New QST requirements for E-commerce businesses outside of Québec

• If you are a Canadian business with no physical presence in Quebec and you are selling over $30,000 of taxable goods / services to Québec consumers via online sales (e.g., via website, online, email, etc.) you will have to register and collect QST (effective September 1^st, 2019) 
  • For example: If you have a clothing store based out of British Columbia and you have an online store where customers can place orders, we would suggest you review your online sales to Quebec consumers for the past 12 months. If the amount exceeds $30,000 in sales, then your business would be required to register and remit QST. 
• If you’re already registered for the QST, you don’t have to worry about this new requirement. 

NOTE: The new requirement will apply to non-resident suppliers, whether or not they are located in Canada.
 

Revenu Québec has created an interactive questionnaire for suppliers outside of Quebec that can help you determine whether you are subject to the new measure. Please note that it is possible for your results to be wrong; therefore, you can contact Revenu Québec directly and they will confirm whether you’re subject to this new measure. 

• By telephone: 1 833 372-3850 (Canada and the U.S.: toll-free)
• By email: Contact-NR@revenuquebec.ca 

Mandatory registration for Canadian businesses outside of Quebec must be completed by September 1^st, 2019, and must be done online. Please see the “Registration Service for Suppliers Outside of Québec”. 

Registration is quick, easy, and simple. You will require the following to register: 

• Legal business name;
• 2 assigned representatives (e.g., business owner, admin, an accountant, etc.); and
• General information about your business, such as what you sell. 

Once registered, you will receive an email including your QST number and confirming your account has been activated. 

NOTE: Revenu Québec will be issuing penalties after December 31^st, 2019, for failure to comply.
 

Once you’re registered, you are required to collect QST at the rate of 9.975% on all purchases made by Quebec consumers, and remit it 4 times a year: 

• If you register by September 1^st, your first remittance would be due on October 31^st, 2019.
• Subsequent payments are due every 4 months, which corresponds to a calendar quarter (see here for quarterly deadlines). 
• Payments are to be made directly online. 

NOTE: As for GST/HST must be remitted as usual to CRA (no changes to that effect)
 

The following information will help determine whether or not QST must be collected: 

• The customer’s billing address
• Individual’s address
• IP address of the device used or another geolocation method;
• Payment-related bank information or the billing address used by the bank
• Information from a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card; or
• The place of the person’s landline.