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CRA will not require GST information return for platform operators

As part of the digital economy measures the government introduced as part of Budget 2021, certain accommodation and digital platform operators are required under the Excise Tax Act to file an information return with the CRA each year.

As part of the digital economy measures the government introduced as part of Budget 2021, certain accommodation and digital platform operators are required under the Excise Tax Act to file an information return with the CRA each year. As we previously reported in a news item on November 15, 2021, the CRA had announced that they were deferring the filing requirement for the first calendar year information return (i.e., the 2021 calendar year) and that the information return reporting requirement will be in effect for all other calendar years. 

The CRA recently updated their website regarding this requirement and now indicates “…the federal government proposed implementing the Model Rules that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development developed for reporting by digital platform operators on platform sellers. Because of this and until further notice, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) does not require platform operators to file the information returns outlined in Budget 2021.”

As such, it appears that businesses will no longer need to capture the data that was required for the information return for 2022 (and potentially onwards, until CRA indicates otherwise).