How to run a food hall stall or market stand in Canada: permits and sales tax

A stall in a food hall or a table at a farmers market gives you a crowd you did not have to build. It also gives you a landlord, shared walls and rules you did not write. Whether you work a counter in a hall or a tent on a Saturday, the same questions decide whether the stall pays. Who holds the approvals? Who charges the tax? What does the operator control?

Does a food hall vendor need its own public health approval?

Often, but it depends on the health unit. In Canada, public health approval is handled by the local health unit or regional health authority, and different units draw the line in different places. Some treat every stall as a separate food premises with its own inspection. Others cover the vendors in a hall under the operator's approval. Ask the health unit three questions before you sign a vendor agreement:

• Do I need my own approval, or does the operator hold one for the whole hall?
• If I prepare food in a shared kitchen, does that kitchen need its own approval, and may I use it?
• What certification must my staff hold, and during which hours must a certified person be on site?

Get the answers in writing. The guide to food premises permits and food handler certification in Canada lists the main requirements, and Ontario food premises inspections shows how inspections run.

What about a farmers market stall?

Rules for market vendors are lighter in some provinces. Ontario's Food Premises regulation, for example, does not apply to farmers' market food vendors, and its exemptions also cover premises that prepare only low-risk food. That does not mean a market stall has no rules. A market may set its own conditions, a health unit may still ask questions, and a municipality may require a licence. Packaged and low-risk foods are treated differently from cooked meals. Read selling food at farmers markets in Ontario and BC before you apply, and ask the market manager what the operator itself requires.

If your stand is a truck or trailer, the permit layers are in how to run a food truck in Canada.

Who charges sales tax at a shared site?

You do, in most cases, because the sale is yours. A food hall or market operator that rents you a stall does not usually become the seller of your food, and a licence to use a stall does not move your tax duty onto the hall. You do not have to register for GST/HST while you are a small supplier, which means your taxable sales stay at or below 30,000 dollars over four consecutive calendar quarters. A busy stall can pass that line sooner than you expect, and a market vendor with several sites should add them together. The guide to the small supplier rule explains the test, and GST and PST registration in BC covers the provincial side there.

Point of sale deserves a careful look. If the hall runs a shared register or a shared ordering screen, find out whose account the tax goes to and who files the return. A shared system can make one business look like the seller of everything. Ask your accountant to read the vendor agreement for this before you sign.

What does the operator control?

Read the agreement for these, because they change what you earn and what you risk:

• Fees: rent, a share of sales, a marketing charge and who pays the card fees.
• Hours: whether you must open for every hall hour.
• Menu: exclusivity, price limits and what you may not sell.
• Alcohol: in many halls the operator holds one liquor licence for the whole space and vendors serve under it. That makes the operator answerable for what happens at your counter, so expect training and cut-off rules.
• Shared space: who cleans the seating, who deals with pests and who pays for damage.
• Closing: how you leave, how much notice either side gives and who owns the equipment.

Ask for a copy of the hall's current approvals and insurance. If the hall loses its licence, you close too.

How do tips and staff work in a shared space?

Most halls use counter service, and a tip prompt appears on every reader. In Ontario an employer generally cannot keep employees' tips, and a tip pool must follow the Employment Standards Act. If the hall asks vendors to pool tips across stalls, put the arrangement in writing and have a payroll adviser check it against your province's rules. The guides to the Ontario tip law and BC tip pooling cover the rules.

What goes on the first-month list?

• A copy of every approval and inspection result, in your stall.
• Your GST/HST status and sales tax account details.
• Sales by day and by stall, since the operator's share is usually worked out from them.
• A dated photo of your stall and equipment on the first day.
• The notice date in your agreement, in your calendar.

More guides for your business:

• How to organize a food festival in Canada
• How to run a food truck in Canada
• How to run a coffee shop in Canada

More in the Canadian guides for food businesses.