I am writing in response to a letter printed in The Morning Star regarding how tax rates apply to items being mailed from province to province.
According to the Excise Tax Act (GST/HST legislation), postal services involving a bill of lading are subject to GST or HST based on the destination address.
Canada Post considers commercial parcels, Xpresspost and Priority Courier to be postal services made pursuant to a bill of lading.
Therefore, if a customer uses one of these services to send an item to the HST zone (Nfld., N.S. or N.B.), HST would apply to the postage.
Likewise, if a customer from the HST zone uses one of these services to send an item outside the HST zone, only GST would apply.
Consumer parcels and letter mail are taxed based on province of origin.
We appreciate our customer’s concern and the opportunity to clarify that tax is applied as is directed by the GST/HST legislation, not by Canada Post.
Kathryn Neal, Communications Manager
Canada Post
