Cannabis Tracking and Licensing System reporting guide for cannabis cultivation, processing and sale for medical purposes licence holders: Submit your reports

On this page

• Prepare your inventory data
• Prepare your sales data
• Overview of health care practitioners' reports
• Providing additional context on data
• Error messages
• Changing a previously submitted report
• Reviewing submitted reports

Prepare your inventory data

Automated variance validation

The CTLS provides automated validation of the Opening Inventory and Closing Inventory of each cannabis product category (Unpackaged and Packaged). If there is more than a 5% variance between the Opening Inventory of the current month and the Closing Inventory of the previous month, the system will display an error message and you will not be able to submit your report until your data is corrected to be within the accepted range.

For example, a licence holder may have 100 units of Edibles (Packaged) as their Closing Inventory in May 2023. They would not be able to report 120 units in June 2023 as their Opening Inventory. This is a greater than 5% variance.

Refer to the following scenarios for more information on closing inventories:

• Closing Inventory: Storing cannabis for other licence holders
• Closing Inventory: Discrepancies between opening and closing inventory

Unpackaged inventory

This section of the cannabis tracking report captures information about the physical flow of unpackaged cannabis into and out of a licensed site as well as how it is transformed into different classes of cannabis. This section applies only to holders of a licence for cultivation or a licence for processing.

If you are submitting a report by file upload, this information is captured in the following ways:

• Reporting form: The "Unpackaged inventory" information can be entered starting in cell D1 and extending to cell JS1
• Reports tool: The "Unpackaged inventory" information can be entered in the tab called "Unpackaged"

Refer to the following scenarios for more information on unpackaged inventory data and .csv file uploads:

• Moving from unpackaged to packaged inventory
• Language differences in reporting (English versus French)

If you are submitting a report by manual entry in the CTLS, there is an "Unpackaged Inventory" section in the Index. Once you click on this section, the fields related to "Unpackaged Inventory" in the below table will appear.

Unpackaged inventory reporting fields

Opening inventory

• Opening inventory: The amount of unpackaged cannabis held in inventory at the site on the first day of the previous month

Additions to inventory

• Quantity produced: The amount of cannabis produced at the site during the previous month
• Quantity received – domestic: The amount of unpackaged cannabis that was physically received from another licence holder in Canada, including all purchases and transfers other than returns
• Quantity received – imported: The amount of cannabis imported from outside Canada
• Quantity received – returned: The amount of unpackaged cannabis received as a result of a return from a consumer or from another licence holder
• Other additions: The amount of unpackaged cannabis received into inventory that is not captured by one of the categories above

Reductions to inventory

• Quantity processed: The amount of cannabis that was used to produce another class of cannabis
  • For pure intermediates, there are additional fields in which you must specify the amounts used in the production of edible cannabis, cannabis extracts and cannabis topicals
• Quantity packaged and labeled: The amount of cannabis that has been placed into final packaging for sale to a consumer at the retail level
• Quantity shipped – domestic – to analytical testers: The amount of unpackaged cannabis sent to holders of a licence for analytical testing for testing purposes
• Quantity shipped – domestic – to researchers: The amount of unpackaged cannabis sent to holders of a licence for research
• Quantity shipped – domestic – to cultivators and processors: The amount of unpackaged cannabis sent to holders of a licence for cultivation or processing
• Quantity shipped – exported: The amount of cannabis exported outside of Canada
  • All exported cannabis should be reported as "unpackaged" cannabis
• Quantity shipped – exported value: The sales value, in Canadian dollars net of sales tax, of the cannabis exported outside of Canada
• Quantity shipped – returned: The amount of unpackaged cannabis sent back to a licence holder for refund or credit
• Adjustment for drying/processing loss: The loss in weight of cannabis due to drying or other normally accepted business activities (for example an extraction process)
  • For plants, this is the weight of any trimmings, stalks, stems or other plant waste material that was removed from the live plant and destroyed
• Quantity destroyed: The amount of unpackaged cannabis that was destroyed
• Quantity lost/stolen: The amount of unpackaged cannabis that was lost, stolen or otherwise unaccounted for
• Other reductions: The amount of unpackaged cannabis removed from inventory not captured by one of the categories above

Closing inventory

• Closing inventory: The amount of unpackaged cannabis held in inventory at the site on the last day of the previous month
• Closing inventory value: The book value, in Canadian dollars net of sales tax, of the unpackaged cannabis held in inventory at the site on the last day of the previous month
  • The book value is the estimated sales value of the product, according to generally accepted accounting principles

Packaged inventory

This section of the cannabis tracking report captures information about the physical flow of cannabis products (such as cannabis that is packaged for sale to a consumer at the retail level) into and out of a federally licensed site.

If you are submitting a report by file upload, this information is captured in the following ways:

• Reporting form: The "Packaged inventory" information can be entered starting in cell JT1 and extending to cell PE1
• Reports tool: The "Packaged inventory" information can be entered in the tab called "Packaged"

If you are submitting a report by manual entry in the CTLS, there is a "Packaged inventory" section in the Index. Once you click on this section, the fields related to "Packaged inventory" in the below table will appear.

Packaged inventory reporting fields

Opening inventory

• Opening inventory: The number of cannabis products packaged for sale to a consumer at the retail level held in inventory at the site on the first day of the previous month

Additions to inventory

• Quantity packaged: The number of cannabis products resulting from unpackaged cannabis placed into final packaging for sale to a consumer at the retail level
• Quantity received – domestic: The number of cannabis products that were physically received from another licence holder in Canada, including all purchases and transfers
• Quantity received – returns: The number of cannabis products received as a result of a return from a consumer or another licence holder
• Other additions: The number of cannabis products received in inventory that are not captured by one of the categories above

Reductions to inventory

• Quantity shipped – domestic: The number of cannabis products sent within Canada, including cannabis products shipped to other licence holders, to provincially and territorially authorized distributors and retailers and to consumers at the retail level
• Quantity shipped – returned: The number of cannabis products sent back to a licence holder after they were purchased or received
• Quantity destroyed: The number of cannabis products that were destroyed
• Quantity lost/stolen: The number of cannabis products that were lost, stolen or otherwise unaccounted for
• Other reductions: The number of cannabis products removed from inventory that is not captured by one of the categories above

Closing inventory

• Closing inventory: The number of cannabis products held in inventory at the site on the last day of the previous month
• Closing inventory value: The book value, in Canadian dollars and net of sales tax, of the cannabis products held in inventory at the site on the last day of the previous month
• Weight of closing inventory: The weight, in kilograms (except for cannabis seeds and plants, which are to be reported by number of seeds and number of plants, respectively), of the cannabis contained in the cannabis products held in inventory at the site on the last day of the previous month. This is the actual weight and not the dried cannabis equivalency weight

Prepare your sales data

You are expected to complete a "Sales" section for each product category. Reporting of sales captures information about financial transactions.

The "Sales" section of each monthly report captures information about:

• medical and non-medical sales of packaged cannabis
• intra-industry trade of packaged and unpackaged cannabis

Medical sales of packaged cannabis are sold online, directly to the consumer. Non-medical sales of packaged cannabis include sales to distributors, retailers,  and/or consumers (direct to consumer via online method). Unlike the sale of packaged cannabis which is reported in units, the intra-industry trade of unpackaged cannabis is to be reported in kilograms.

If you are submitting a report by file upload, this information is captured in the following ways:

• Reporting form: The "Sales" information can be entered starting in cell PF and extending to cell CIG
• Reports tool: The "Sales" information can be entered in the tab called "Sales"

If you are submitting a report by manual entry in CTLS, there is a "Sales" section in the Index. Once you click on this section, the fields related to "Sales" in the below table will appear.

Refer to the following scenarios for more information on sales data:

• Reporting sales
• Third-party manufacturing
• Drop shipping

Sales reporting fields

Medical

• Direct to consumer (online): The number and the sales value, in Canadian dollars net of sales tax, of cannabis products sold to clients registered with a holder of a licence to sell cannabis for medical purposes. To be reported according to the province or territory where the consumer (the registered client) resides

Non-medical

• Direct to consumer (online): The number and the sales value, in Canadian dollars net of sales tax, of cannabis products sold and shipped to a retail consumer who placed an order through a provincial or territorial online system or authorized private retailer website. To be reported according to the province or territory where the consumer resides
• Direct to consumer (retail): The number and the sales value, in Canadian dollars net of sales tax, of cannabis products sold to a retail consumer at a provincially or territorially authorized retailer. This includes orders placed through a provincial or territorial online system or authorized private retailer website and picked up in-store, commonly referred to as "click and collect"
• To distributor/wholesaler: The number and the sales value, in Canadian dollars net of sales tax, of cannabis products sold to a provincially or territorially authorized distributor or wholesaler
• To retailer: The number and the sales value, in Canadian dollars net of sales tax, of cannabis products sold to a provincially or territorially authorized retailer

Intra-industry trade

• Unpackaged: The quantity, in kilograms, and the sales value, in Canadian dollars net of sales tax, of unpackaged cannabis (except for cannabis plants) sold from one licence holder to another, broken down by province or territory of the receiver
• Packaged: The number and the sales value, in Canadian dollars net of sales tax, of cannabis products sold from one licence holder to another, broken down by province or territory of the receiver

Medical data

Holders of a licence to sell cannabis for medical purposes are expected to include specific information about access to cannabis for medical purposes in each monthly report.

If you are submitting a report by file upload, this information is captured in the following ways:

• Reporting form: "Medical access" information must be entered in cells CIH to CKF
• Reports tool: "Medical access" information must be entered in the tab called "Medical"

If you are submitting a report by manual entry in the portal, there is a "Medical" section in the Index, which is located after the "Sales" section. Once you click on this section, the below fields appear.

Cannabis for medical purposes reporting fields

Active registrations

• Number of active registrations: The total number of client registrations, by province or territory where the client resides, that were active on the last day of the previous month
• Number of registrations transferred or returned: The number of medical documents that a licence holder transferred to another licence holder or returned to clients during the previous month, broken down by province or territory where the client resides
• Number of shipments: The number of shipments of cannabis for medical purposes sent to registered clients during the previous month, according to the province or territory where the client resides

Authorized amounts

• Average amount authorized: The average authorized daily quantity of dried cannabis, in grams, associated with all client registrations that were active on the last day of the previous month
• Median amount authorized: The median authorized daily quantity of dried cannabis, in grams, associated with all client registrations that were active on the last day of the previous month
• Highest amount authorized: The highest authorized daily quantity of dried cannabis, in grams, associated with all client registrations that were active on the last day of the previous month

Registration refusals

• Incomplete information: The number of registration applications that were refused during the previous month due to incomplete or insufficient information
• Suspicion of false or misleading information: The number of registration applications that were refused during the previous month because the licence holder had reasonable grounds to believe that false or misleading information was, or false or falsified documents were, provided in or in support of the application
• Invalid medical document: The number of registration applications that were refused during the previous month because the medical document or registration certificate that formed the basis for the application was not valid
• Other: The number of registration applications that were refused during the previous month for any reason not listed above

Order refusals

• Incomplete information: The number of purchase orders that were refused during the previous month because the order was incomplete
• Expired registration: The number of purchase orders that were refused during the previous month because the client's registration was expired or had been revoked
• Order exceeds authorized amount: The number of purchase orders that were refused during the previous month because the quantities exceeded the equivalent of 150 g of dried cannabis
• Product out of stock: The number of purchase orders that were refused during the previous month due to the product being out of stock or unavailable
• Other: The number of purchase orders that were refused during the previous month for any reason not listed above

Overview of health care practitioners' reports

Only holders of a licence to sell cannabis for medical purposes who have registered clients during the reporting period are required to submit health care practitioners' reports, which captures information about each health care practitioner associated with new and renewed client registrations during the reporting period.

A health care practitioner can be a nurse practitioner or physician. The unique ID field refers to the health care practitioner's provincial or territorial medical licence number. It should be recorded as it appears on the client's medical document and without any formatting (for example spaces or dashes) or additional text. This unique ID will vary in length and format across the provinces or territories.

Some health care practitioners may have multiple places of business that are located either within the same province or territory or across different provinces or territories. It is important to ensure that the HCP report reflects the accurate unique ID, as it often differs between provinces or territories. If the health care practitioner has multiple places of business within the same province or territory, the HCP ID can be associated with several postal codes. As long as the health care practitioner's ID is listed properly, the system will accept differences in postal codes within the same province or territory.

Health care practitioner reporting fields

• Reporting period year: The year of the reporting period. The year must appear on all rows for which there are data
• Reporting period month: The month of the reporting period. The month must appear on all rows for which there are data
• Licence number: The unique alpha-numeric identifier associated with a licence for medical sales. The licence number must appear on all rows for which there are data
• Unique ID: The provincial or territorial medical licence number of the health care practitioner as it appears on the client's medical document. The licence number should be used without any formatting (for example spaces or dashes) and should not include any additional text used by the company
• First name: The first name of the health care practitioner. Do not include nicknames
• Last name: The last name of the health care practitioner
• Number of medical documents signed: The number of medical documents signed by a health care practitioner for clients who have registered during the month
• Province/territory: The province or territory where the health care practitioner was authorized to practice at the time the medical document was signed
• Postal code: The postal code for the physical location where the health care practitioner practices

Providing additional context on data

Licence holders are able to provide additional context on the data that is being provided in monthly reports. This can be used to explain data outliers and ensure that the data is processed effectively and efficiently.

For those who prefer to submit a report by manual entry, additional context can be provided in a section called "Additional information" that shows up within the list of sections required in a given report.

For those who prefer to submit a report by .csv file upload, the field is accessible only after the .csv file is uploaded. To find this field:

1. Navigate to the Cannabis tracking reports section
2. Under Submitted cannabis tracking reports, locate the report for the given month and year
3. Click on the Additional information icon, which is where additional context can be provided
4. Make sure to save the additional context that you have provided. Click on Save and close

Error messages

Error messages are provided to the reporter as a means of data validation prior to the submission of a monthly report. The messages highlight corrections that need to be made for the system to accept the report. Error messages appear in different ways depending on the report submission method.

Manual entry

System parameters which have been established on reporting fields in the CTLS will result in automated error messages if they are not met. The error messages will appear next to the reporting field that you are entering data on. It is important to address the error message before proceeding to the next section.

File upload

If a .csv file encounters ten or fewer error messages, detailed error messages will appear on the file upload page which reference the row and the column with the error in the .csv file. Corrections must be made in order for the system to accept the file.

If a .csv file contains more than ten error messages, the system will provide a .txt file which the reporter can download to view a list of all specific errors.

Frequently encountered error messages

Error message: "Report for this licence and reporting period already exists"

This error message shows up when you are trying to upload .a csv file for which you have a draft manual entry report existing in CTLS for the same reporting period. To delete a draft report:

1. In CTLS, go to the left-hand menu and find Reporting
2. Select Cannabis tracking reports
3. Go to the Draft cannabis tracking reports section
4. Click on the Delete icon beside any draft report for the same period you are attempting to upload a .csv file

Error message: "An Error Has Occurred: Object reference not set to an instance of an object"

This error message shows up when the following exists in your .csv file:

• Hidden rows: To find out whether you have hidden rows of data, please open your .csv file using the Notepad application. If there are hidden rows of data, you will notice commas in Notepad. For licence holders, delete rows 3-50 to remove unused rows of data in your .csv file
• Format of data or characters: Make sure that there is no underlined, bold or italic data or characters
• Dollar values: Make sure that there is no more than two decimal places for dollar values
• Licence ID format: A common error made is mistaking a "1" for an "l" and vice-versa. Please double-check such characters in the Licence ID

Error message: "Closing inventory should be equal to opening inventory plus additions minus reductions"

This error message is related to Closing inventory involving weight (kg) and it shows up for both reporting methods.

Manual entry

For Packaged inventory and Unpackaged inventory, ensure that the Closing inventory calculation is correct by reviewing the relevant reporting fields for the specific cannabis product category. Weight values can take up to four decimal places. If there are more than four decimal places, an error message will show up next to the data field to indicate that a correction has to be made.

File upload

Reporting form: Make sure that the cells associated with the Closing inventory calculation add up correctly. This applies to Packaged inventory and Unpackaged inventory. If there are weight values with more than four decimal places, then the .csv file will not be able to be uploaded and there will be error messages about these data fields. If it is related to the Closing inventory calculation, the error message will display the Closing inventory value and unit of measure for the previous month.

Reports tool: The cells associated with the Closing inventory calculation need to add up correctly and there are automated calculations built into the Reports tool to ensure this happens. This applies to Packaged inventory and Unpackaged inventory. The Reports tool should force weight values to have no more than four decimal places. This will avoid any error messages from being generated during the .csv file upload attempt.

Changing a previously submitted report

Licence holders are able to request deactivation of a previously submitted report, whether it be a manual entry report or a .csv file upload. In the CTLS:

1. In the left-hand menu, click on Cannabis tracking reports
2. Under the Submitted cannabis tracking reports section, locate the report for the given month and year
3. Click on the Cancel icon and a message will ask for confirmation that you are looking to deactivate this particular report. Click on Confirm

Health Canada will be notified of the deactivation request and will action it in the system. The licence holder will receive an email confirming that the report has been deactivated and that a replacement report is required within 2 business days. This email will be sent to the Responsible Person, the Alternate Responsible Person and the last person who modified the report. The replacement report can be submitted as a manual entry report or via .csv file upload.

If a replacement report is submitted late, Health Canada will follow up with the licence holder.

For minor corrections, it is also possible for the Health Canada officer to make the corrections directly in the system on your behalf. Please email ctls-bi-sscdl-ie@hc-sc.gc.ca about the corrections required. It is up to the officer to determine whether the correction will be made directly.

Reviewing submitted reports

Licence holders are able to view previously submitted monthly reports.

In the CTLS:

1. In the left-hand menu, click on Cannabis tracking reports
2. Under the Submitted cannabis tracking reports section, locate the report for the given month and year
3. Click on the View icon
4. It will open up a new window that allows you to review each section of the previously submitted report
5. To end viewing of the previously submitted report, click on the back button until the Cannabis tracking reports section appears