Vol. 149, No. 5 — March 11, 2015

Registration

SI/2015-15 March 11, 2015

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT

Certain Flights Charge and Tax Remission Order

P.C. 2015-206 February 19 , 2015

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, considering that it is in the public interest to do so, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, pursuant to subsection 23(2) (see footnote a) of the Financial Administration Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Certain Flights Charge and Tax Remission Order.

CERTAIN FLIGHTS CHARGE AND TAX REMISSION ORDER

INTERPRETATION

1. (1) The following definitions apply in this Order.

“qualified flight” means a flight that was provided by Air Canada on June 10, 2014 for no consideration solely to travellers who were attending a Royal Canadian Mounted Police regimental funeral in Moncton on that day if the flight was taking place either

“traveller” means an individual who, on June 10, 2014,

(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, words and expressions used in this Order have the same meaning as in the Air Travellers Security Charge Act.

REMISSION

2. Remission is granted of the charge imposed under section 11 of the Air Travellers Security Charge Act in respect of an air transportation service that included a chargeable emplanement of a traveller in a qualified flight.

3. Remission is granted of any tax imposed under section 165 of the Excise Tax Act in respect of the charge referred to in section 2.

4. Remission is granted of interest and penalties paid or payable on any amount for which remission is granted under section 2 or 3.

CONDITIONS

5. Remission is granted only to the extent to which the amount remitted has not otherwise been rebated, remitted, credited or refunded to any person under the Financial Administration Act or any other Act of Parliament.

6. If the charge referred to in section 2, or the tax referred to in section 3, was paid by the person acquiring the air transportation service, or was remitted by Air Canada to the Receiver General, remission is granted on the condition that

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

To make the Certain Flights Charge and Tax Remission Order.

Objectives

To provide relief from the Air Travellers Security Charge (ATSC) and the related Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) in respect of special flights provided by Air Canada, for no consideration, to officers and officials of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who were attending a regimental funeral in Moncton, New Brunswick on June 10, 2014.

Background

The ATSC came into effect in April 2002 to fund the air travel security system, including the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) — the federal authority responsible for the security screening of air passengers and their baggage. For air travel within Canada, the ATSC applies to flights between the 89 airports where air travel security services are provided by CATSA, including Toronto (Lester B. Pearson International), Ottawa (Macdonald-Cartier International) and Moncton.

The ATSC is payable by air travellers, who principally and directly benefit from the enhanced air travel security system. The charge is intended to provide revenues that are roughly equivalent to expenses for air travel security over time. All proceeds from the ATSC, including any related GST or the federal portion of the HST, are intended to fund the air travel security system. Currently, the charge for a round-trip domestic flight is $14.25 plus the related GST/HST.

On June 10, 2014, Air Canada provided special flights, for no consideration, solely for certain RCMP officers and officials to attend the regimental funeral for the three RCMP officers who had been killed in the line of duty in Moncton, New Brunswick.

The special flights provided by Air Canada occurred between the airports of Toronto (Lester B. Pearson International), Ottawa (Macdonald-Cartier International) and Moncton. The Governor General in Council considers that it is in the public interest to provide a one-time relief on the ATSC (and the related GST/HST) on these flights. A remission order is required to provide this relief as the ATSC legislation provides no exception for these particular circumstances.

Implications

In the case where the ATSC and the related GST/HST has already been paid, or remitted to the Receiver General, relief is granted on the condition that a written claim is made to the Minister of National Revenue not later than one year after the day on which this Order is made. Given that this ATSC relief is exceptional in nature and is provided on a one-time basis, this Remission Order has a negligible impact on government duty and tax revenues.

Departmental contact

Gervais Coulombe
Sales Tax Division
Department of Finance
90 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 0G6
Telephone: 613-369-3773