VICTORIA – Businesses can sign up now to have a government PST specialist review their accounting and reporting systems to ensure their systems are properly set up to comply with provincial sales tax laws, announced Minister of State for Small Business Naomi Yamamoto.
The PST education program is a general review of a business’ accounts and systems to ensure they are set up correctly to collect, report, remit and pay the PST. It is not a records or transactional review; however, a small sample of invoices may be used to help with the system review.
The education program is not an audit, so businesses won’t be issued a tax assessment for any errors noted. If the PST hasn’t been correctly paid, collected, or remitted, the business will be advised of the corrective actions needed and will have the opportunity to correct the mistakes on their next PST return. If the business doesn’t correct the errors noted in the review and undergoes a future audit, the errors would be subject to an assessment, plus any applicable penalties and interest.
Businesses with no prior PST experience and small to medium businesses would benefit most from this service, although it is available to all businesses operating in B.C. Government will try to reach as many businesses as possible to promote voluntary compliance with the PST.
For more information or to complete the online registration form to request an appointment, visit www.gov.bc.ca/pstoutreach. If you have any difficulties registering online, call us toll-free at 1 877 388-4440.
This outreach program replaces the one-on-one consultations with a PST specialist.