacturer

    licensed tobacco manufacturer[Repealed, 2001, c. 16, s. 16]

    listed international agreement

    listed international agreement means

    • (a) the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, concluded at Strasbourg on January 25, 1988, as amended from time to time by a protocol, or other international instrument, as ratified by Canada, or

    • (b) a comprehensive tax information exchange agreement that Canada has entered into and that has effect, in respect of another country or jurisdiction; (accord international désigné)

    manufactured tobacco

    manufactured tobacco[Repealed, 2002, c. 22, s. 366]

    manufacturer or producer

    manufacturer or producer includes

    • (a) the assignee, trustee in bankruptcy, liquidator, executor, liquidator of a succession or curator of any manufacturer or producer and, generally, any person who continues the business of a manufacturer or producer or disposes of his assets in any fiduciary capacity, including a bank exercising any powers conferred upon it by the Bank Act and a trustee for bondholders,

    • (b) any person, firm or corporation that owns, holds, claims or uses any patent, proprietary, sales or other right to goods being manufactured, whether by them, in their name or for or on their behalf by others, whether that person, firm or corporation sells, distributes, consigns or otherwise disposes of the goods or not,

    • (c) any department of the government of Canada or any province, any board, commission, railway, public utility, manufactory, company or agency owned, controlled or operated by the government of Canada or any province, or under the authority of the legislature or the lieutenant governor in council of any province, that manufactures or produces taxable goods,

    • (d) any person who sells, otherwise than in a retail store exclusively and directly to consumers, cosmetics that were not manufactured by him in Canada, other than a person who sells those cosmetics exclusively and directly to hairstylists, cosmeticians and other similar users for use in the provision of personal grooming services and not for resale,

    • (e) [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 12 (4th Supp.), s. 1]

    • (f) any person who, by himself or through another person acting for him, prepares goods for sale by assembling, blending, mixing, cutting to size, diluting, bottling, packaging or repackaging the goods or by applying coatings or finishes to the goods, other than a person who so prepares goods in a retail store for sale in that store exclusively and directly to consumers,

    • (g) any person who imports into Canada new motor vehicles designed for highway use, or chassis therefor,

    • (h) any person who sells, otherwise than predominantly to consumers, new motor vehicles designed for highway use, or chassis therefor,

    • (i) any person who sells goods enumerated in Schedule III.1, other than a person who sells those goods exclusively and directly to consumers, and

    • (j) any person who sells or leases prerecorded video cassettes that are new or have not been used in Canada, other than a person who sells or leases such goods exclusively and directly to consumers other than to consumers who lease such goods to other persons; (fabricant ou producteur)

    Minister

    Minister means the Minister of National Revenue; (ministre)

    mobile home

    mobile home means a trailer unit not less than three metres wide by eight metres long, equipped with complete plumbing, electrical and heating facilities and designed to be towed on its own chassis to a building site for installation on a foundation and connection to service facilities at that site and to be used for residential, commercial, educational, institutional or industrial purposes, but does not include any free-standing appliances or furniture sold with the unit or any travel trailer, motor home, camping trailer or other vehicle or trailer for recreational use; (maison mobile)

    modular building unit

    modular building unit means a building component or unit, the manufacture and assembly of which is completed or substantially completed before delivery to a construction site, that is designed for installation on a foundation and is composed of at least one room or area with finished walls, a finished floor and a finished ceiling, including installed plumbing, heating and electrical equipment appropriate to that room or area, and that, when installed on a foundation at the site, with or without other similarly manufactured and assembled components or units, forms a complete residential, commercial, educational, institutional or industrial building, but does not include any freestanding appliances or furniture sold with the unit; (bâtiment modulaire)

    municipality

    municipality means

    • (a) an incorporated city, town, village, metropolitan authority, township, district, county or rural municipality or other incorporated municipal body however designated, or

    • (b) such other local authority as the Minister may determine to be a municipality for the purposes of this Act; (municipalité)

    operator

    operator of a duty free shop means the person operating the duty free shop who is licensed as a wholesaler under Part VI and is deemed by subsection 55(2) to be a bona fide wholesaler or jobber; (exploitant)

    person

    person means an individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, or a body that is a society, union, club, association, commission or other organization of any kind whatever; (personne)

    prescribed

    prescribed means

    • (a) in the case of a form, the information to be given on a form or the manner of filing a form, prescribed by the Minister, and

    • (b) in any other case, prescribed by regulation or determined in accordance with rules prescribed by regulation; (prescrit)

    record

    record includes an account, an agreement, a book, a chart or table, a diagram, a form, an image, an invoice, a letter, a map, a memorandum, a plan, a return, a statement, a telegram, a voucher, and any other thing containing information, whether in writing or in any other form; (registre)

    stamp

    stamp or excise stamp means a stamp prepared for the purposes of this Act pursuant to a direction of the Minister under section 60; (timbre ou timbre d’accise)

    telecommunication

    telecommunication[Repealed, 1993, c. 38, s. 86]

    this Act

    this Act means this Act except Part IX and Schedules V to X. (présente loi)

    tobacco stick

    tobacco stick[Repealed, 2002, c. 22, s. 366]

  • Marginal note:Application to territories

    (2) For the purposes of this Act, the expression “Her Majesty in right of a province” includes the governments of Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut and the expression “legislature of any province” includes the Legislative Assembly of Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut.

  • Marginal note:Arm’s length

    (2.1) For the purposes of this Act,

    • (a) related persons shall be deemed not to deal with each other at arm’s length; and

    • (b) it is a question of fact whether persons not related to each other were, at any particular time, dealing with each other at arm’s length.

  • Marginal note:Related persons

    (2.2) For the purposes of this Act, persons are related to each other if they are related persons within the meaning of subsections 251(2) to (6) of the Income Tax Act, except that

    • (a) references in those subsections to “corporation” shall be read as references to “corporation or partnership”; and

    • (b) references in those subsections to “shares” or “shareholders” shall, in respect of a partnership, be read as references to “rights” or “partners”, respectively.

  • Marginal note:Associated persons

    (2.3) For the purposes of this Act, a particular corporation is associated with another corporation if, by reason of subsections 256(1) to (6) of the Income Tax Act, the particular corporation is associated with the other corporation for the purposes of that Act.

  • Marginal note:Corporations controlled by same person or group

    (2.4) For the purposes of this Act, a person other than a corporation is associated with a particular corporation if the particular corporation is controlled by the person or by a group of persons of which the person is a member and each of whom is associated with each of the others.

  • Marginal note:Partnership or trust

    (2.5) For the purposes of this Act, a person is associated with

    • (a) a partnership if the total of the shares of the profits of the partnership to which the person and all other persons who are associated with the person are entitled is more than half of the total profits of the partnership, or would be more than half of the total profits of the partnership if it had profits; and

    • (b) a trust if the total of the values of the interests in the trust of the person and all other persons who are associated with the person is more than half of the total value of all interests in the trust.

  • Marginal note:Association with third person

    (2.6) For the purposes of this Act, a person is associated with another person if each of them is associated with the same third person.

  • Marginal note:Importer deemed manufacturer or producer

    (3) For the purposes of this Act, a person who is a manufacturer or producer within the meaning of paragraph (d), (i) or (j) of the definition of that term in subsection (1), other than a member of a class of small manufacturer or producer that is exempted by regulations made under subsection 54(2) from the requirement of subsection 54(1) to apply for a licence, and who imports into Canada

    • (a) cosmetics,

    • (b) [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 12 (4th Supp.), s. 1]

    • (c) goods enumerated in Schedule III.1, or

    • (d) prerecorded video cassettes that are new or have not been used in Canada

    shall be deemed to be the manufacturer or producer in Canada thereof and not the importer thereof and the goods shall be deemed to be goods produced or manufactured in Canada and not imported goods.

  • Marginal note:Goods deemed not to be imported

    (4) For the purposes of this Act, goods imported into Canada by a person who is a manufacturer or producer within the meaning of paragraph (f) of the definition of that term in subsection (1), other than a member of a class of small manufacturer or producer that is exempted by virtue of regulations made under subsection 54(2) from the requirement of subsection 54(1) to apply for a licence, that are prepared, as described in that paragraph, by or on behalf of that person in Canada for sale shall be deemed to be goods produced or manufactured in Canada and not imported goods.

  • Marginal note:Importer deemed manufacturer or producer

    (4.1) For the purposes of this Act, a person who is a manufacturer or producer within the meaning of paragraph (g) of the definition of that term in subsection (1), other than a member of a class of small manufacturer or producer that is exempted by virtue of regulations made under subsection 54(2) from the requirement of subsection 54(1) to apply for a licence, and who imports new motor vehicles designed for highway use, or chassis therefor, into Canada shall be deemed to be the manufacturer or producer in Canada thereof and not the importer thereof and the vehicles or chassis shall be deemed to be goods produced or manufactured in Canada and not imported goods.

  • Marginal note:Goods deemed not to be imported

    (4.2) For the purposes of this Act, new motor vehicles designed for highway use, and chassis therefor, imported into Canada that are sold by a person who is a manufacturer or producer within the meaning of paragraph (h) of the definition of that term in subsection (1), other than a member of a class of small manufacturer or producer that is exempted by virtue of regulations made under subsection 54(2) from the requirement of subsection 54(1) to apply for a licence, shall be deemed to be goods produced or manufactured in Canada and not imported goods.

  • Marginal note:Idem

    (5) For the purposes of this Act, a licensed wholesaler who gives away without charge, as free samples, replacement goods or parts or otherwise, goods on which taxes have not been paid under this Act is deemed to have retained the goods for his own use, unless

    • (a) he gives them away as free replacement goods or parts under a written warranty of the manufacturer of the goods to be replaced or of the goods into which the parts are to be incorporated; and

    • (b) the amount, if any, charged for the warranty is included in the sale price charged by the manufacturer for the goods to be replaced or the goods into which the parts are to be incorporated or, if those goods are imported goods, in the duty paid value thereof.

  • Marginal note:Retroactive effect

    (5.1) For the purposes of this Act, a determination under paragraph (b) of the definition municipality in subsection (1) shall, if it so provides, be retroactive and be deemed to have come into force on a day prior to the day on which it is made, which prior day shall not be more than four years before the day on which the determination is made.

  • Marginal note:References to tax etc. under Act

    (6) Any reference in a regulation or order made before 1991 under an Act of Parliament to a refund, remission or other relief from or in respect of a tax, duty, excise or levy under

    • (a) the Excise Tax Act,

    • (b) the laws relating to customs or customs duties, or

    • (c) the laws relating to excise or duties of excise

    shall, except where the regulation or order otherwise expressly provides, be deemed not to include a reference to a refund, remission or other relief from the tax imposed under Part IX.

  • (7) [Repealed, 2001, c. 16, s. 16]

  • [NOTE: Application provisions are not included in the consolidated text
  • see relevant amending Acts and regulations.]
  • R.S., 1985, c. E-15, s. 2
  • R.S., 1985, c. 15 (1st Supp.), s. 1, c. 7 (2nd Supp.), s. 1, c. 12 (4th Supp.), s. 1
  • 1990, c. 45, s. 1
  • 1993, c. 25, s. 54, c. 28, s. 78, c. 38, s. 86
  • 1994, c. 29, s. 1
  • 1998, c. 19, s. 275
  • 1999, c. 17, s. 145, c. 28, s. 158, c. 31, s. 247(F)
  • 2000, c. 30, s. 2
  • 2001, c. 16, s. 16, c. 17, s. 233
  • 2002, c. 7, s. 166, c. 22, ss. 366, 413
  • 2005, c. 38, s. 99
  • 2007, c. 18, s. 64
  • 2010, c. 25, s. 126
  • 2011, c. 15, s. 10
  • 2014, c. 2, s. 9
  • 2016, c. 7, s. 72
 

Date modified: