During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario government amended the General Regulation under the Travel Industry Act, 2002 (TIA), with the stated desire to reduce the burden on Ontario’s registered travel agencies and tour operators.
For a period of four years, from December 1, 2020 to November 30, 2024, registrants with Ontario Gross Sales of $2 million or greater were only required to file a Verification Statement (a self-attestation of financial position), subject to a limited exception. All registrants who fall in this category will have benefited up to four times from the temporary exemption.
As communicated in March 2024, the temporary exemption from filing annual financial statements for registrants with Ontario Gross Sales of $2 million or greater will expire as of December 1, 2024.
Registrants with Ontario Gross Sales of $2 million or greater whose year-end is on or before November 30, 2024 can still submit a Verification Statement for this year-end cycle.
If a registrant is required to prepare an annual financial statement with a Review Engagement Report or Audit Opinion for any other purpose outside of TIA, it is still required to provide this report to TICO.
Registrants with Ontario Gross Sales of $2 million or greater whose year-end is on or after December 1, 2024 will be required to submit to TICO annual financial statements with a Review Engagement Report or an Audit Opinion, as the registrant prefers.
Why is the option to submit a Verification Statement expiring for registrants with Ontario Gross Sales of $2 million or greater? TICO says that as consumer demand for travel has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, it’s important to receive comprehensive financial information from larger registrants to help ensure consumers are protected.
TICO notes that some permanent burden reduction changes were implemented in 2020:
· Registrants whose Ontario Gross Sales are less than $2 million can choose to continue to submit a Verification Statement, as this was a permanent change as of March 30, 2020. This permanent change benefits approximately 70% of TICO’s registrants.
· Registrants whose Ontario Gross Sales are $10 million or greater are not required to submit an Audit Opinion and instead have the option to submit a Review Engagement Report, as this was a permanent change as of March 30, 2020.
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