First Nations Fuel & Tobacco Tax Refund Program. Real Time Validation System (RTVS)

Transcription

1 Real Time Validation System (RTVS) March, 2011

2 Table of Contents 1.0 PROGRAM BACKGROUND CHOOSING A POINT OF SALE (POS) CASH REGISTER SYSTEM ENTERING EXEMPT PRODUCTS INTO THE POS SYSTEM MAKING AN EXEMPT SALE REPORTING EXEMPT SALES TO THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE REPORTING STORE FUEL & TOBACCO PURCHASES RTVS WEB REPORTS RTVS ERROR CODE MESSAGES CONTACTING THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE... 9 Real Time Validation System - Store Information Page 2

3 1.0 Program Background Only customers possessing a valid Certificate of Indian Status (commonly referred to as a status card) may purchase exempt tobacco and fuel products. Only registered retailers operating on treaty land may make tax exempt sales. The Tobacco Tax Amendment Act of July 1, 2010 established a weekly limit of 200 units, and established provisions for additional tax-free tobacco for cultural or ceremonial purposes. For further information please visit Choosing A Point Of Sale (POS) Cash Register System Please visit for a list of the currently certified POS vendors. Please note that the Ministry of Finance only certifies these vendors and their systems based on their ability to capture and send transactions in a format acceptable to Finance. First Nation retailers are responsible for reviewing all options to determine which of the approved systems best meets their needs and budget. The Ministry of Finance cannot recommend which system may be the best for your operation, and cannot guarantee that any supplier can provide all the options or services that you may feel are necessary for your location. Financing options, including grants for business information technology acquisitions is available from the Aboriginal Business Canada, a service provided by the Government of Canada. Further information is available at Entering Exempt Products Into The POS System Make sure you have documentation from your supplier on how to correctly enter new tobacco and fuel products into the POS, and how to change existing entries. Only fuel, and blackstock or unmarked tobacco products can be sold tax exempt. Errors made in entering UPC s, quantities or categories into your POS table of products (often referred to as PLU s) can prevent or delay the Ministry of Finance from making refunds on those products. Please ensure accuracy when entering new items, or editing existing ones. Real Time Validation System - Store Information Page 3

4 4.0 Making An Exempt Sale Within Limit Transactions Require the customer to display their status card. Please review to ensure the card states Certificate of Indian Status. Customers presenting cards that state Certificate of Aboriginal Status do not qualify for Fuel Tax or Tobacco Tax exemptions. Only make sales to customers that can provide their Certificate of Indian Status card. Enter the customer s registration number into the system. Enter the tobacco and/or fuel products. Press sub-total (or the equivalent in your POS system). If the register provides the payment screen option, then the customer is within their allowed purchase amount and the transaction can continue. Over Limit Transactions Server Available If the register indicates the purchase is overlimit and does not show Server Unavailable in the response message, then reduce tobacco products to the available amount shown in the overlimit message and provide them with the pre-authorization handout from Saskatchewan Finance. Over Limit Transactions Server Unavailable, Permit Confirmation Process If the register indicates the purchase is over limit, and shows Server Unavailable (Error # s 19, 20 or 21), then o Ask the customer to provide their pre-authorization/permit number, o If no pre-authorization/permit number is available, reduce tobacco products to the available amount shown in the overlimit message and provide them with the preauthorization handout from Saskatchewan Finance. o If a pre-authorization/permit number is provided, call to confirm that the number and remaining amount is valid. If confirmed, continue with the transaction. If not, reduce tobacco products to the available amount shown in the overlimit message and provide them with the pre-authorization handout from Saskatchewan Finance. 5.0 Reporting Exempt Sales to the Ministry of Finance Each real time (RTVS) certified POS system automatically sends successful transactions as they are completed. Each transaction is made up of three parts: o Limit Request sent by your system at the sub-total point. It provides details about the purchaser s registration number and the quantity of fuel and tobacco products the customer is attempting to purchase. o Limit Response sent by the RTVS system. It provides a coded response that allows the register to complete the transaction, or present a message to the cashier that requires action before the transaction can be completed. o Purchase Transaction sent by your system after payment by the customer has been completed. Real Time Validation System - Store Information Page 4

5 6.0 Reporting Store Fuel & Tobacco Purchases As fuel and tobacco purchase invoices are received, please complete an On-Reserve Tobacco & Fuel Purchase Report (available at Report fuel, blackstock tobacco and unmarked tobacco purchases on a daily basis. Completed reports and invoices can be faxed to (306) Delays in reporting purchases will result in withheld refunds. 7.0 RTVS Web Reports Website Address Reports are available to RTVS retailers at Logging In Your User Name is Retailer#######, where ####### is replaced with the 7 digit SITES account number for your store. Your password is #######, where ####### is replaced with the 7 digit SITES account number for your store. Selecting a Report Hover the pointer over Reports at the top of the page: Hover the pointer over Retail on the menu that drops down: Click on one of the reports on the menu that drops down, to select that report. Real Time Validation System - Store Information Page 5

6 Reports Available 1. Retailer Sales Query o Provides information about exempt fuel and tobacco transactions sent from your store by the RTVS system. o Various selection criteria are available to limit the returned results to just what you are looking for. o Results can be exported to other formats by clicking on the Select a format drop down box, selecting the desired format (we suggest using CSV for exporting to Excel) and then clicking Export. 2. Retailer Sales Report o Used to provide reports, formatted for printing, about user selected sales periods. o Provides information about exempt fuel and tobacco transactions sent from your store by the RTVS system. o Limited selection criteria are available to limit the returned results. 3. Retailer Sales Summary Report o Provides summarized information about exempt fuel and tobacco transactions sent from your store by the RTVS system. o This report can be run for a SITES payment period, exported to Excel, then use the sum feature to sum the columns, multiply each by the current tax rate for the product, add them all, and the result should be the payment you receive for that period. o Differences between the payment and the Sales Summary Report can occur if purchase invoices were not provided to Finance, or if there are transaction errors awaiting processing at Finance. 4. Retailer Limit Request Report o Provides details about limit requests sent from the RTVS system as part of the transaction process. o Can be used to review the response codes provided by RTVS for specific requests, or for a group of requests. 5. Retailer Error Report o Provides information about any errors received by the RTVS. o Can be reviewed to determine if your store has transactions that require review by Finance before they are accepted for payment. 6. Permitted Sales Report o Provides information about sales made where a permit was used. 7. Retailer Communication Report o Provides information about communication outages at a location (not at an individual register). 8. Retailer Transaction Report o Provides information about every real time transaction. Does not include store & forward transactions. Real Time Validation System - Store Information Page 6

7 9. Retailer UPC Report o Provides information about UPC s reported to Finance by your location. o Can be used to investigate UPC error transactions shown in the Retailer Error Report. Real Time Validation System - Store Information Page 7

8 8.0 RTVS Error Code Messages Each limit request sent by your system receives a response from the RTVS system. The possible responses are: 0 Success. Within limit. No message given 1 Success. Tobacco Overlimit Tobacco purchase amount exceeds remaining personal limit of TTT units. 2 Success. Fuel Overlimit Fuel purchase amount exceeds remaining personal limit of FFF units. 3 Success. Tobacco & Fuel Overlimit Tobacco and Fuel purchase amount exceeds remaining personal limit of TTT and FFF units. 4 Unavailable; Communications down, not configured. No message given 5 Invalid Retailer ID (Business Account Number) Invalid Retailer (Code 5) Please contact POS Vendor 6 Invalid Registration Number Invalid Status# (code 6) Correct the number and try again. 9 Invalid username/password configured. No longer needed 10 Invalid line item. No longer needed 11 Inactive Registration Number Inactive Status# please verify # or contact Sask. Finance Internal Error 13 Invalid Overlimit Permit Authorization Number Permit Number not found(code 13) Contact Sask. Finance Permit Expired Permit Number has expired(code 14) Contact Sask. Finance Invalid Registration Number for Permit Permit Number does not match Status #(code 14) Contact Sask Finance Denied Transaction Contact Finance Transactions denied for this Status# (code 18) Contact Sask Finance Server Unavailable. Tobacco Overlimit Tobacco purchase amount exceeds remaining personal limit of TTT units.(code 19) 20 Server Unavailable. Fuel Overlimit Fuel purchase amount exceeds remaining personal limit of FFF units. (Code 20) 21 Server Unavailable. Tobacco & Fuel Overlimit Tobacco and Fuel purchase amount exceeds remaining personal limit of TTT and FFF units. (Code 21) 23 Fuel Transaction Denied - Contact Finance Exempt Fuel purchases are not permitted for this Status# (Code 23) 24 Tobacco Transaction Denied Contact Finance Exempt Tobacco purchases are not permitted for this Status# (Code 24) 25 Registrant Deceased Unknown Status# (code 25) Contact Sask Finance Certificate Error Certificate error (code 26) Please contact POS Vendor Real Time Validation System - Store Information Page 8

9 9.0 Contacting the Ministry of Finance For assistance with the First Nation Fuel & Tobacco Tax Refund Program, please refer to the following topics: General Information Call the Revenue Programs ext 0528 or ext 6637 Confirming Ceremonial or Cultural Permits Call the Tax Roll Maintenance Inquiry RTVS Website Call the SITES Refund ext 0947 or ext 4604 or 1286 RTVS Error Messages and Error Transactions Call the SITES Refund ext 0947 or ext 4604 or 1286 SITES Payments Call the SITES Refund ext 0947 or ext 4604 or 1286 Real Time Validation System - Store Information Page 9