Reporting and Remitting the Specific Tax on Alcoholic Beverages
If you produce alcoholic beverages and sell them either for resale or directly to consumers, you must report and remit the specific tax on alcoholic beverages that you collected.
If you sell alcoholic beverages at retail (for example, in a restaurant or grocery store) or distribute alcoholic beverages other than beer and you collect an amount equal to the specific tax you paid your supplier, you do not have to file a return or remit the tax.
However, if the special tax you collected is greater than what you paid your supplier, you must file a return and remit the difference.
Reporting the tax
To report the tax, file the Return Respecting the Specific Tax on Alcoholic Beverages (VDZ-498-V). Your reporting period is the same as for the GST/HST – QST Return (FPZ-500-V) and/or the QST Return (VDZ-471-V).
If you are an alcoholic beverage producer or a beer distributor, you must file form VDZ-498-V at the same time as you file your QST return, even if you have no balance payable.
Remitting the tax
You can remit an amount in any of the following ways:
- electronically,
- using the online payment service of a financial institution (use your payment code),
- at a financial institution or an ATM (check with your financial institution to see if it offers these payment options); or
- by mail.
If the amount to be remitted is $10,000 or more, you are required to make your payment electronically, unless electronic payment is impossible due to special circumstances.
Payment date
Regardless of how you pay, your payment is considered to be received on the date it is received at one of our offices or the date it is processed by a financial institution for remittance to the Minister of Revenue of Québec. To avoid interest and penalties, make sure you account for processing by your financial institution.
Viewing returns and remittances
Log in to My Account for businesses to view your returns, remittances, refunds and statement of account.
Businesses can have their online service managers consent to online correspondence only for return and remittance items in the My Account for businesses communications centre. This consent can be changed directly in My Account.
Penalties and interest
To avoid being charged late-filing penalties, penalties for failing to file or interest, see the remittance schedules for the specific tax on alcoholic beverages for the payment deadlines.
If you failed to fulfill your fiscal obligations or filed an incomplete or inaccurate return, you can rectify your tax situation by filing a voluntary disclosure application. By doing so, you may be able to benefit from relief in respect of the penalties and interest prescribed under fiscal legislation.