Who can apply

On this page

• Commercial goods – Eligibility
• Artistic works – Eligibility
• Claim conditions

Commercial goods – Eligibility

You can apply for a rebate if:

• You are a non‑resident
• You received goods in Canada and paid the GST/HST on them
• You are not a consumer of the goods
• You exported the goods from Canada within 60 days after delivery (you have to have either taken the goods with you when you left Canada or exported them by mail or common carrier)
• The goods are for use primarily outside Canada
• You did not buy the goods in the course of the commercial activities of any permanent establishment that you have in Canada
• The total of all receipts attached to your application shows that you made taxable purchases (other than zero‑rated purchases) of at least CAN$200 (excluding the HST in a participating province or the GST and provincial sales tax (PST) in the rest of Canada)
• Each receipt attached to your application shows that you made eligible taxable purchases (other than zero‑rated purchases) of at least CAN$50 (excluding the HST in a participating province or the GST and PST in the rest of Canada)

You are not eligible for a GST/HST rebate when you export:

• Alcoholic beverages such as liquor, wine and beer
• Tobacco, cannabis and vaping products
• Gasoline, diesel fuel or other motive fuels other than fuel that is being transported in a vehicle designed for bulk transport and that is not for use in the vehicle that is transporting it

Artistic works – Eligibility

You can apply for a rebate if:

• You are a non‑resident
• You are not a GST/HST registrant
• You paid the GST/HST on property (for example, intangible personal property such as a patent or copyright), or services (other than services of storing or shipping property) you acquired to use or consume exclusively (90% or more) in manufacturing or producing an original literary, musical, artistic, motion picture or other work that is under copyright protection and any copies of that work
• You are not a consumer of the property or services
• You are manufacturing or producing the work and all copies of it for export
• The total of all receipts attached to your application shows that you made taxable purchases (other than zero‑rated purchases) of at least CAN$200 (excluding the HST in a participating province or the GST and PST in the rest of Canada)

Assigning your rights to the rebate

For the rebate for exported artistic works, instead of paying the GST/HST when you make your purchase and filing the rebate application to get the tax back, you can assign your rights to your GST/HST rebate to the GST/HST‑registered supplier. By doing this, the supplier pays or credits your rebate to you at the time of your purchase so that you can make your purchase without paying the GST/HST.

You can assign your rights to a GST/HST rebate to your Canadian supplier of the property or services if:

• You are a non‑registrant
• You acquire the property or services (except for a service of storing or shipping property), to consume or use only for making or producing an original literary, musical, artistic, motion picture, or other work with copyright protection
• You are not a consumer of the property or services
• You manufacture or produce the work and all copies of it for export

In Guide RC4027, Doing Business in Canada – GST/HST Information for Non‑Residents, you will find an example of an assignment of rights agreement to the GST/HST rebate. You can use it or design your own agreement. You have to give your supplier a copy of this assignment as documentation required to allow him or her to credit you the GST/HST payable.

If you do not assign your rebate to the registered supplier, pay the GST/HST due on your purchase and apply to the CRA for your rebate.

Claim conditions

You cannot claim a rebate of GST/HST paid if any of the following statements are true:

• The amount was previously rebated, credited, refunded or remitted to you
• You received a credit note, or you issued a debit note for a refund, adjustment, or credit that includes the amount
• You claimed, or are entitled to claim, an input tax credit for the amount
• You are entitled to obtain a rebate, refund or remission of the amount through another program or means
• The deadline for filing the rebate has passed

In the case of bankruptcy, you will not be paid a rebate that you were entitled to claim before the appointment of a trustee in bankruptcy unless you have filed all returns and remitted all outstanding amounts for the reporting periods that ended before the appointment.