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Fee payments under the Cannabis Fees Order and payment for Administrative Monetary Penalties

Please note that the information on this web page is for general guidance only. For all legal purposes, the Cannabis Act, the Cannabis Regulations and the Cannabis Fees Order will apply.

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Fee types

Under the cannabis program, fees apply to these classes of licences:

  • cultivation (standard-, micro-, nursery)
  • processing (standard-, micro-)
  • sales for medical purposes

There are several fees under the cannabis program:

  • a fee for screening licence applications
  • a fee for conducting security clearances
  • a fee for processing applications for permits to import or export cannabis for scientific or medical purposes
  • an annual regulatory fee to cover other regulatory costs, including:
    • detailed review of licence applications
    • review and issuance of licence amendments
    • inspections, compliance and enforcement activities

For more information on cannabis fees and fee exemptions, please refer to the Cannabis Fees Order Guide

Fee payments

Fees will be specified on the invoice. It is the responsibility of the applicant or licence holder to send payments on time. Late payments may accrue interest charges or result in:

  • applications not being processed
  • suspension or revocation of a license

Paying the Application Screening, Security Clearance or Import/Export Permit Fees

Health Canada will send you an invoice when it receives your application. Fees will be specified on the invoice issued by Health Canada.

When paying, mention your invoice number and your customer number (for example, CAN000XXXX).

Once the fee is paid in full, Health Canada will begin processing the application. To ensure timely processing of applications, it is important that you pay all fees in full and on time.

Paying the Annual Regulatory Fee

When a licence is first issued for a site, Health Canada sends an invoice for the minimum annual regulatory fee that applies to that site.

By April 30 of every year, the licence holder must submit a Statement of Cannabis Revenue to Health Canada for each licenced site. This statement will be used to calculate the annual regulatory fee each year for a given site. Each licence holder will then receive an annual regulatory fee invoice due on September 30.

Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPs)

An Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP) occurs when Health Canada believes on reasonable grounds that a person has committed a violation of certain provisions of the Cannabis Act and the Cannabis Regulations.

It is the responsibility of the person who is issued the AMP to send payments in the time and manner specified on the Notice of Violation. Late payments may accrue interest charges. This would include amended amounts following a ministerial review or a request for a security deposit in the case of a signed compliance agreement. To ensure proper accounting reconciliation the payment must include the Notice of Violation number.

For more information on Administrative Monetary Penalties, please refer to the Administrative Monetary Penalties Under the Cannabis Act factsheet.

Notice of Violation (NoV)

The NoV is a document sent to the person to communicate the details of the AMP, including:

  • the person’s name (individual or organization)
  • the alleged violation
  • the penalty for the violation that the person is liable to pay
  • the particulars concerning the time and manner of payment

How to pay the invoice or AMP

Depending on your type of fee, you can pay by:

  • Cheque
  • Credit card
  • Wire transfer
  • Credit on Account
  • Payment through a Canadian financial institution

Health Canada never accepts cash as payment.

The amount on your invoice will always be in Canadian dollars. Your payment must also be in Canadian dollars.

To ensure your payment is applied to the correct invoice, please include the invoice number or Notice of Violation number, as appropriate, with your payment. If payment is made through online banking, please email Accounts Receivable at ar-cr@hc-sc.gc.ca indicating which invoice number or Notice of Violation Number the payment is for.

Cheque

It takes approximately 3 to 4 business days for Health Canada to process a payment by cheque, once it has been received. Some delays may occur before receipt, depending on the mode of transmission of the cheque.

Cheques are to be made payable to the “Receiver General for Canada” with reference to the invoice number or Notice of Violation number and your customer number (for example, CAN000XXXX).

Health Canada
Accounts Receivable
P/L: 1918B, 18th Floor, Room 1804B
Jeanne-Mance Building
161 Goldenrod Driveway, Tunney's Pasture
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0K9

Credit card

It takes approximately 2 to 4 business days for Health Canada to process a payment by credit card.

For transactional fees only (namely, Application Screening, Security Clearance or Import/Export Permit Fees), payment can be made by calling Accounts Receivable at 1-800-815-0506 and providing:

  • Customer Number (for example, CAN000XXXX)
  • Cardholder's full credit card number
  • Expiry date
  • Cardholder's name, address and phone number

Wire transfer

Depending on the mode of transmission, it takes approximately 4 business days for payment to be received by Health Canada. After receipt, it takes approximately 3 to 4 business days for Health Canada to process a wire transfer payment. Health Canada will not be able to apply payment if it does not have sufficient information to associate it with a specific invoice(s).

Please make sure all service charges, including fees charged by your bank or any intermediary banks, are covered by your payment. Health Canada is not responsible for any fees charged during the transfer process.

To make a wire payment, please include this information:

  1. Company's full (legal) name
  2. Invoice number or Notice of Violation number (as applicable)
  3. Licence class/subclass (for example, Standard-processing)
  4. Customer No. (for example, CANXXXXXXX)

Make wire payments to:

  • Bank Name: Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec
    1 Complexe Desjardins, South Tower, 15th floor,
    Montreal QC Canada
    H5B 1B3
  • SWIFT: CCDQCAMM
  • Bank Number: 815
  • Transit Number: 98000
  • Beneficiary Name: - 022-25631 - Health
  • Beneficiary Account Number: MFI09703350815CAD2
  • Charges Field: "OUR"
  • Description Field: Company Name, Customer Number and Invoice Number (or Notice of Violation number as applicable)Footnote *

Credit on Account

To pay an invoice using an existing credit on your account, please contact Accounts Receivable by email at ar-cr@hc-sc.gc.ca or call 1-800-815-0506.  It takes approximately 2 to 4 business days to Health Canada to process a credit on specific invoices.

It takes approximately 1 business day for Health Canada to process a credit payment on the account if it has a pre-approval from the responsible person that the account balance can be used for the payment of all invoices issued to the account.

If you would like to submit a pre-approval, please send it to Accounts Receivable by email at ar-cr@hc-sc.gc.ca, using the template below:

“From [approval start date] until [approval end date], I, [Responsible Person], of [company name, LIC-XXXX-XXXX], confirm that all invoices issued to the account [CANXXXXXXX customer number] can be paid by a credit available on this same account. I understand that this pre-approval authorizes Health Canada to apply a credit to the account on all or a portion of my transaction fees, my annual regulatory fees and my interest (if applicable) in the chronological order in which the invoices were issued. I also understand that following the payment of an invoice, the fees will not be refundable under any circumstances”.

Canadian financial institution

Depending on the financial institution used, it takes approximately 2 to 4 business days for this type of payment to be received by Health Canada. After receipt, it takes approximately 2 to 4 business days for Health Canada to process the payment. If the payment is for the full fee held in the account, the time frame may be shorter. However, if multiple invoices are outstanding on the account, Health Canada will not be able to apply the payment if it does not have enough information to associate it with specific invoices.

The steps may be slightly different for each institution. For help on setting up online payments, please contact your financial institution directly.

General steps to pay online through your financial institution are:

  • Log in to your online bank account
  • Click Pay Bills and select Add a bill Payee
  • Type "Cannabis" in the Name of the Organization (Payee) field
  • Select Cannabis Licences and Permits
  • Click OK
  • Type your Client ID (located on the invoice or Notice of Violation) into the Account Number field
  • Click OK or Submit

A "Client ID" number is required to set up Cannabis Licences and Permits as a payee through your financial institution. The Client ID is shown on any invoice. If you do not have access to this information, please email Accounts Receivable at ar-cr@hc-sc.gc.ca or call 1-800-815-0506 for assistance.

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For general inquiries about fee payment, contact us at:

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