Effective 01 July 2010, the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario will combine their respective provincial sales taxes with the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST). The resulting Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in both provinces will be federally administered and will use the same tax base and structure as the federal GST, with few exceptions. In British Columbia, the resulting HST will be 12% and, in Ontario, the resulting HST will be 13%.

The impact of the new HST on the travel industry will be significant as this is the first time since the 1997 introduction of HST in several Maritime provinces that the overall tax rate on certain travel transactions will increase dramatically. Of particular concern to airlines, travel agencies, and other industry stakeholders will be assuring compliance in collecting HST properly when it is due. Improper collection may lead to unfunded liabilities and expose those who owe tax to penalties and other repercussions. At the same time, there is also ample opportunity to lower tax amounts for the traveller when airlines, agents, and other travel industry suppliers apply proper assessment and calculation procedures.

Important Note: On 25 February 2010, the Department of Finance issued new rules proposed to clarify and amend the "place of supply" so as to determine when a supply of a product or service is sold in a particular province. The proposed place of supply rules contemplate relying more on the location of the consumer of a product or service than the current rules, which rely heavily on the location of the supplier of the product or service to determine whether a sale is subject to HST or GST. The new place of supply rules affect all provinces and territories in Canada.

The application of BC and Ontario HST affects sales made in all provinces and territories for any domestic travel commencing in BC or Ontario. Particular attention is recommended for sellers in both provinces, sellers adjacent to BC or Ontario where domestic travel frequently originates in those two provinces, or any seller who has customers who originate in those two provinces. HST also affects suppliers which pay commissions or other remuneration to sellers in BC or Ontario. Accordingly, the impact of HST is likely to affect sellers and suppliers throughout Canada.

Update: On 06 April 2010, the Government of Nova Scotia announced that it will raise its HST to 15% effective 01 July 2010, making the HST in the Province different than the current HST in New Brunswick and Newfoundland/Labrador. Travel-related transitional rules have been issued effective 01 May 2010 and are similar to those in BC and Ontario.

The Airline Training Council (ATC) has partnered with the Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA Canada) to provide a number of training tools and webinars to assist industry stakeholders in complying with the new HST when collection on applicable passenger transportation commences for sales on/after 01 May 2010 for travel on/after 01 July 2010.

Of particular importance will be alerting travel agencies as to what GDS auto-pricing will and will not do, especially in handling various exchange transactions, and how to avoid carrier debit memos for incorrect HST calculation. Attention will also be focused on avoiding, and handling where necessary, positive/negative taxes and fares.

To help travel industry personnel manage the HST impact on various travel transactions, ATC, in cooperation with ARTA Canada, will be offering an extensive series of HST Webinars as well as a Self-Paced HST Learning Program and HST Guide.

♦ HST Webinar
The HST Webinar is a 90 minute web-based training program with a live instructor and designed for all travel industry personnel, regardless of their experience level, in order to assist with the understanding and implementation of the many considerations and processes affected by the implementation of HST in BC and Ontario. The HST Webinar is conducted in English only, néamoins, des questions en français sont encouragées. Key topics include:

• General Overview of HST
• IATA Coding
• Effective Dates and Transition Period
• Place of Supply Rules for GST or HST Applicability
• Application and Point of Sale
• Zero-rated and Exempt Transactions
• Flight Passes
• Pre-Payment of Fares and Deposits
• Even Exchanges and Additional Collections
• Refunds and Positive/Negative Taxes and Fares
• Limitations of GDS Auto-pricing
• Cancellation Fees and PTA Charges
• Agency Service Charges
• Consolidator Tickets and Mark-Ups
• Continuous Journeys and Multiple Tickets
• Tour Packages
• Commissions
• Air Transportation Ancillary Services
• Question and Answer Forum

Each participant will also receive a copy of ATC's Harmonized Sales Tax and Place of Supply Rules Guide which can be used for online reference after the webinar.

♦ Self-Paced HST Learning Program
For persons unable to attend the HST Webinar, a narrated, condensed, audiovisual version of the HST Webinar is also available (in English only) and can be played on a PC with speakers (not on a Mac). While the self-paced program is not-interactive, all key concepts of the HST Webinar are included and viewers can play, replay, and listen to the trainer's presentation at their own pace. It should be noted that this self-paced program is for PC (with speakers) users only (not on a Mac) and is copy and print-protected and can be viewed/played an unlimited number of times, but only on the PC where it is first opened and viewed. It cannot be redistributed to other parties. Please consider the copy and print protection restriction carefully before ordering. Please allow up to 24 hours for electronic delivery processing of your order.

♦ HST Guide
For persons unable to attend the HST Webinar, or who do not wish to obtain the Self-Paced HST Learning Program, ATC's Harmonized Sales Tax and Place of Supply Rules Guide is an additional option which can be used for online reference and contains all key concepts of the HST Webinar. It should be noted that the Harmonized Sales Tax and Place of Supply Rules Guide is for PC users only (not Mac users) and is copy and print-protected and can be viewed an unlimited number of times, but only on the PC where it is first opened and viewed. It cannot be redistributed to other parties or printed. Please consider this copy/print restriction carefully so as to choose a PC which is accessible and convenient for all your participating staff members.

Tuition for the HST Webinar
Tuition for the HST Webinar, which permits an unlimited number of participants in a single office location, is CAD 125.00 per log-in. The fee for ARTA Canada members is CAD 35.00 per log-in. Given the nature of this training program, and to keep log-in costs down, it is recommended that attendees call from a conference room where facilities are in place for a group of agents to share a single connected PC and speakerphone. Multiple log-ins from different PCs and dial-ins from more than one telephone line require separate tuition payment.

The tuition fee also includes a copy of ATC's Harmonized Sales Tax and Place of Supply Rules Guide which can be used for online reference after the webinar. It should be noted that the Harmonized Sales Tax and Place of Supply Rules manual is for PC users only (not Mac users) and is copy and print-protected and can be viewed an unlimited number of times, but only on the PC where it is first opened and viewed. It cannot be redistributed to other parties or printed. Please consider this copy/print restriction carefully so as to choose a PC which is accessible and convenient for all your participating staff members.

Tuition must be paid online using ATC's secure web payment system, and only VISA and MasterCard are accepted. We regret that the American Express card is not accepted. Enrollment for this program is expected to be extremely high and is limited to a total of 25 participants per session. Please register early to assure acceptance into the session of your choice.

Tuition for the Self-Paced HST Learning Program
Tuition for the Self-Paced HST Learning Program is CAD 100.00 per installation. The fee for ARTA Canada members is CAD 15.00 per installation. It should be noted that this self-paced program is for PC users only and is copy and print-protected and can be viewed/played an unlimited number of times, but only on the PC where it is first opened and viewed. It cannot be redistributed to other parties. Please consider the copy and print protection restriction carefully before ordering. Please allow up to 24 hours for electronic delivery processing of your order. Tuition must be paid online using ATC's secure web payment system, and only VISA and MasterCard are accepted. We regret that the American Express card is not accepted.

Fee for the HST Guide
The fee for the Harmonized Sales Tax and Place of Supply Rules Guide is CAD 35.00 per copy. The fee for ARTA Canada members is CAD 5.00 per copy. This HST Guide is provided free to our webinar participants. It should be noted that this HST Guide is for PC users only and is copy and print-protected and can be viewed/played an unlimited number of times, but only on the PC where it is first opened and viewed. It cannot be redistributed to other parties. Please consider the copy and print protection restriction carefully before ordering. Please allow up to 24 hours for electronic delivery processing of your order. Fees must be paid online using ATC's secure web payment system, and only VISA and MasterCard are accepted. We regret that the American Express card is not accepted.

HST Webinar Schedule
The HST Webinar is 90 minutes long in its entirety. Registration in the session of your choice below is the full program, repeated identically on various days.

*Registration after the enrollment deadline indicated above is subject to a late registration fee of CAD 20.00 per registrant. Please register on-time. Space is extremely limited.

HST Webinar Requirements
The HST Webinar is an online web-based seminar with a live instructor. Participants will be required to have access to an Internet-connected PC or Mac and a regular telephone (long distance charges may apply outside the Toronto area). ATC recommends using a $1.00 Looney Call at www.looneycall.ca to keep long distance charges minimal. Technical requirements include:

»» Minimum technical requirements to attend the webinar using a PC:

. Internet Explorer 6.0 or newer, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or newer (JavaScriptTM and JavaTM enabled)

. Windows 2000, XP, 2003 Server, Vista or Windows 7

. Cable modem, DSL, or better Internet connection

. Minimum of Pentium class 1GHz CPU with 512 MB of RAM (recommended) (2 GB of RAM for Windows Vista)

»» Minimum technical requirements to attend the webinar using a Mac:

. Safari 3.0 or newer, Firefox 3.0 or newer (JavaScriptTM and JavaTM enabled)

. Mac OS X 10.4 or newer - Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard

. PowerPC G4/G5 or Intel processor (512 MB of RAM or better recommended)

. Cable modem, DSL, or better Internet connection

This is an interactive session between participants and the webinar leader. A maximum of 25 total participants may enroll in each session. Please register early to assure confirmation in the session of your choice.

Webinar Leader - Bruce Bishins, CTC
One of the most accomplished technical trainers in the travel industry, Bruce Bishins has been a respected and well-known consultant to airlines and travel agencies for over 30 years. He has held positions at Air Canada, Swissair, Air France, and Austrian Airlines, and was Manager-Travel Industry Training at Trans World Airlines for nearly eight years. He developed and implemented the travel agency training program for PARS. In 1978, he was appointed by a joint airline task force to the position of Manager-Procedures Training for the Air Traffic Conference (the predecessor to the ARC Area Settlement Plan in the U.S.). In 1981, he joined the Airline Training Council as Executive Director.

In 1991, while still at ATC, he was contracted by the International Air Transport Association to provide technical support and training for travel agents and air carriers participating in the IATA Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP Canada). He managed the IATA/BSP and Air Canada agency training programs for nearly seven years.

Bishins remains one of the industry's foremost ticketing and tax experts, having been specifically tasked by Air Canada and IATA to represent the airline industry in various tax matters including the implementation of GST and Airport Improvement Fees in Canada. Through the Airline Training Council, Bishins serves as an Associate Member of the Board of Airlines Representatives in Canada (BARCA).

How to Register
Please complete the Online Registration Form in the blue box above with all requested information. Tuition fees include only the cost of instruction and materials provided. Please enroll early to assure participation in the session of your choice and to avoid a CAD 20.00 late fee if enrolling after the published deadline.

Cancellations/Changes
Webinar fees and/or purchase of the Self-Paced Learning Program are non-refundable. Please consider carefully your intention to register/purchase prior to enrollment. To discourage webinar date or time/session changes, a change fee of CAD 20.00 will be levied for changes to webinar session dates/times after enrollment. Sessions are subject to minimum enrollment requirements. Should a session be cancelled by ATC and an alternative not be accepted by the participant, a full refund will be made.

Webinar Confirmations
Approximately one week prior to the webinar session requested, a confirmation will be e-mailed to all enrolled and confirmed participants. If for any reason a participant has not received a confirmation at least one week prior to the webinar date, it will be the full responsibility of the participant to contact ATC by sending an e-mail by clicking here or calling ATC at 416-920-3242 immediately. As such, non-receipt of e-mail confirmation is not a valid reason for failure to attend.