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PST — directors' liability re data conversion project

My client and his wife were directors of a small company that did records management work. It was registered for Ontario retail sales tax because it sold a small amount of equipment.

The company engaged in a large project to convert an insurance company's paper records, through microfilm, to electronic format. The microfilm was produced as part of the conversion process but was discarded once the records were in electronic form. My client called the Ontario Ministry of Revenue's Retail Sales Tax Branch and was advised that RST did not apply to this project because the output was electronic, not physical property. As a result, the company did not charge RST on its billings.

Eventually, the Retail Sales Tax Branch audited the company. and the audit manager was of the view that the company should have charged RST on its billings. This was followed by an assessment that, with interest, came to about $60,000. The company wound down its operations and did not pay the assessment.

Seven years later, the Ministry of Revenue wrote to my client, proposing to assess him and his wife as directors for some $100,000 for the company's RST liability plus interest.

I wrote a detailed letter to the Ministry to explain why my clients were not liable. First, as the case law showed, they were entitled to object to the calculation of the company's liability as the basis for assessing them personally. The company's work was the "single supply" of data conversion services, not producing microfilm (the cost of which was less than 2% of the project cost). I cited extensive case law on the concept of "single supply". I also explained that even if the company was liable, my clients as directors were not because each of them had exercised "due diligence" as directors.

The Ministry did not respond, but evidently agreed, as it did not assess my clients.

Problem vanished!

(2007)