Penalties, Fines and Imprisonment (Violations of the Law)
If you fail to comply with the Tobacco Tax Act, you may be subjected to penalties and fines, as well as imprisonment. If you sell, deliver or are in possession of counterfeit tobacco products, you are guilty of an offence under the Tobacco Tax Act.
Compliance
If you have reason to believe that someone with whom you do business is not complying with the Tobacco Tax Act, contact us. Note that you can use the Validate a QST Registration Number online service to validate whether a person's QST registration is valid.
Penalties
The minimum penalty is $1,000 and the maximum penalty is equal to five times the amount of unpaid tobacco tax.
Fines
A fine of at least $300 is imposed for certain minor offences. For more serious offences, the fine varies from $5,000 to $1,000,000, and a prison term of up to two years may be imposed. A fine that varies from $10,000 to $2,500,000 is also provided for a subsequent offence within five years.
If a retail vendor purchases tobacco products from a wholesale vendor that does not have a collection officer's permit, both parties are liable to a penalty and a fine of at least $5,000.
Any consumer who has in his or her possession tobacco contained in a package not identified in accordance with the Act is liable to a fine of not less than $350.