Qualifying farmers in British Columbia are now able to buy telehandlers, skid steers and polycarbonate greenhouse panels for farm use without paying the province’s seven per cent sales tax.

The province on Thursday announced the additions, effective Feb. 17, to its list of goods, equipment and services for which eligible farmers are PST-exempt.

Farmers wanting to claim the exemption at point of sale or lease will have to show a completed FIN 458 certificate of exemption, or a valid B.C. Farmer Identity Card.

If the certificate isn’t shown at that point, but still within 180 days, the supplier can refund or credit the PST charged. A farmer may also submit an FIN 355/FAF application to the province within four years of the purchase or lease date for a direct refund.

The province’s exemptions apply on “specifically listed” equipment — for example, tractors, combines or incubators — and on certain other goods, including fuels, crop inputs, equipment parts, livestock, seedlings and protective clothing, when used “solely for a farm purpose.”

The exemptions for skid steers and telehandlers — machines now both “commonly used in the agriculture sector,” the province said — will also apply on purchases of attachments “designed to be attached to them.”

The exemption for rigid plastic polycarbonate panels — now “becoming popular for greenhouse growers as an alternative to glass” — will be allowed only on purchases of at least 500 square metres, the province said. — AGCanada.com Network