t-3 - Meals and Hotels Tax Act

Updated to 1 April 1999

This document has official status.

chapter T-3

Meals and Hotels Tax Act

Repealed, 1990, c. 60, s. 54.

1990, c. 60, s. 54.

1. In this Act and the regulations,

(1)  “establishment” means

(a)  any establishment provided with special accommodation so that, for payment, lodging or food are habitually available there, excluding an establishment where, for payment by the week or by the month, lodging or food and lodging is or are habitually available, and excluding an educational, charitable, hospitalizing or sheltering institution or other similar institution;

(b)  premises where alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption there;

(c)  an autobus, a railway train or a ship, in Québec, on which meals or alcoholic beverages are served;

(d)  an enterprise which sells, delivers or serves meals for consumption elsewhere; or

(e)  a tavern within the meaning of section 27 of the Act respecting liquor permits (chapter P-9.1);

(2)  “fiscal law” means any fiscal law within the meaning of paragraph a of section 1 of the Act respecting the Ministère du Revenu (chapter M-31); and

(3)  “Minister” means the Minister of Revenue.

R. S. 1964, c. 73, s. 1; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 30, s. 1; 1969, c. 33, s. 1; 1971, c. 19, s. 200; 1978, c. 33, s. 1; 1979, c. 71, s. 160; 1982, c. 38, s. 31.

1.1. Notwithstanding any other general law or special act, this act is binding on the Government, Government departments and agencies and mandataries of the Crown.

1979, c. 20, s. 5.

2. (1)  A tax of 10 % is imposed on the price, owing or paid, of each meal costing more than $3.25, given or taken in an establishment or sold, delivered or served by a person who keeps an establishment.

(2)  Every fraction of $0.01 of such tax shall be counted as a whole.

(3)  The price of a meal also includes that of the beverages sold, delivered or served with the meal, but does not include service charges indicated separately on the bill to the extent that they are paid to the employees and declared in the statement of income filed by the employer in conformity with the Taxation Act (chapter I-3).

(4)  The tax provided in subsection 1 is also imposed on the price of any alcoholic beverage sold in an establishment for consumption there and on the price of any liquid sold or served with such beverage, when such sale is made with a meal costing $3.25 or less or without a meal.

(5)  Such tax is also imposed on the price of any aerated water to which essence or syrup has been added, which is sold, delivered or served by a person who keeps an establishment, with a meal costing $3.25 or less or without a meal.

(6)  That tax is not imposed on the value of a meal included in the price of lodging in an establishment.

(6.1)  That tax is not imposed on the price of maple syrup, maple sugar or maple taffy sold in an establishment for consumption elsewhere.

(7)  (Subsection repealed).

(8)  That tax shall not be payable by persons employed in an establishment on the price of meals supplied to them by the person who keeps the establishment; however, that tax applies to alcoholic beverages or to aerated water to which essence or syrup has been added that are sold, delivered or served with those meals.

(9)  Tax shall not be imposed on the price of beer and of weak cider served in a tavern.

(9.1)  Tax shall not be imposed on the price of a meal bought by an establishment or institution excluded in subparagraph a of paragraph 1 of section 1 if the meal is prepared and served in this establishment or institution for its customers or beneficiaries.

(10)  The tax imposed by this section, whether the price is stipulated payable in cash, on terms, by instalments or otherwise, shall be collected at the time of the sale on the whole contract price by the person who keeps the establishment.

R. S. 1964, c. 73, s. 2; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 30, s. 1; 1966-67, c. 36, s. 1; 1969, c. 33, s. 2; 1970, c. 23, s. 1; 1970, c. 15, s. 28; 1971, c. 28, s. 1; 1973, c. 17, s. 171; 1975, c. 27, s. 1; 1977, c. 28, s. 1; 1978, c. 33, s. 2; 1982, c. 38, s. 32; 1989, c. 5, s. 264.

3. (1)  The person who keeps an establishment must prepare and keep a bill or account of the price of the meals and beverages supplied on which the amount of the tax must be inscribed separately. That duty shall be paid, by the person who owes or is paying such bill or account, to the person keeping the establishment, who acts, in such case, as an agent of the Minister of Revenue and must collect and remit such duty monthly to the Minister of Revenue.

(2)  The Minister of Revenue may allocate to the person keeping the establishment, for the collection of the duty and its remittance to the Minister, any indemnity determined by regulation of the Government.

(3)  Any person who keeps an establishment, or to whom a registration certificate has been issued under section 5, shall furnish the Minister of Revenue, within the first fifteen days of each month, with a report in the form prescribed by him of the amount of tax collected by such person during the preceding month, even if nothing has been collected. He must also, within such delay of fifteen days, remit the tax collected during such month.

R. S. 1964, c. 73, s. 3; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 30, s. 2; 1971, c. 28, s. 2; 1975, c. 27, s. 2; 1978, c. 33, s. 3; 1981, c. 24, s. 22.

4. When there is a single meal-check for several persons or meals, it shall not be divided by the number of persons or meals and, notwithstanding section 2, the tax is computed on the total price of the meals appearing on the meal-check.

R. S. 1964, c. 73, s. 4; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 30, s. 3; 1988, c. 4, s. 192.

5. (1)  No person shall keep an establishment unless, upon his application, a registration certificate has been issued to him under this act and is in force.

(2)  The application for a registration certificate shall be made in the manner determined by the Minister and contain the information required by him.

(3)  Such registration certificate shall be issued by the Minister of Revenue or any other person designated by him. It shall be kept at the principal place of business of the person keeping the establishment, and shall not be transferable.

(4)  The Minister of Revenue shall refuse a registration certificate to a person who has not complied with the Act respecting liquor permits (chapter P-9.1) or the Hotels Act (chapter H-3).

(5)  The Minister may refuse a registration certificate to any person convicted of an infringement of this act.

(6)  The Minister may also suspend or cancel the certificate of a person convicted of an infringement of this Act or of an offence described in section 60 or 61 of the Act respecting the Ministère du Revenu (chapter M-31).

(7)  The Minister may require of any person, as a condition of issue or continuance in force of a certificate in his name, security in such amount as he may fix, if such person:

(a)  has been convicted of an offence against this act;

(b)  is insolvent; or

(c)  owes duties, within the meaning of the Act respecting the Ministère du Revenu.

The amount of the security shall not exceed $10 000 for the issue of a certificate.

In the case of the continuance in force of a certificate, the amount of the security is established by taking into account the amount of the tax payable by such person in respect of the six months preceding the date on which the security is required.

(8)  The following information must be given when a certificate is applied for:

(a)  by one or more persons doing business under a firm name,—the name and address of such person or persons;

(b)  by a partnership,—the name and address of each partner;

(c)  by a corporation, club, association or syndicate,—the name and address of the president, if he resides in Québec; if not, the name and address of its manager or representative in Québec and the address of its place of business in Québec.

R. S. 1964, c. 73, s. 5; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 30, s. 4; 1971, c. 19, s. 200; 1971, c. 28, s. 3; 1977, c. 28, s. 2; 1979, c. 71, s. 160; 1982, c. 38, s. 33; 1983, c. 43, s. 15; 1990, c. 4, s. 850.

6. (1)  Every person who:

(a)  does not furnish a report or any other document or information in the manner and at the time prescribed under this act or the regulations made by the Government under this act; or

(b)  being an agent of the Minister, refuses or neglects to collect, account for, report or remit the tax, the whole in accordance with this act and the regulations made by the Government under this act,

commits an offence and is liable to a fine of not less than $25 for each day that the offence continues.

(2)  Every person who:

(a)  keeps an establishment without a registration certificate still in force, or otherwise contravenes section 5 or the regulations made by the Government under this act;

(b)  contravenes subsection 1 of section 3,

commits an offence and is liable to a fine of not less than $200 nor more than $5 000.

R. S. 1964, c. 73, s. 7; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 30, s. 5; 1971, c. 28, s. 4 (part); 1972, c. 25, s. 20, s. 24.

7. (Repealed).

1971, c. 28, s. 4; 1983, c. 49, s. 52.

8. (Repealed).

1971, c. 28, s. 4; 1983, c. 49, s. 52.

9. (Repealed).

R. S. 1964, c. 73, s. 8; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 30, s. 5; 1982, c. 38, s. 34.

10. (Repealed).

1974, c. 22, s. 1; 1978, c. 32, s. 1; 1979, c. 72, s. 392; 1979, c. 72, s. 394.

11. (Repealed).

1974, c. 22, s. 1; 1978, c. 32, s. 2; 1979, c. 72, s. 393; 1979, c. 72, s. 394.

12. The Government may make, amend, replace and repeal any regulations and forms which it may deem necessary for the carrying out of the foregoing sections.

It may also, by regulation, define the expressions “meal” and “meal for consumption elsewhere”.

It may also, by regulation, order that a beverage designated by it that is in an establishment of a kind determined by it be in a container identified in the manner determined by it or of a size determined by it and that it be sold and delivered in that container. It may also, by regulation, order that such containers be for the exclusive use of that kind of establishment.

It may also, by regulation, require that the person who keeps the establishment:

(a)  Shall make use of the system of vouchers determined in the regulation in order to enable the Crown to verify the collection and remittance of the duty;

(b)  Shall receive the auditor in the establishment and deliver to him the books and documents which such officer may require.

Regulations made under this Act come into force on the date of their publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec or on any later date fixed therein; they may also, once published and if they so provide, apply to a date prior to their publication but not prior to the current year.

R. S. 1964, c. 73, s. 10; 1969, c. 33, s. 3; 1978, c. 33, s. 4; 1979, c. 78, s. 9.

13. The Minister of Revenue shall have charge of the application of this act.

1971, c. 28, s. 12.

14. (This section ceased to have effect on 17 April 1987).

1982, c. 21, s. 1; U. K., 1982, c. 11, Sch. B, Part I, s. 33.

REPEAL SCHEDULE

In accordance with section 17 of the Act respecting the consolidation of the statutes (chapter R-3), chapter 73 of the Revised Statutes, 1964, in force on 31 December 1977, is repealed effective from the coming into force of chapter T-3 of the Revised Statutes.