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What tax does my business have to charge when shipping to another province?

Generally speaking, a vendor should register to collect the PST of another province if they have a business presence (e.g. office, salespeople) in that province.  If the vendor does not have a business presence in a province to which they are shipping, it is usually the responsibility of the buyer of the goods to remit the provincial sales tax.  For more information on individual provinces, see below.

a.    British Columbia Out-of-Province Vendors

The province of BC (re PST re-implemented effective April 1, 2013) indicates that out-of-province Canadian vendors should register to collect provincial sales tax for a province if they regularly do all of the following:

1. Sell taxable goods or software to customers in BC.
2. Accept purchase orders (including by telephone, mail, e-mail or internet) from customers located in BC.
3. Deliver taxable goods or software to a location in BC.  Delivery into BC includes goods and software that are shipped physically or electronically, even if they are delivered through a third party, such as a courier.
4. Solicits sales in BC (through advertising or other means, including mail, e-mail, fax, newspaper or the internet) for orders to purchase taxable goods or software.

For more information, see the following on the BC web site:

Bulletin PST 001 Registering to Collect Provincial Sales Tax (pdf)

BC PST Registration Obligations Extended

The BC 2015 Budget indicates that effective September 1, 2015, a person located outside of BC that in the ordinary course of business:

must be registered for the purposes of levying, collecting and remitting provincial sales tax at the time of the sale.

Voluntary registrations will be accepted before September 1, 2015, and a person may be subject to failure-to-register penalties if they are not registered as required on or after September 1, 2015.

b.    Manitoba Out-of-Province Vendors

The province of Manitoba indicates that out-of-province vendors should register to collect provincial sales tax for a province if all of the following criteria are met:

1. The vendor solicits sales in the province through advertising or other means.
2. The vendor accepts orders originating in the province.
3. The goods are acquired for consumption and use in the province, not for resale.
4. The vendor causes the goods to be delivered to a location in the province, regardless of who pays the shipping costs.

For more information, see the following on the Manitoba web site:

Retail sales tax bulletins See Bulletin #004, Information for Vendors, and go to Out of Province businesses under Section 2.

c.    Prince Edward Island Out-of-Province Vendors

Prince Edward Island now collects HST, so would follow the GST/HST Place of Supply Rules.

d.    Saskatchewan Out-of-Province Vendors

Saskatchewan advises that non-resident vendors that sell or lease taxable goods are advised to become licensed to collect the PST where certain conditions are met.  See their publication Notice: Non-Resident Vendors - Provincial Sales Tax (PST) Registration.

e.    Quebec Out-of-Province Vendors

Since Quebec made significant changes to their QST system effective January 1, 2013, in general, the rules governing the application of the QST are harmonized with those concerning the GST/HST.  See links to more information under the heading HST provinces below.

For more information on the Revenu Quebec website, see Quebec QST and GST.

f.    HST Provinces Out-of-Province Vendors

All vendors who are registered to collect GST are automatically registered to collect HST.  A GST registrant in a non-HST province who sells goods which are delivered to an HST province must collect the HST.  A registrant in an HST province who sells goods which are delivered to a non-HST province would collect only the GST, not the HST.  For GST and HST rates see the GST and HST page.

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Resources

GST/HST and place of supply rules

Revised: September 20, 2024