Bulletin Province of British Columbia
Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations

Parliament Buildings, Victoria, British Columbia, V8V 2L9

INCOME TAXATION BRANCH


Property Transfer Tax Act

INFORMATION BULLETIN 1-87

(Issued: April 7, 1987)

Revised: March 28, 1995

ADVANCE RULINGS

As a service to taxpayers, the Revenue Division of the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations ("the Ministry") will provide advance rulings on the application of the Property Transfer Tax Act to proposed transactions.

An advance ruling will provide the Ministry's interpretation of the law as it applies to a specific transaction or series of related transactions. A ruling will be binding on the administrator of the Act, providing the transaction completes in the manner described in the taxpayer's advance ruling request. As an advance ruling represents the government's interpretation of the legislation, it is not binding on a taxpayer.

Fees

Effective April 1, 1995, the fee charged by the Ministry for advance ruling requests received on or after that date will be increased to $90 per hour from the current $75. The fee charged covers the cost of research, preparation of the ruling and stenographic services.

After receipt of an advance ruling request, the Ministry will provide a written estimate of the fee to the requestor. Acknowledgement and prepayment of the estimated fee is required before the advance ruling will be provided.

A supplementary request in which the circumstances of the originally proposed transaction are altered will be subject to an additional fee. A request for clarification of an advance ruling will not be subject to further charges.

Application of Rulings

An advance ruling provided by the Ministry applies only to the taxpayer(s) who requested the ruling or on whose behalf the ruling was requested. In certain cases, rulings may be issued which apply to a group of unnamed persons, e.g., strata unit holders, each of whom will be treated identically in the proposed transaction.

Advance rulings are only applicable to the proposed transaction and are not, by inference or in any other respect, applicable to other transactions.

Change in Law

Where the law upon which a ruling is based is changed, the ruling ceases to be valid from the effective date of the change in the law. The Ministry will not notify taxpayers of changes in the law which invalidate advance rulings.

Procedure for Requesting Advance Rulings

An advance ruling request must be made in writing and contain a clear statement of the questions the ruling is expected to address and a complete and detailed statement of the facts. The request should be accompanied by copies of actual documentation supporting the transaction.

A request for an advance ruling should be mailed to:

If time is of the essence, a request for an advance ruling may be couriered to our offices at 1061 Fort Street, Victoria, British Columbia or submitted by fax to (604) 953-3094.

Budget '95 (Province of B.C.)

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