eBay

allinthemindtreasures · ‎06-27-2023

Hey just a heads up, CRA did a review on my GST/HST billing authorization form. If you completed the form eBay provided it is wrong unless you are in Quebec. The form we should have all had them sign and send back to us has CRA on the top left instead of sureté Québec. My Input tax credit are at risk of not being reimbursed because this form is wrong. The email addresses for Canada gst/pst @ eBay is no longer valid and it was confirmed by an agent that they no longer monitor that. I am having a heck of a time getting them to fix this. I just spent an hour on the phone and had to resend my form to a portal that no one can say for sure they will get it signed properly. I would recommend you check your forms since this is the most crucial part of the audit process. On CRA’s website it is called gst506 form. The forms are not that different from each other. So make sure it is Cra in the top left and not Quebec if you do not live in Quebec. I fear that since eBay has abandoned this tax process and not being able to fix this with eBay will cause mass audit for all of us who have filled out this form. Just a heads up as CRA is clearly on an online rampage right now and the proper form signed is a major part of what they are auditing me.

flipistics · ‎09-13-2023

@allinthemindtreasures wrote:
Hello Everyone! So good news; eBay has signed the proper form for me and finally replied to my request that I sent to the tax email. So if you are in a similar situation then I am, it is very important that you do not give up on eBay. They are the ones that made this mistake and yes the only way to be compliant with CRA is to have the proper form filled out and signed. Do not use the revenue Quebec form. I believe they are now realising what an issue this is for us sellers and are finally taking it seriously. Thank you eBay for signing my form!

devon@ebay Could you look into this for us and let us know if new forms need to be sent out for everyone?

devon@ebay · ‎09-13-2023

@flipistics wrote:

@allinthemindtreasures wrote:

Hello Everyone! So good news; eBay has signed the proper form for me and finally replied to my request that I sent to the tax email. So if you are in a similar situation then I am, it is very important that you do not give up on eBay. They are the ones that made this mistake and yes the only way to be compliant with CRA is to have the proper form filled out and signed. Do not use the revenue Quebec form. I believe they are now realising what an issue this is for us sellers and are finally taking it seriously. Thank you eBay for signing my form!

devon@ebay Could you look into this for us and let us know if new forms need to be sent out for everyone?

Hi @flipistics! I will look into this and let you know what I find out.

marnotom! · ‎09-13-2023

@allinthemindtreasures wrote:

Hello Everyone! So good news; eBay has signed the proper form for me and finally replied to my request that I sent to the tax email. So if you are in a similar situation then I am, it is very important that you do not give up on eBay. They are the ones that made this mistake and yes the only way to be compliant with CRA is to have the proper form filled out and signed. Do not use the revenue Quebec form. I believe they are now realising what an issue this is for us sellers and are finally taking it seriously. Thank you eBay for signing my form!

Nobody else has brought this issue up on the Canadian eBay discussion boards, as far as I can tell, @allinthemindtreasures . Of course, this doesn't mean that there are other sellers with this issue that haven't posted here, but so far it appears as though it's business as usual (so to speak) for Canadian eBay sellers. If you're the only person on eBay Canada's radar who's had this issue so far, that would probably explain why eBay Canada put your ticket a little ways down their "to do" list.

As I said earlier, I'm no accountant, but my limited understanding of QST as it applies to entities doing business in other provinces besides Quebec is that both versions of the 509 might need to be filled out as eBay is charging and collecting QST on sales to buyers in Quebec. Even if the seller may not have a presence in Quebec, eBay does, and there would have to be some accounting to why a seller without a presence in Quebec would have a sale through a digital marketplace that would be subject to QST. So I wouldn't toss or delete that 509 (19) yet just to be on the safe side.

The overriding issue is that the 509 wasn't developed with digital marketplaces in mind and I think this is probably as big a learning curve for CRA as it is for eBay Canada.

marnotom! · ‎09-13-2023

And of course by “509” I mean “506” 🤦‍

allinthemindtreasures · ‎09-17-2023

Other Canadian sellers have privetaly messaged me that this is happening to them. I believe this is an issue for many sellers. Or at least from what I have been told by CRA, lawyers and other sellers like me going through this ordeal. If you have the wrong form signed and have not been audited then technically this is not an issue for you. However, once you get or if you get audited then it would be a problem. The only way to prevent this problem is to get the right form signed. It is a critical issue that you are downplaying by stating that it is not important to them. The fact is that the law is very clear on what form to use for Canada. I have spoken with lawyers on this matter and they all agreed I had no case against the government but that eBay needed to rectify the situation. This is a huge issue if you do not have the right form signed get it signed! I cannot stress on horrible this experience has been waiting on eBay to sign it so that my funds can be released. Please do not listen to community members that say you can use the Revenue Quebec form, you absolutely cannot! Again I want to thank eBay for finally taking my terrible situation seriously and signing my form. I cannot thank them enough for fixing their error with me.

709_games · ‎09-26-2023

I was sent a letter. This is a royal mess and eBay support is not helpful at all.

marnotom! · ‎09-26-2023

@709_games wrote:

I was sent a letter. This is a royal mess and eBay support is not helpful at all.

@709_games, I'm not 100% certain you're in exactly the same boat as @allinthemindtreasures, but it certainly sounds pretty close. What perplexes me is that it sounds as though CRA is just as clueless as eBay support in your case.

The 506 can be downloaded here. You have the choice between a printable one and one you can fill-in through the document:

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/gst506.html

I don't know how you're communicating with eBay, but the general feeling around here is that customer service through the online chat options (X, Facebook, the eBay site itself) is better than the phone support. It sounds to me as though you're getting assistance from US-based customer service reps who don't know what street Canada is on. If you can get that 506 filled out with your information and eBay's information (as provided on the Quebec 506) and figure out through customer service how to get it to eBay, I'm guessing that would probably go a ways in getting this resolved. @allinthemindtreasures might have some suggestions, too.