Excise and GST/HST News - No. 123

September 2026

Table of contents

• Amendments to coupon rules under section 181
• Fuel Charge – Update
• Fuel, Alcohol, Cannabis, Tobacco and Vaping sales tax
• Reinstatement of the GST/HST relief for Déline First Nation Citizens
  • Background
  • GST/HST implications of the amendments
  • Upcoming updates to CRA publications
• End of the Luxury Tax on Subject Aircraft and Vessels – Update
• Your business mail is now online
  • Why your email address matters
  • Who receives online mail
  • How to add or update your email address
  • How to view your online mail
  • Benefits of going digital
  • Requesting paper mail
• Prescribed rates of interest
• Forms and publications
• Contact us

Amendments to coupon rules under section 181

On August 15, 2025, the Department of Finance Canada announced, by news release, changes to the coupon rules under the Excise Tax Act in response to a Federal Court of Appeal decision. These changes include an amendment to subsection 181(5) and the addition of subsection 181(6).

The new measures were included in Bill C-15, The Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No.1, which received royal assent on March 26, 2026. These measures are now law and are deemed to have come into force on August 16, 2025. The amendments also apply to any payment made by a person before August 16, 2025, to a supplier for the redemption of a coupon, provided the person has not claimed an input tax credit in respect of the payment in a return filed before August 16, 2025.

Subsection 181(5) is amended to clarify that a person must have made a payment for the redemption of a coupon exclusively in the course of commercial activities of the person to be entitled to claim an input tax credit in respect of the payment.

New subsection 181(6) provides the condition that must be satisfied for a payment to be made exclusively in the course of commercial activities of a person.

• If the person is not a financial institution, all or substantially all of the activities in the course of which the payment is made must be commercial activities.
• If the person is a financial institution, all of the activities in the course of which the payment is made must be commercial activities.

Fuel Charge – Update

On March 15, 2025, the Government of Canada enacted regulations setting all federal fuel charge rates to zero. As a result, the federal fuel charge no longer needs to be reported or paid on all types of fuel and combustible waste in listed provinces and territories (Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and Yukon) for activities after March 31, 2025.

On March 12, 2026, Bill C 4, the Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act, received royal assent, formally repealing Part 1 of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act and the federal fuel charge regulations. This enacted the Government of Canada’s Budget 2025 commitment to eliminate the federal fuel charge.

For administration purposes, the Canada Revenue Agency related administrative provisions will remain in force until April 1, 2035.

For further details, consult Fuel Charge Notice FCN16, Removal of the fuel charge.

Fuel, Alcohol, Cannabis, Tobacco and Vaping sales tax

Bill C-15, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on November 4, 2025 received royal assent on March 26, 2026, which includes amendments to the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act. These amendments enable interested Indigenous governments, through their own tax laws and negotiated tax administration agreements (TAA) with the Government of Canada, to enact a 5% value-added sales tax, on fuel, alcoholic beverages, cannabis, tobacco and/or vaping products^{Footnote 1} (specified products) within their reserves or settlement lands.

Under this framework, everyone has to pay the Fuel, Alcohol, Cannabis, Tobacco and Vaping (FACT) sales tax on specified products they buy on, have delivered to, or bring onto, lands where the FACT sales tax applies, including individuals registered under the Indian Act, Indian bands^{Footnote 2} and band-empowered entities. This means that the GST/HST relief described in GST/HST Technical Information Bulletin B-039, GST/HST Administrative Policy - Application of the GST/HST to Indians does not apply to the FACT sales tax.

When an Indigenous government chooses to enact a FACT sales tax on its reserves or settlement lands through a TAA, relevant guidance, information and a dedicated webpage will be published. At this time, no TAA that imposes a FACT sales tax has been implemented.

Reinstatement of the GST/HST relief for Déline First Nation Citizens

The Déline Got’ine Government, the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories each consented to amendments to the Déline Final Self-Government Agreement (Agreement), which took effect on March 13, 2026. Under these amendments, section 87 of the Indian Act has been reinstated, restoring tax exemption for DFN Citizens^{Footnote 3} and establishing that those registered under the Indian Act are eligible for relief from the GST/HST imposed under Part IX of the Excise Tax Act.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) uses the term Indian because it has legal meaning under the Indian Act.

Background

Under the Agreement that took effect on September 1, 2016, DFN Citizens were no longer entitled to tax exemption under section 87 of the Indian Act after a transition period that ended on September 30, 2024. However, the Agreement did not change the fact that a DFN Citizen could still register and be registered under the Indian Act, obtain a Secure Certificate of Indian Status or Certificate of Indian Status, and access certain rights and benefits available to First Nations people. As a result of the Agreement, effective October 1, 2024, a DFN Citizen was no longer entitled to the GST/HST relief described in GST/HST Technical Information Bulletin B-039, GST/HST Administrative Policy - Application of the GST/HST to Indians (TIB B-039) regardless of their province or territory of residence. For more information, refer to GST/HST Notice 345, The Application of section 87 of the Indian Act to DFN Citizens.

GST/HST implications of the amendments

Effective March 13, 2026, a DFN Citizen who is registered under the Indian Act is eligible for GST/HST relief on purchases of property and services acquired on a reserve when the requirements described in TIB B-039 are met. For more information, refer to GST/HST Notice 345.

Upcoming updates to CRA publications

The CRA will be updating GST/HST Notice 238, First Nations with a Self-Government Agreement Ending Indian Act Tax Relief - Determining Tax Relief for Indian Members and TIB B-039 that are required as a result of the amendments to the Agreement.

End of the Luxury Tax on Subject Aircraft and Vessels – Update

Bill C-15, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on November 4, 2025, received royal assent on March 26, 2026. With the passing of Bill C-15, luxury tax is no longer payable on subject aircraft and subject vessels effective November 5, 2025.

The luxury tax will continue to apply to subject vehicles priced or valued above $100,000, unless an exemption applies. For more information on the application of the luxury tax to subject vehicles, please refer to Notice LTN2, Subject vehicles under the Select Luxury Items Tax Act.

For further details, consult Notice LTN5, Luxury tax not payable on subject aircraft and vessels.

Your business mail is now online

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) now sends most business correspondence online through the My Business Account portal of your CRA account, instead of by paper mail. To make sure you don’t miss anything important, it’s very important to keep your email address up to date.

Why your email address matters

Your email address is how the CRA notifies you that new mail has arrived in your online account. With a valid and current email address on file, you’ll receive timely notifications whenever:

• new correspondence (such as notices of assessment, letters, statements, or forms) is posted in your My Business Account
• important updates or changes are made to your business tax account

If your email address is missing or outdated, you will not receive alerts, even though your mail is available online.

Who receives online mail

Online mail is now the default method of correspondence for:

• new business number and CRA program account registrations
• existing businesses already registered for My Business Account
• existing businesses who have given online access to an authorized representative, who can view or modify information on their behalf in Represent a Client

This means businesses must check My Business Account regularly to ensure nothing is missed.

How to add or update your email address

1. Sign in to your CRA account to access My Business Account (or Represent a Client if you are an authorized representative)
2. From the left navigation menu, select Profile
3. In the Notification preferences section, choose Manage notification preferences
4. Check your email address and add or update it if needed

New business? After receiving your business number and program accounts, register for a CRA account and add your email address.

How to view your online mail

Your business correspondence is considered received on the date it is posted in My Business Account. To view it:

1. Sign in to your CRA account to access My Business Account (or Represent a Client if you are an authorized representative)
2. From the left navigation menu, select Correspondence > Mail
3. Select and review your mail

This includes notices, letters, statements, assessments, and other CRA communications. Some mail cannot be added in My Business Account and continues to be mailed on paper.

Benefits of going digital

The CRA’s digital services make handling your business tax matters faster and easier. You and your authorized representatives can file, pay, and access detailed information about your tax accounts. By using the CRA’s digital services, businesses can:

• enable quicker communication with the CRA, making it easier to get updates and support 
• receive earlier confirmation for tax information
• manage business taxes quickly and easily from a computer or mobile device
• help reduce paper use, contributing to a cleaner and greener future by cutting down on waste

To learn more about our digital services, check out our tax tip: Looking for the fastest and easiest way to view and manage your business taxes online? Use our digital services!

Requesting paper mail

If you prefer paper mail, you must submit a formal request to the CRA. For more information go to Online mail for business.

Prescribed rates of interest

The prescribed annual rate of interest in effect from July 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026 on overdue amounts payable to the Minister is 7%. The prescribed annual rate of interest on amounts owed by the Minister (such as, rebates or refunds) is 3% for corporate taxpayers and 5% for non-corporate taxpayers. These rates are applicable to income tax, excise taxes, GST/HST, underused housing tax (UHT), air travellers security charge (ATSC), luxury tax, fuel charge (under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act) and excise duties on wine, spirits, tobacco, cannabis and vaping products.

The prescribed annual rate of interest respecting excise duty on beer products, on overdue amounts payable for the indicated period, is set at 5%. Refund interest rates are not applicable for amounts owed by the Minister (such as, rebates or refunds) for excise duty that is in relation to beer products.  

Prescribed interest rates for previous years are available on Canada.ca at Prescribed interest rates.

Forms and publications

All GST/HST, underused housing tax, luxury tax, fuel charge, excise duties, and excise taxes and other levies technical publications can be found on the Technical tax information webpage on Canada.ca. To access all forms and publications, go to Forms and publications - CRA, and for a list of new and revised publications, go to the Canada Revenue Agency publications listed by number webpage. To access guides, returns and elections relating to the GST/HST, go to GST/HST-related forms and publications.

To receive email notification as soon as a document is published on the Canada.ca website, go to Canada Revenue Agency electronic mailing lists and subscribe to the RSS feed for all new Canada Revenue Agency publications and forms, or subscribe to any number of mailing lists for different types of publications.

Contact us

The Excise and GST/HST News is published quarterly and highlights recent developments in the administration of the GST/HST, the QST for SLFIs, the First Nations goods and services tax (FNGST) and the First Nations tax (FNT), the air travellers security charge (ATSC), the underused housing tax, the fuel charge, and the luxury tax as well as excise taxes and duties. If you would like to receive a link to each new edition of the Excise and GST/HST News as it is published, subscribe to the electronic mailing list. This publication is provided for information purposes only and does not replace the law, either enacted or proposed. Please note that any commentary in this newsletter regarding proposed measures should not be taken as a statement by the CRA that such measures will in fact be enacted into law in their current form. Comments or suggestions about the newsletter should be sent to the Editor, Excise and GST/HST News, GST/HST Rulings Directorate, Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch, CRA, 5th Floor, Place de Ville, 320 Queen Street, Ottawa K1A 0L5.[