Quebec sales tax (QST)

The Quebec sales tax is Québec’s own consumption tax, created by statute and separate from the federal GST. A buyer of a Quebec business meets it when the business supplies goods or services in Québec, and when reading the seller’s returns.

How the Act frames it

The Act makes the recipient of a taxable supply made in Québec liable to pay the tax to the Minister of Revenue. It defines a registrant as a person who is registered, or who is required to be registered, so a business can be a registrant by being obliged to register as well as by having done so. The CRA says Revenu Québec generally administers the GST/HST in Quebec, and that a business physically located there files its returns with Revenu Québec unless it is a selected listed financial institution.

What to check or ask

• Whether the business is registered with Revenu Québec, or is required to be
• Whether returns for both taxes have been filed and paid
• How the sale is treated under the Act, and by whom

For other parts of a Quebec sale, see tax when you sell a business in Quebec and the section 167 election for the federal tax.