Vol. 149, No. 7 — April 8, 2015

Registration

SOR/2015-68 March 25, 2015

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT

Low-value Amounts Regulations

Whereas, pursuant to paragraphs 155.2(2)(a) (see footnote a) and (c) (see footnote b) of the Financial Administration Act (see footnote c), the Treasury Board is of the opinion that circumstances justify doing so;

Therefore, the Treasury Board, pursuant to subsection 155.2(2) (see footnote d) of the Financial Administration Act (see footnote e), makes the annexed Low-value Amounts Regulations.

LOW-VALUE AMOUNTS REGULATIONS

Definition of “Act”

1. In these Regulations, “Act” means the Financial Administration Act.

Amounts deemed nil

2. For the purposes of subsection 155.2(1) of the Act, the amount is fixed at:

Exception — accumulated amounts

3. (1) Despite section 2, the following amounts payable by Her Majesty in right of Canada accumulate for the period referred to in paragraph (2)(a) or (b):

Period of accumulation

(2) The amounts payable accumulate during the following periods:

Payment

(3) If at any time during the period referred to in paragraph (2)(a) or (b) the accumulated amount exceeds the applicable threshold, payment will be made within 30 days after that time.

No payment

(4) Subject to paragraph 4(d), if the accumulated amount does not exceed the applicable threshold at the end of the period referred to in paragraph (2)(a) or (b), it is deemed nil under subsection 155.2(1) of the Act.

Circumstance for accumulation

(5) For the purposes of subsection (1), only amounts payable to the same recipient that are of the same type or payable under the same program, legislation or regulation may accumulate.

Exemption

4. Subsection 155.2(1) of the Act does not apply to the following amounts:

April 1, 2015

5. These Regulations come into force on April 1, 2015.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

The Government of Canada undertakes millions of transactions each year with Canadians and businesses, for both payments and receipts. Some of these transactions are for very low amounts, and the Government estimates that the cost to collect or make such payments is greater than the value of the payments themselves. These low-value payments impose an unnecessary burden on Canadians, businesses and Government.

Background

On December 16, 2014, amendments to the Financial Administration Act related to low-value amounts received royal assent. New section 155.2 deems nil low-value amounts that fall below the threshold established in the Regulations, and as a result, the Government will neither pay nor collect low-value amounts. It excludes from its application amounts owed by Crown corporations to persons other than the Government, amounts payable to Crown corporations by such persons, amounts payable under the Air Travellers Security Charge Act, the Excise Act, 2001, the Excise Tax Act, the Income Tax Act or the Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge Act, 2006, and amounts related to the public debt or to interest on the public debt. The amendments also provide the Treasury Board with the authority to make regulations to set a low-value threshold, to specify circumstances for the accumulation of amounts that would otherwise be deemed to be nil, and to exclude amounts.

Since 2003, the Income Tax Act has contained a $2 threshold, such that payments to and from the Government of that amount or less are deemed to be nil.

Objectives

The objective of the Low-value Amounts Regulations (the Regulations) is to allow for the more effective and efficient administration of low-value payments to or by the Government of Canada.

Description

The Regulations contain a general threshold of $2 and a threshold of $0.99 for certain payments (employment insurance, Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan), at or below which amounts will not be collected or paid by the Government. Certain government programs payments (Old Age Security, Canada Pension Plan and benefits to veterans) to vulnerable segments of the population will be accumulated until the threshold is either reached within 12 months and paid or deemed nil otherwise. Low-value payments to the Government will not be accumulated for later collection.

The Regulations also provide the authority to accumulate payroll and pension payments for up to 12 months or at the end of the calendar year, whichever comes first. The Government has traditionally accumulated payroll and pension payments and will continue to do so. Not accumulating pension payments could also have a negative impact on vulnerable pensioners.

The Regulations also contain exclusions from its application, which apply to all departments (that is payments in foreign currency, user fees, point of sale, and payments requested in writing).

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to these Regulations, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to these Regulations, as there are no costs (or insignificant costs) to small business. All businesses, including small businesses, are expected to benefit from the proposal, given the elimination of requirements to submit low-value payments to the Government of Canada.

Consultation

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat consulted with key federal government departments between October and December 2014. These consultations helped to inform the identification of appropriate thresholds, certain payments that should be accumulated, and exclusions.

The authority to establish the Regulations, in the Financial Administration Act, was included in the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2, and was considered by Parliament in the fall of 2014. No comments or concerns were raised with respect to the proposed authority.

A notice to interested parties, articulating the likely contents of the Regulations, including the possible threshold of $2, was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on January 3, 2015, followed by a 30-day public comment period. No comments were received.

Rationale

In Budget 2014, the Government of Canada committed to improving the efficiency of internal government operations. Consistent with this commitment, and with ongoing efforts to ease the burden on Canadians and businesses interacting with their government, the Regulations ensure that low-value payments, as defined in the Regulations, are deemed nil.

The Regulations ensure that the collection and payment of low-value amounts by the Government of Canada will not be made, although specific payments will be accumulated and paid if the threshold is exceeded within 12 months or at the end of the calendar year, whichever comes first. The benefits include a reduction in government costs associated with making payments of $2 or less. It is expected that these Regulations will similarly ease the burden on individuals and businesses submitting payments to the Government of Canada. Costs to the Government include making changes to departmental systems to accommodate the Regulations, which are not expected to be significant. The Government is not intending to profit from the implementation of the Regulations. The Treasury Board Secretariat anticipates that the value of payments that would no longer be paid to the Government would negligibly exceed the value of payments that would no longer be paid by the Government to Canadians and businesses. Overall, given the savings described above, it is anticipated that the proposal will result in an overall net benefit to Canadians.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The Regulations will apply to amounts owing to and by the Government as of April 1, 2015. Further information related to the amounts owing to the Government should be addressed to the department requesting payment. Information related to payments from the Government should be addressed to Public Works and Government Services Canada. The Office of the Comptroller General will work with departments on the implementation of these Regulations and provide any necessary support.

Contact

Any questions related to the proposed Regulations concerning the elimination of receipt and payment of low-value amounts should be directed to

Marc-André Audette
Director
Financial Management Sector
Office of the Comptroller General
Treasury Board Secretariat
Telephone: 613-952-1003
Email: Marc-Andre.Audette@tbs-sct.gc.ca