In a notice sent out to stakeholders today, the federal regulator informed all cannabis licence holders of the annual fee changes as well as upcoming due dates for the fiscal year 2020-2021 annual regulatory fee payments, the annual Statement of Cannabis Revenue, and the Cannabis for Medical Purposes annual regulatory fee exemption. Notice of these changes was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I on March 13, 2021.

Annual Fee Changes

The department’s application screening fee, security clearance fee and import or export permit application fee will be adjusted on April 1, 2021, based on the April 2020 Consumer Price Index of -0.2%, as established by Statistics Canada.

While the annual regulatory fee will not change, some licence application fees are being slightly lowered. 

• The licence application fees for micro-cultivation, micro-processing, and cannabis nurseries will decrease by $3 from $1,709 to $1,706.
• The licence application fees for standard cultivation, for standard processing and for sale for medical purposes will decrease by $6, from $3,417  to $3,411.
• Security clearance application fees will decrease by $3, from $1,725 to $1,722 from $1,725.
• Application fees for import or export permits will decrease by $1, from $637 to $636.

Fiscal Year 2020-21 Annual Regulatory Fee

Health Canada deferred the 2020-2021 annual regulatory fee payment due date from September 30, 2020 to March 31, 2021 because of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cannabis industry.

The deferral applied to the annual regulatory fee for cannabis licence holders in their first and subsequent fiscal years (those who were issued a licence prior to April 1, 2020). Any cannabis licence holder whose invoice was deferred must pay the invoice no later than March 31, 2021 to avoid interest penalties.

Statement of Cannabis Revenue

Some licence holders are also required to submit a statement of cannabis revenue for each licensed site. The regulator is also asking that these licence holders “make all efforts to submit their statement of cannabis revenue” for fiscal year 2020-21 by April 30, 2021.

These statements can now be submitted through the CTLS. Instructions on how to submit your statement of cannabis revenue through CTLS will be sent by the Cannabis Cost Recovery and Invoicing Unit by the end of March.

Cannabis for Medical Purposes annual regulatory fee exemption

Licence holders who declare their intent to only sell medical cannabis in 2020-2021 need to submit a completed statement of cannabis revenue for the 2020-2021 fiscal year and a written document confirming all those sales by April 30, 2021. 

Federal cannabis licence holders that intend to sell exclusively for medical purposes for the upcoming fiscal year of 2021-2022 must also submit said written document no later than April 30, 2021 (no statement of cannabis revenue).