Amidst a series of updates to its TVQ bulletin series, TVQ. 198.1-1/R2, “Printed Books”, was revised significantly in 2011. Initially updated on April 1, 2011, that version was retracted following an announcement in July by the Minister of Finance that eligibility for the rebate would be expanded. The latest TVQ, which became effective on November 1, 2011, has been revised to address printed books sold together with a read-only medium or a right to access a website for a single price. Under the revisions, such packages are zero-rated for QST purposes if:
- the printed book and the read-only medium or the right of access to a website are wrapped, packaged, combined, or otherwise prepared to be supplied as an inseparable whole of which they are the only elements; and
- it is reasonable to consider that the book is the principal element of the supply.
Examples include: a cookbook with a CD-ROM showing how to prepare some of the recipes in the book; a psychology book complemented by a companion website featuring additional material; and an English dictionary with a CD-ROM containing the full text of the dictionary. In the previous version of the TVQ bulletin, these book packages would not have been considered zero-rated in most cases.