Generally speaking, the sale, for a single price, of an item comprised of a printed book that has an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and other property, other than a read-only medium or the right to access a website, is a taxable sale. In such a case, the sale constitutes the sale of a new item that is not a printed book.

For example, the sale of an item comprised of a printed book and any of the following property is a taxable sale:

• massage stones
• cups
• tasting spoons
• tarot cards
• tools
• paints and brushes
• coloured pencils
• a cooking thermometer
• a jigger and shaker
• a bowl
• needles and thread

In some very rare cases, the sale of an item comprised of a printed book and other property that is of little importance remains the sale of a printed book. For example, the sale of a printed book and some stickers is a zero-rated sale.

To learn more, see interpretation bulletin TVQ. 198.1-1, Printed Books, on the Publications du Québec website

Read-only media or rights to access a website

A read-only medium is a tangible medium designed for storage of information and other data in digital form. A consumer can only use this medium in read mode.

The sale, for a single price, of an item comprised of a printed book with an ISBN number and a read-only medium or the right to access a website is a zero-rated sale, provided

• the printed book and the read-only medium or the right to access a website are wrapped, packaged, combined or otherwise prepared to be sold as an inseparable whole of which they are the only components
• it is reasonable to consider the printed book to be the main component of the sale

For example, the sale, for a single price, of any of the following three items, which meet the above-mentioned requirements, is a zero-rated sale:

• a recipe book and a CD-ROM showing how to prepare some of the recipes in the book
• a psychology book and a Web companion that provides the means to access additional information online
• an English dictionary in book form and on CD-ROM

On the other hand, the sale, for a single price, of an item comprised of a novel and a DVD of the film version of the novel is a taxable sale, because the item sold does not meet the above-mentioned requirements.