Ontario Adopts Federal Tobacco Stamp
Effective April 1, 2013, and subject to a transition period, Ontario will adopt the federal tobacco stamping system for marking packages of cigarettes and packages of fine cut tobacco that are sold in Ontario, as announced in the 2012 Ontario Budget. The Ontario-adapted federal stamp will replace the yellow tear tape on cigarette packages.
Ontario Stamp and Denominations:
The Ontario-adapted federal stamp will have the letters “ON” and a yellow background colour. Below is a sample of the Ontario-adapted federal stamp and the available denominations:
- 20 cigarettes
- 25 cigarettes
|
- 50 grams
- 100 grams
- 150 grams
- 200 grams
- 250 grams
- 400 grams
|
The new stamp will apply to packages of cigarettes and packages of fine cut tobacco that are sold to consumers required to pay the Ontario tobacco tax. Cigarettes and fine cut tobacco sold tax-exempt (for example, to First Nations individuals on reserves or to diplomats), will not require the Ontario-adapted federal stamp.
Important Transition Dates
There will be a three-month transition period up to July 1, 2013 to help ensure that industry has time to move to the use of the Ontario-adapted federal stamp for marking packages of cigarettes and packages of fine cut tobacco. During this period, manufacturers and importers must mark packages of cigarettes and packages of fine cut tobacco with the current marking system (yellow tear tape for cigarettes, no Ontario-specific mark for fine cut tobacco).
Starting July 1, 2013, all manufacturers and importers must mark packages of cigarettes and packages fine cut tobacco with an Ontario-adapted federal stamp.
Starting January 1, 2014, all packages of cigarettes and packages of fine cut tobacco sold to consumers required to pay tobacco tax in Ontario must be marked with the Ontario-adapted federal stamp.
Obtaining Ontario Stamps
Manufacturers and importers registered under Ontario’s Tobacco Tax Act and who require the new Ontario-adapted federal stamp will order all stamps from the Canada Revenue Agency in the same way they currently order the peach coloured federal stamps. They must keep records to account for all Ontario-adapted federal stamps. These records must be made available to the Ministry of Finance upon request.
No Change for Other Tobacco
The requirement to mark tobacco products with the Ontario-adapted federal stamp will not apply to raw leaf tobacco, cigars, or tobacco products other than cigarettes and fine cut tobacco. Marking requirements for cartons and cases of cigarettes and fine cut tobacco are not changing.
For More Information
Ministry of Finance
Advisory Services and Program Policy Branch
Commodity and Land Taxes Section
33 King Street West, PO Box 625
Oshawa ON L1H 8H9
- 1 866 ONT-TAXS (1 866 668-8297)
- Fax: 905 433-5952
- 1 800 263-7776 for teletypewriter (TTY)