Fuel charge registration
Heating oil distributors – Register now!
Starting on November 9, 2023, a registered distributor can deliver light fuel oil (heating oil) exempt of the fuel charge when the light fuel oil is used exclusively for providing heat to a home, building or similar structure, but not for generating heat in an industrial process, such as processes that involve removing moisture from goods. The exemption will apply upfront without the need for an exemption certificate. This relief will end on March 31, 2027. The fuel charge would apply to these deliveries again as of April 1, 2027.
If you are registering for the fuel charge program for the first time and do not have a fuel charge account number, follow the instructions under How to register to complete your registration.
Who has to register
For the purposes of the fuel charge, you may be required or permitted to register with the CRA under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.
Persons that have business activities in a listed province (Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, or Yukon), such as producers, distributors, importers, emitters, certain users of fuel, or combustible waste, as well as persons that are air, marine, rail, or road carriers, may have to register for one or more of the following types of registration:
- distributor
- importer
- emitter
- user of fuel
- user of combustible waste
- air carrier
- specified air carrier
- marine carrier
- specified marine carrier
- rail carrier
- specified rail carrier
- road carrier
To find out if you are required or permitted to register, see Fuel Charge Notice FCN1, Registration Under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. If you have technical enquiries with respect to the application of the Act, contact one of the regional excise offices listed at Contact Information – Excise Duties, Excise Taxes, Fuel Charge and Air Travellers Security Charge.
If your registration is mandatory:
- you were required to register before April 1, 2019, if your business activities are in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, or Saskatchewan
- you were required to register before July 1, 2019, if your business activities are in Nunavut, or Yukon
- you were required to register before January 1, 2020, if your business activities are in Alberta
- you are required to register before July 1, 2023, if your business activities are in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island
New Brunswick ceased to be a listed province on April 1, 2020, and became a listed province again on July 1, 2023. If you have business activities commencing on or after April 1, 2020 in New Brunswick for which registration is mandatory, you would not be required to register before July 1, 2023.
If you are a new business with business activities in one of the listed provinces and registration is mandatory, you must register immediately.
For more information, see New registrants.
If your registration is voluntary, you may register at any time.
The processing of your application may take up to 30 calendar days from the date we receive it.
New registrants
If you are a new registrant with the fuel charge program and do not have a fuel charge account number, follow the instructions under How to register below to complete your registration.
Registered emitter
If you are registered as an emitter under Part 1 of the Act for certain covered facilities, and you want to register additional facilities covered under either a provincial program, or under the opt-in program with Environment and Climate Change Canada, you have to fill out Form L400, Fuel Charge Registration, and send it with the related schedule for emitters. A separate registration letter with a new registration account will be provided, which can be used to complete your exemption certificate for those newly registered facilities. You will be required to provide a new exemption certificate for this new registration to cover those newly added facilities.
The Fuel Charge Registry tool found in My Business Account can be used to confirm the status and registration type of a fuel charge account. For more information on exemption certificates, see Fuel charge relief.
For more information for the provinces of Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, or Saskatchewan, see Fuel Charge Relief: Facilities subject to provincial carbon pricing systems for industry.
Filing separate returns
If you are already registered for the fuel charge program and want to report your fuel charge activities by branch or division, you may do so by filing a separate Form L400, Fuel Charge Registration, to identify each branch or division along with Form L400-1, Fuel Charge Registration Schedule, or Form L400-2, Fuel Charge Registration Schedule – Road Carrier, or both, depending on the type of registration for which you are applying.
For more information on filing separate returns, see Fuel Charge Notice FCN1, Registration Under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.
Consequence of not registering on time
If you fail to register by the due date, you are liable to pay a penalty of $2,000.
How to register
To register for the fuel charge program, fill out Form L400, Fuel Charge Registration.
If you have activities in more than one listed province, only one registration application is needed.
Attach Form L400-1, Fuel Charge Registration Schedule, to your Form L400 to indicate:
- your registration types
- the types of fuel that you use, transfer, deliver, divert, or produce in each listed province
- the types of fuel that you bring or import into each listed province
- any combustible waste burned in each listed province
If you are required to register as a road carrier, attach Form L400-2, Fuel Charge Registration Schedule – Road Carrier, to your Form L400.
If you are a non-resident that keeps records outside Canada, attach Form L400-3, Non-Resident – Records kept outside Canada, to your Form L400.
If you are a non-resident and are required to register for the fuel charge, see Fuel charge information for non-resident applicants.
The processing of the fuel charge registration may be delayed in the case of missing or incomplete information.
Registration forms can be submitted electronically using the "Submit documents" function in My Business Account. If you submit your registration electronically, you will be provided with the confirmation number of your submission. This confirmation number should be retained for follow up on the status of your application if required.
You can also send your completed forms by mail to the following address:
Sudbury Tax Centre
Fuel Charge Program
Post Office Box 20000, Station A
Sudbury ON P3A 5C1
After you submit your application
When your registration is processed, the CRA will advise you of your registration number and effective date of registration. You may also login to My Business Account to view the registration information and this will allow you to view your registration confirmation letter.
If more than 30 days have passed since you submitted your registration application, you can call 1-877-432-5472 to inquire about the status of your application.
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