Cannabis excise stamp

Cannabis excise stamps come up when a buyer looks at a licensed producer, processor or packager. Under the Excise Act, 2001, the stamp indicates that cannabis duty has been paid, and the Act ties stamping to the cannabis licence. A buyer of such a business should understand how it gets, holds and affixes its stamps.

How the stamp works

Under subsection 158.03(1), the Minister may issue stamps to a cannabis licensee on application. Section 158.13 sets out when a licensee may enter a cannabis product into the duty-paid market, including that the product is stamped with a stamp issued to that licensee, by that licensee or, if prescribed conditions are met, by another licensee. The Canada Revenue Agency adds that the licensee responsible for the products immediately before they are stamped must determine the province or territory in which they will be sold and affix the appropriate stamp, so stamps are tied to a jurisdiction.

What to ask in a deal

• Which cannabis licences the business holds, since section 158.08 limits packaging and stamping to a cannabis licensee or a prescribed person.
• Whether it is registered with the CRA to buy stamps, and how it records the stamps it holds; section 158.05 restricts possession of unaffixed stamps, subject to exceptions in that section.
• Whether another licensee stamps any of its products under a service agreement authorized by the CRA.
• Which provinces and territories it sells into. See selling a cannabis cultivation facility.