Cannabis fees order: Compliance and enforcement actions
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Who is this for
The information is for the following cannabis licences:
- micro-cultivation, nursery and standard cultivation
- micro-processing and standard processing
- sale for medical purposes
What licence holders must do
Pursuant to the Cannabis Fees Order (the Order), licence holders are required to:
- submit an annual Statement of cannabis revenue
- required even if you've had no sales, negative revenue, or encounter issues while submitting
- pay an annual regulatory fee
- required if you had a licence for at least 1 day during the fiscal year, even if you no longer have a valid licence
- unless you have an exemption for sale for medical purpose
- if you have licences with different minimum fee rates, you'll pay the higher rate. However, if a sale for medical purposes licence is held in combination with a micro-cultivation, a micro-processing or a nursery licence, you'll pay the lower rate
- if you change the licence class you hold during a fiscal year (such as, standard to micro, or vice versa) the annual regulatory fee rate you pay will not change until the next fiscal year
Refer to Cost recovery for the regulation of cannabis for information on the reporting and payment requirements.
Health Canada may take compliance action if:
- you don't submit your Statement of cannabis revenue between April 1 and April 30
- you don't pay your full annual regulatory fees by the deadline
- you don't adhere to the payment plan established with Health Canada, if applicable
Compliance and enforcement actions
If you don't submit your Statement of cannabis revenue or don't pay your fees on time, Health Canada will take compliance and enforcement actions. These can include:
- suspending or revoking any of the licence holder’s licences
- refusing to issue, renew or amend a licence
- withdrawing or withholding services, such as issuing an import permit or amending a licence
Health Canada may recover outstanding fees using collection agencies or other legal means.
Refer to the Compliance and enforcement policy for a breakdown of compliance actions authorized under the Cannabis Act (the Act) and Cannabis Regulations (the Regulations).
To support licence holders in returning to compliance, Health Canada offers the alternative of an approved payment plan for up to 12 months if you can't pay your invoice (including interest) in full. To start the request for a payment plan, email ar-cr@hc-sc.gc.ca.
If you're approved and remain compliant with the payment plan, you'll be considered in compliance with the requirement to pay the annual regulatory fee under the Cannabis Fees Order, which will stop further compliance and enforcement actions from being sought.
Contact us
We encourage you to contact Health Canada if you have any questions.
- For general inquiries about how to pay your fees, information on payment plans or to request a payment plan, email ar-cr@hc-sc.gc.ca
- For questions about your invoice, email criu-cannabis-ufrc@hc-sc.gc.ca
- For questions about your licence, email licensing-cannabis-licences@hc-sc.gc.ca
- For questions about the Order or any other information contained in this guide, email cannabiscrf-rcf@hc-sc.gc.ca
- For questions about compliance measures or the Cannabis Act compliance and enforcement policy, email compliance-cannabis-conformite@hc-sc.gc.ca
- For all other general questions about the Act and its regulations, send an e-mail to cannabis@hc-sc.gc.ca
For a more complete list of Government of Canada contact information, refer to Cannabis and industrial hemp contact information for licence holders, applicants and industry.
Disclaimer
This point-in-time update is intended to support compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements set out in the Cannabis Act, Cannabis Regulations and the Cannabis Fees Order. It is not intended to provide legal advice regarding their interpretation or application. The reader is encouraged to consult the Cannabis Act and applicable regulations carefully and in their entirety. In the event of any discrepancy between the legislation and this document, the legislation shall prevail.