quiet - we recently filed for GST and made a claim for over $10k in refund (I didn't want to file it because I KNEW it would draw attention but the accountant made me file) and sure enough, I got a letter from GST asking me to explain my position.
I called the contact number and spoke to the guy and he was pretty nice about it and said as long as I faxed or mailed in something letting him know why we asked for a refund (most of our clients are US based and we have recently purchased quite a bit of hardware for resale in Canada) We would recieve the refund shortly. And surprise, we actually received a check within a few weeks.
However, when I called the same guy at GST again to thank him for the fast turn around in getting me the refund he basically told me I could expect a GST audit soon. My business # has been red flagged now or somesuch.
So, I am now attempting to ensure I have all my ducks in a row and my arguments fully prepared. I REALLY would hate to have to pay over $140k in GST at once. Over two years worth of revenue from non Canadian sales. We have been paying GST on Canadian sales already - which is fine since Canadian revenue is such a small % of our incomes... and I feel that is the spirit of the whole GST tax anyways.
But I am starting to get a little nervous. Your story is definitely not heartening.
Thanks for the info BTW.
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