Provincial sales tax (PST) registration and clearance

British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba each run their own provincial sales tax. A retail buyer in one of them can meet it twice: the business needs the right registration, and the purchase itself may attract tax. The steps below are those three provinces’ own; check any other province’s rules separately.

Registration and tax on the assets

The B.C. Ministry of Finance says a newly purchased business that is required to be registered to collect and remit PST must be registered before it makes any taxable sales or leases. If the seller is not a collector or does not charge PST on taxable assets, the purchaser must self-assess and remit it. Manitoba, which calls its tax retail sales tax, has the buyer of assets in a bulk sale pay it on taxable assets by completing a Casual Purchaser’s Return.

Clearance

B.C. says a purchaser should have a clearance certificate before buying and, if it does not obtain one, is liable for an amount equal to any outstanding amount owed by the seller as a PST collector. Manitoba and Saskatchewan also issue certificates. See liability for a seller’s unpaid provincial sales tax and the provincial tax clearance certificate.