Bulk Vendors

Who are Bulk Vendors?

They are suppliers of natural gas, electricity, home heating oil, home delivery of propane, or home delivery of firewood.

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As a HST registered vendor, do I have to provide the energy rebate?

Bulk Vendors who are HST registered are required to provide the Provincial rebate for eligible home energy at source.

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How do I get reimbursed for providing the rebate?

To receive reimbursement for the amount of rebates provided, a bulk vendor must register with Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations to be set up on the reimbursement program.

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As a bulk vendor, how do I verify if a customer is eligible for the rebate?

As part of the program, Bulk Vendors will be required to provide a rebate for all eligible customers. Customers fall into one of three categories:

• Customers who are eligible for the energy rebate at source
• Customers who are eligible for the energy rebate through the submission of an application form
• Customers who are not eligible for the energy rebate

Your role as a bulk vendor is providing rebates to those customers who are eligible at source for the rebate (i.e. customers identified in the first bullet above). Bulk Vendors will be required to confirm the eligibility of their customers.

The two methods that you may use to determine customer eligibility are:

• You are provided with access to an internet-based eligibility system for you to verify customer eligibility. To access the tool, click on Eligibility Tool and enter the username and password that we have provided.
• You may call our Your Energy Rebate bulk vendor line to determine customer eligibility during regular business hours at 1-800-670-4357 (Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.).

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Annual Eligibility Change List

In early March of each year, the annual change list of properties that have changed eligibility status during the year will be available to bulk vendors through the eligibility tool page or upon request from Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

Once a bulk vendor has updated their customer list with the annual change list, the eligibility status will be good for a year. Bulk vendors are expected to have completed updating their customer lists by June 1st.

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What do I provide to customers?

Once you have determined that a customer is eligible to receive the at-source rebate, you will be required to provide them with a receipt displaying the rebate as a separate line item. The receipt must read "Prov Rebate" and must also clearly indicate the rebate and the dollar amount of the rebate. The receipt must also include your nine digit business number (BN/HST), for example BN 111111111.

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What if a rebate is not provided to an eligible customer at time of sale?

If you neglected to provide a rebate to an eligible customer, do not provide a credit or payment to the customer. In this case the customer must submit an application for the rebate.

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How do I get reimbursed?

Once customer eligibility has been determined and the rebate provided at the point of sale, vendors will be required to track the rebates issued.

You will be able to make a submission for reimbursement 4 times per calendar month.

You have 24 months to apply for reimbursement from the date of the sale for which you issued the rebate.

Your submission for reimbursement must include:

• Amount of energy sold by type of energy source
• Total sum of rebates provided
• Number of residential customers' transactions where the rebate was provided

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When will I get reimbursed for the rebate?

You will be reimbursed within 21 days after receipt of a completed application. To ensure that you receive your reimbursement before you are required to submit your HST payments to the federal government, you are asked to submit a completed application form by the 5th of each month.

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Does this rebate program affect your HST remittances to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)?

No, this program does not affect your HST remittances to the CRA.

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How long do I have to keep my customer records?

You must keep your records for 72 months from the purchase date.

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Is a home in a trailer park or on a military base eligible for a rebate?

Yes. A mobile home located in a mobile home park or a home located on a military base is eligible for the energy rebate at source for home-delivered oil, propane, firewood and natural gas, regardless of the eligibility status as provided in the online eligibility tool.

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Where can I get an application form?

In Person

Access Nova Scotia

Email

yourenergyrebate@gov.ns.ca

Telephone

Halifax Region
(902) 424-5200

Toll-free in Nova Scotia
1-800-670-4357

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Downloadable Forms

• Bulk Vendor Applicant Registration Profile [ - 278.63 kb]
• Bulk Vendor Reimbursement Application Oil, Firewood, Natural Gas, Propane and Kerosene [ - 113.63 kb]
• Bulk Vendor Reimbursement Application - Electricity [ - 108.96 kb]