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Volume 58, No. 13

123/2015

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

June 30, 2015

B.C. Reg. 123/2015 , deposited June 29, 2015, under the FINANCE STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2015 [section 133] and the TOBACCO TAX ACT [section 44 (2) (

k) and (k.1)]. Order in Council 358/2015, approved and ordered June 29, 2015.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Administrator, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that

(

a) B.C. Reg. 107/2015 is repealed,

(

b) effective July 1, 2015, sections 123, 125, 126 and 129 to 131 of the Finance Statutes Amendment Act, 2015 , S.B.C. 2015, c. 8, are brought into force, and

(

c) effective July 1, 2015, the Tobacco Tax Act Regulation, B.C. Reg. 66/2002, is amended as set out in the attached Schedule.

— M. DE JONG, Minister of Finance ; A. WILKINSON, Presiding Member of the Executive Council .

Schedule

Section 1 of the Tobacco Tax Act Regulation, B.C. Reg. 66/2002, is amended

(

a) by repealing the

definitions of “case” , “indicium” , “package” , “tear tape” and “unmarked tobacco” and substituting the following:

“case” means,

(

a) in relation to cigarettes, a container in which 25 or more cartons are packed,

(

b) in relation to pre-proportioned tobacco sticks, a container in which 10 or more packages are packed, and

(

c) in relation to fine cut tobacco, a container in which 10 or more packages are packed;

“package” means,

(

a) in relation to cigarettes, a container in which 30 or fewer cigarettes are packed,

(

b) in relation to pre-proportioned tobacco sticks, a container in which 300 or fewer pre-proportioned tobacco sticks are packed, and

(

c) in relation to fine cut tobacco, a container in which no more than 500 grams of fine cut tobacco is packed;

“unmarked tobacco” means a package, carton or case that does not bear the stamp or mark specified in

section 26, other than black stock tobacco. ,

(

b) in the

definitions of “exempt consumer” and “exempted tobacco” by striking out “ this Act ” and substituting “ the Act ” ,

(

c) in the definition of “manufacturer” by striking out “ in Canada ” ,

(

d) in the definition of “mark-point” by striking out “ or stamping ” and by striking out “ of tobacco ” , and

(

e) by adding the following

definitions:

“British Columbia stamp” means an excise stamp, as defined in

section 2 of the Excise Act, 2001 (Canada), that includes the text “BC” and a background colour of Pantone green 333, 100%;

“fine cut tobacco” means loose tobacco that has been refined to the point where it is ready to be formed into a cigarette or pre-proportioned tobacco stick; .

Section 4 (2) (

a) and (3) is repealed.

Section 8 is amended

(

a) in subsection (3) by striking out “ may purchase, possess, and store black stock tobacco ” and substituting “ may purchase, possess and store black stock tobacco ” and by striking out “ may purchase, possess, store unmarked tobacco ” and substituting “ may purchase, possess and store unmarked tobacco ” , and

(

b) in subsections (4) and (5) by striking out “ the indicium ” and substituting “ the stamp or mark specified in

section 26 ”.

Section 9 is amended

(

a) by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) Despite subsection (1), a dealer may purchase, possess and store unmarked tobacco for the purpose of

section 23 (3). ,

(

b) in subsections (2) and (3) by striking out “ packages, cartons and cases of ” , and

(

c) by adding the following subsection:

(5) The director may authorize a dealer, other than an exempt sale retail dealer, to purchase, possess or store black stock tobacco or unmarked tobacco and to sell black stock tobacco or unmarked tobacco to an exempt sale retail dealer.

5 The heading to

Part 3 is repealed and the following substituted:

Part 3 – Marking of Packages, Cartons and Cases .

Section 23 is repealed and the following substituted:

Requirement to mark packages, cartons and cases

(1) Every manufacturer who manufactures, fabricates, produces or packs in Canada packages, cartons or cases for sale in British Columbia to a consumer who is liable to pay tax under the Act must mark each package, carton and case with the stamp or mark specified in

section 26.

(2) Every dealer who imports into Canada packages, cartons or cases for sale in British Columbia to a consumer who is liable to pay tax under the Act must ensure that each package, carton and case is marked with the stamp or mark specified in

section 26.

(3) If a dealer acquires unmarked tobacco from a person who has imported the tobacco into Canada and the tobacco is to be sold by the dealer in British Columbia to a consumer who is liable to pay tax under the Act, the dealer must mark each package, carton and case with the stamp or mark specified in

section 26.

Application for authorization to mark packages, cartons and cases

23.1 A manufacturer or dealer applying for authorization to mark packages, cartons and cases must apply in writing to the director.

Section 24 is amended by striking out “ be marked or stamped with the indicium. ” and substituting “ bear the stamp or mark specified in

section 26. ”

8 Sections 25 to 28 are repealed and the following substituted:

Powers of the director

25 The director may do any one or more of the following:

(

a) authorize a manufacturer or dealer to mark packages, cartons and cases;

(

b) authorize a dealer to purchase, possess, store or sell packages, cartons or cases that bear a stamp or mark other than the stamp or mark specified in

section 26, other than black stock tobacco;

(

c) impose conditions and limitations that the director considers appropriate with respect to the marking of packages, cartons and cases;

(

d) specify the number and location of mark-points that a manufacturer or dealer who is authorized to mark packages, cartons and cases may establish and operate;

(

e) cancel or suspend an authorization to mark packages, cartons and cases if the director is satisfied that a manufacturer or dealer has not complied with the Act or this regulation.

Marking requirements – cigarettes, pre-proportioned tobacco sticks and fine cut tobacco

(1) For the purposes of

section 23, every package of cigarettes or fine cut tobacco must be marked with the British Columbia stamp.

(2) In addition to the requirements under subsection (1), every carton of cigarettes and package of pre-proportioned tobacco sticks must be marked with a mark that conforms to the following specifications:

(

a) the mark must read “ BC – CB ”;

(

b) the width of the mark must not be less than 2.9 cm;

(

c) the height of the mark must not be less than 1.4 cm;

(

d) the background colour of the mark must be Pantone green 333, 100%;

(

e) the mark must be surrounded by a border that is a thickness of 1.5 point;

(

f) the colour of the text and border must be process black, 100%;

(

g) the text must be in Helvetica bold, not less than 12 point, upper case lettering.

(3) The mark referred to in subsection (2) must be affixed or imprinted on each end sticker that seals the end flaps of the carton of cigarettes or package of pre-proportioned tobacco sticks or, if the carton or package is a paperboard box, at each end of the box.

(4) In addition to the requirements under subsections (1) and (2), every case of cigarettes, pre-proportioned tobacco sticks or fine cut tobacco must be marked by printing on the top of any 2 opposite face sides of the case the text “BC – CB” that conforms to the following specifications:

(

a) the text must be 38.1 mm in height, upper case lettering;

(

b) the colour of the text must be process black, 100%.

Transitional marking system

26.1

(1) From July 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015, packages, cartons or cases may be marked or stamped in accordance with either or both of the following:

(

a) this Part as it read immediately before the coming into force of this section, or

(

b) this Part as it read on and after the date this

section came into force.

(2) This

section is repealed on January 1,

Section 29 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

(1) Every manufacturer who manufactures, fabricates, produces or packs in Canada packages, cartons or cases intended for distribution, sale or storage in British Columbia and every wholesale dealer must establish and maintain an accounting system, satisfactory to the director, that provides an accounting of the number of packages, cartons and cases that

(

a) bear the stamp or mark specified in

section 26,

(

b) are black stock tobacco, or

(

c) are unmarked tobacco. , and

(

b) by repealing subsections (4) and (5).

Section 30 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsections (1) to (4) and substituting the following:

(1) A dealer must not purchase, possess, store or sell packages, cartons or cases that bear a stamp or mark other than the stamp or mark specified in

section 26, other than black stock tobacco, unless

(

a) the dealer intends to ship the packages, cartons or cases out of British Columbia for resale, and

(

b) the dealer has written authorization from the director to purchase, possess, store or sell such packages, cartons or cases.

(2) A dealer must not sell a package, carton or case to a consumer who is liable to pay tax under the Act unless the package, carton or case bears the stamp or mark specified in

section 26.

(4) A dealer must not store black stock tobacco or unmarked tobacco, or packages, cartons or cases that bear a stamp or mark other than the stamp or mark specified in

section 26, at a location other than a mark-point or another location authorized in writing by the director. ,

(

b) in subsection (5) by striking out “ or stamp ” , and

(

c) by adding the following subsection:

(9) A person must not mark a package, carton or case with the stamp or mark specified in

section 26 if the package, carton or case is

(

a) manufactured, fabricated, produced or packed in Canada for the purpose of a retail sale in British Columbia that is not a taxable sale under the Act, or

(

b) imported into Canada for the purpose of a retail sale in British Columbia that is not a taxable sale under the Act.

Section 31 is repealed.

Section 32 is amended

(

a) in subsections (1) and (2) by striking out “ 54 (8) (a) (i) ” and substituting “ 54 (8) (a) ” , and

(

b) in subsection (1) (

a) and (

b) by striking out “ posses ” and substituting “ possess ”.

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