You must comply with the tax measures related to mandatory billing and apply the corresponding rules in each of their establishments, regardless of whether or not they are a QST registrant. If you fail to do so, you will be liable to penalties and fines.

Providing bills to clients

If you are subject to the mandatory billing measures, you must:

• make sure that the required information is shown on bills;
• provide a bill to clients at all times; and
• keep a paper or electronic copy of all bills for six years after the current year.

Sanctions for non-compliance are:

• a $100 penalty
• a $300 to $5,000 fine
• a $1,000 to $10,000 fine (for a second offence within five years)
• a $5,000 to $50,000 fine (for subsequent offences within five years)

You are also required to keep all supporting documents for adjusted or cancelled transactions for six years after the current year.

If you use generic terms on your bills to describe the property and services provided, as applicable, you must keep a copy of all your menus and similar documents.

Use of a sales recording module to produce bills

If you are registered for the QST and subject to the mandatory billing measures, you must, in addition to complying with the above-mentioned obligations:

• generate your bills using a sales recording module (SRM);
• use your SRM as soon as it is activated;
• enter without delay the payment mode used by your clients in the sales recording system (SRS) connected to an SRM so that the payment mode will be recorded in the SRM; and
• leave the SRM security seal intact and notify us if it is damaged.

Sanctions for non-compliance are:

• a $300 penalty
• a $2,000 to $100,000 fine, combined or not with a maximum of six months in prison
• security for maintaining a registration certificate (under the Tax Administration Act)
• suspension or revocation of the registration certificate (under the Tax Administration Act)

Furthermore, you must not print out a bill more than once. However, you may reprint a bill, for example, when the original bill cannot be given to the client because it has been altered. The SRM must be used to reprint the bill. A reprinted bill must be given to the client.

If you reproduce bills for internal management or administrative purposes, the reproduction must bear the mention "Copie du commerçant. Ne pas remettre au client" (Merchant's copy. Do not give to the client). Reproduced bills generated by an SRM do not have a footer and must not be given to clients.

Sanctions for non-compliance are:

• a $200 penalty
• a $400 to $5,000 fine
• a $2,000 to $10,000 fine (for a second offence within five years)
• a $5,000 to $25,000 fine (for subsequent offences within five years)

These sanctions are also applicable if you provide a bill that was not generated by an SRM.

If, for some reason, you are unable to provide a client with a bill produced by an SRM, contact us.

Physical integrity of the SRM

Once acquired, an SRM becomes your property. You must therefore:

• make sure that the SRM's security seal is always in place and that the device is not opened; and
• have a new seal installed immediately, and at your own expense, if the old one is damaged and notify us by telephone.

Sanctions for non-compliance are:

• a $100 penalty
• a $300 to $5,000 fine
• a $1,000 to $10,000 fine (for a second offence within five years)
• a $5,000 to $50,000 fine (for subsequent offences within five years)

Filing the Sommaire périodique des ventes

If you are required to produce bills using an SRM, then you are required also to file a Sommaire périodique des ventes (periodic sales summary) with us each month using the same SRM.

For each periodic sales summary you fail to file by the prescribed deadline, you will be liable to a penalty of $25 per day late up to a maximum of $2,500.

If you are unable to file your periodic sales summaries, contact us.