Canadian Winery Compliance Reporting: CRA B265, Ontario and BC

A practical, source-checked guide to the reporting systems most likely to touch a Canadian winery: federal excise reporting, Ontario LCBO and VQA reporting, and British Columbia LDB direct-sales reporting.

By Kevin Nesgoda, winemaker and founder of Solera · August 5, 2026

Jurisdiction: Canada  |  Last verified: 5 August 2026  |  Primary sources: official government publications

Reporting at a glance

Sources: CRA EDM10-1-1 and EDM10-1-6; LCBO Direct Delivery financial reporting guidance; VQA Ontario winery handbook; BCLDB Commercial Winery and Land Based Winery sales agreements. Links appear with the relevant sections and in the official sources list below.

What this guide covers

1. Federal CRA wine excise reporting
2. How to file B265
3. Ontario LCBO Direct Delivery reporting
4. VQA Ontario monthly reporting
5. British Columbia LDB reporting
6. BC DSWR CSV fields
7. Interprovincial DTC caution
8. Records to keep
9. Frequently asked questions

1. Federal reporting: CRA wine licence and Form B265

The federal starting point is the Excise Act, 2001. CRA guidance states that a person must obtain a wine licence to produce or package wine in Canada. The current application is Form L63A, Application for an Alcohol Licence or Registration. A wine licence is valid for a maximum of two years, and CRA says renewal must be requested at least 30 days before expiry. See the CRA's Producers and packagers of wine memorandum and current excise duty forms list.

Every wine licensee must file Form B265, Excise Duty Return - Wine Licensee for every reporting period. That remains true when there was no business activity and no duty payable. CRA accepts the return electronically through My Business Account or by mail. The current B265 form page and line-by-line B265 instructions are the safest starting points for each filing cycle.

B265 filing frequency and deadline

Monthly reporting is the default for wine licensees. CRA may authorize semi-annual reporting when the licensee has been licensed for at least one year, is compliant and current with returns, total Part 4 alcohol excise duties for the licensee and associated licensees did not exceed $120,000 in the current or previous fiscal year, and the additional licence-specific volume conditions are met. The election is made with Form B284 and is effective only after CRA approval. See CRA EDM10-1-1, Returns and payments.

The return and any payment are due no later than the last day of the first fiscal month following the reporting period. For a monthly filer using calendar fiscal months, that normally means the last day of the next month. CRA's B265 instructions describe the weekend and recognized public-holiday rule for due dates.

Small-producer exemption

A qualifying small producer can be relieved from excise duty on wine produced by the licensee and packaged in Canada by the licensee or on its behalf. CRA defines the small-producer threshold by sales: total sales of wine produced and packaged by or on behalf of the licensee must not exceed $50,000 in both the previous fiscal year and the current fiscal year up to the relevant fiscal month. The exemption does not cover packaged wine the small producer did not produce, including imported wine and blends of imported and domestic wine. Even a qualifying small producer must still file B265 for every reporting period. See CRA EDM4-1-2, Small producers of wine.

2026 federal wine excise rates

For wine on which duty is payable, CRA's rates effective April 1, 2026 are:

CRA also states that wine containing no more than 0.5% ABV is not subject to excise duty, and 100% Canadian wine made from honey or apples can qualify for a specific exemption. Do not confuse that narrow honey-or-apple rule with the former broad exemption for 100% Canadian wine, which ended June 30, 2022. Always confirm the current CRA wine excise rates immediately before calculating a filing because rates are adjusted periodically.

What B265 actually asks you to reconcile

Page 1 calculates duty using litres in the three ABV bands above. Page 3 reconciles bulk wine in your possession, not grape tonnage. CRA requires opening inventory, additions, reductions, adjustments, and closing inventory, with opening inventory matching the prior return's closing inventory. Additions include bulk wine produced, wine received from wine licensees or licensed users, imported bulk wine, and packaged wine returned to bulk. Reductions include transfers, exports, packaging, exempt packaging, marked special containers, and other specified removals. The closing book inventory must match the closing physical inventory.

2. How to file CRA Form B265 online

CRA's current official filing path is the B265 webform in My Business Account. The same webform can be used for an original or amended return. CRA warns that a B265 webform session ends after 18 minutes of inactivity, so prepare the supporting numbers before opening the filing flow.

1. Reconcile the period first. Confirm litres by ABV category, bulk opening inventory, additions, reductions, adjustments, closing inventory, duty payable, and any eligible B256 refund.
2. Sign in to CRA My Business Account and choose "File a return." Select the wine-licence account and the B265 reporting period.
3. Complete the inventory selection and input screens. CRA's webform asks whether the small-producer checkbox applies and shows the relevant inventory pages based on the selections you make.
4. Enter duty quantities and amounts. Use the current rates for the three ABV bands. The webform validates data and calculates totals.
5. Review before submitting. The review screen shows total duty payable, any B256 refund being claimed, and the net amount payable. Correct errors before certification.
6. Certify and submit. The certification box must be completed before the return can be transmitted.
7. Save the confirmation. CRA issues a confirmation number after a successful submission. Save or print the confirmation page with the filing workpapers.
8. Pay any balance owing. CRA lists online banking, My Payment, pre-authorized debit through My Business Account, and certain financial-institution options.

Use the CRA's official B265 webform help page for the current screen sequence. We did not identify a public CRA system-to-system API for B265 submissions in the official materials reviewed on August 5, 2026. The verified official channels are the My Business Account webform and mail.

3. Ontario: LCBO Direct Delivery financial reporting

Ontario wineries need to separate their CRA obligations from provincial Direct Delivery reporting. LCBO states that all holders of a Direct Delivery Authorization must submit financial reporting and applicable payments, including a nil report when no sales occurred.

Current reporting cadence

The reporting period is monthly or quarterly, and the report and remittance must reach LCBO by the 20th day of the next month or quarter. Eligible manufacturers may report quarterly when they are in good standing and their total remittances were, or are anticipated to be, less than $100,000 in the preceding calendar year. Authorized manufacturers that want quarterly reporting are directed by LCBO to contact its policy team. See LCBO's Direct Delivery financial reporting obligations.

Use the current LCBO workbook, not a saved old copy

LCBO says it publishes new versions of its financial reporting workbooks as rates, minimum retail pricing, programs, or pricing rules change. As of August 5, 2026, the current winery/cidery file is Winery Reporting Template 27.2, effective for sales commencing July 1, 2026. The official LCBO Financial Reporting Templates page is therefore the source of truth for the workbook version.

1. Download the current winery workbook from LCBO. Do this for the applicable sales period rather than reusing a prior workbook.
2. Read the Overview sheet. LCBO places workbook-specific completion instructions there. The workbook can highlight input fields, while formula cells remain locked as an internal control.
3. Select the correct winery and reporting period. LCBO's guidance instructs manufacturers to select their name and monthly or quarterly reporting date from the workbook's dropdowns.
4. Complete the applicable sales and remittance data. Review the calculated Remittance Summary, including the "Total LCBO Payment" amount.
5. Submit the entire Excel report. LCBO says completed winery reports must be sent in Excel format to winery.reporting@lcbo.com. Quarterly filers must submit one quarterly template, not three monthly templates.
6. Remit the payment separately. LCBO currently lists electronic payment, Corporate Creditor Service, cheque, and wire-transfer options. Follow the current payment instructions and use the correct LCBO customer number.

We did not identify a public LCBO API for Direct Delivery winery financial-report submissions in the official materials reviewed. The verified current workflow is the LCBO workbook plus email submission and separate payment.

4. Ontario: VQA monthly sales reporting

The Ontario Wine Appellation Authority requires VQA wineries to file a monthly VQA sales report even when VQA sales are nil. Its current winery handbook says the report is completed using the "VQAO Sales Report" tab of the LCBO Winery Reporting Template, also called the J-10, and is due on the 20th day of the month following the reporting month.

1. Complete the VQAO Sales Report tab in the applicable LCBO Winery Reporting Template.
2. Open VQA Services and go to Sales Reporting.
3. Create a new sales report for the applicable month and enter total VQA litres sold across all channels.
4. Upload the supporting report. The handbook accepts Excel .xlsx with macros disabled or PDF. It states that the entire J-10 Excel package is the preferred format because it can auto-generate the invoice.
5. Check the litre total. If the total entered in VQA Services differs from the total shown on the uploaded report, the report will be rejected.
6. Handle nil months explicitly. Select the applicable period and the "no sales for this month" option when there were no VQA sales.
7. Pay the generated invoice through the VQA Services invoice workflow or other payment method the Authority currently accepts.

The VQA upload does not replace the LCBO filing. The handbook expressly reminds wineries to submit the Winery Reporting Template separately to LCBO by email. See the Ontario Wine Appellation Authority's Handbook for VQA Wineries.

5. British Columbia: LDB Direct Sales Web Reporting

BC wineries operate under both licensing and distribution rules. The Province's manufacturer guidance and LDB materials make clear that BC liquor manufacturers are licensed by the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB), while winery sales agreements with the Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) set sales-reporting and remittance requirements. BC's Manufacturer Licence Terms and Conditions Handbook and the applicable LDB winery sales agreement should be read together.

The current LDB Direct Sales Reporting page says DSWR requires an active BCeID. Within DSWR, transactions can be entered manually or uploaded from a CSV file, reviewed, compiled into a batch, and submitted electronically. Sales to BC Liquor Stores are not reported through this direct-sales process. See the BCLDB Direct Sales Reporting page.

Commercial winery cadence

The published LDB Commercial Winery Sales Agreement requires reporting of sales activity, including weeks with no sales or returns, with Sales Reports received no later than the first business day of the week following each week of sales. The agreement also requires an annual March 31 inventory count and a six-year retention period for defined Records, Sales Reports, and Excise Documents.

Land-based winery cadence

The published LDB Land Based Winery Sales Agreement uses a different cadence. It requires reporting for each LDB fiscal month, including nil months, and says LDB must receive the Sales Reports no later than 5 business days after the last day of each fiscal month. A winery that chooses to report weekly or biweekly is told to notify LDB so the reporting schedule can be updated.

DSWR CSV: current fields published by BCLDB

BCLDB's current DSWR user-guides page still links its Version 6.0, January 29, 2017 CSV Fields Specification and Validation Rules. That age is important. The file remains the official specification linked by BCLDB as of August 5, 2026, but an implementation should always recheck the BCLDB page before shipping an export.

Use the BCLDB DSWR CSV Fields Specification and Validation Rules rather than recreating the schema from a third-party summary. The official flow we verified supports manual entry or CSV upload into DSWR. We did not identify a public DSWR submission API in BCLDB's current official reporting materials.

6. Interprovincial DTC is changing, so verify the destination province

Do not treat an old list of provincial DTC rules as evergreen. On May 29, 2026, the federal government said federal barriers to interprovincial alcohol trade had been removed, but provincial and territorial implementation remained incomplete. The statement identified fully open DTC in Manitoba and New Brunswick, an Ontario-Nova Scotia bilateral arrangement, and bilateral arrangements between British Columbia and Alberta and between British Columbia and Saskatchewan. See the Government of Canada statement on direct-to-consumer alcohol sales.

That means a winery should verify the destination jurisdiction immediately before opening a shipping lane or changing tax and remittance logic. This guide does not turn those interprovincial developments into a blanket national authorization.

7. Records to keep

For federal excise purposes, section 206(7) of the Excise Act, 2001 requires required records to be retained until the end of six years after the end of the year to which they relate, unless another period applies. See Excise Act, 2001, section 206.

BC also imposes six-year recordkeeping obligations through provincial manufacturer rules and the LDB winery agreements. Ontario VQA wineries should retain the grape-origin, production, blending, packaging, label, sales, and disposal records the Appellation Authority identifies for audit and inspection.

• Filed returns and reports, plus nil reports where required
• Submission confirmations, emails, and confirmation numbers
• Source workpapers supporting litres, ABV bands, inventory adjustments, and excise calculations
• Bulk and packaged inventory movement records
• Sales, returns, SKU, pricing, and customer-classification records used in provincial filings
• VQA grape-origin, production, approval, transfer, sales, and disposal records where applicable
• Proof of payment and regulator invoices or statements

Common reporting mistakes to prevent

• Assuming small-producer means no B265. Small producers still file for each reporting period.
• Using quarterly CRA filing without authority. Wine licensees should not borrow the cannabis quarterly rule.
• Reusing an old LCBO workbook. Version 27.2 is current for sales beginning July 1, 2026, but the official template page should be checked each period.
• Using grape tonnage in B265 bulk inventory. B265's bulk inventory reconciliation is reported in litres of wine.
• Treating VQA Ontario upload as the LCBO submission. They are separate submissions.
• Applying the wrong BC reporting cadence. Commercial and land-based winery agreements have different default schedules.
• Building DSWR exports from an unofficial field list. The official currently linked specification differs from some third-party and older summaries.
• Hard-coding DTC rules as permanent. Provincial and territorial arrangements are still changing.

How Solera can support the reporting workflow

Frequently asked questions

Official sources and references

1. EDM4-1-1, Producers and packagers of wineCanada Revenue Agency. Current page accessed August 5, 2026.
2. EDM4-1-2, Small producers of wineCanada Revenue Agency. Updated November 2, 2022. Accessed August 5, 2026.
3. EDM10-1-1, Returns and paymentsCanada Revenue Agency. Updated March 12, 2024. Accessed August 5, 2026.
4. EDM10-1-6, Completing an excise duty return - Wine licenseeCanada Revenue Agency. February 3, 2023. Accessed August 5, 2026.
5. Help with filing online webform B265Canada Revenue Agency. Current page accessed August 5, 2026.
6. Excise duty rates: wineCanada Revenue Agency. Updated June 19, 2026. Accessed August 5, 2026.
7. Excise Act, 2001, section 206Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada. Accessed August 5, 2026.
8. Know Your Obligations - Financial Reporting & Payment RemittanceLiquor Control Board of Ontario. Accessed August 5, 2026.
9. Financial Reporting TemplatesLiquor Control Board of Ontario. Template 27.2 current for sales beginning July 1, 2026. Accessed August 5, 2026.
10. A Handbook for VQA WineriesOntario Wine Appellation Authority. Revised September 2024. Accessed August 5, 2026.
11. Direct Sales ReportingBritish Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch. Accessed August 5, 2026.
12. Commercial Winery Sales AgreementBritish Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch. Current published agreement accessed August 5, 2026.
13. Land Based Winery Sales AgreementBritish Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch. Last updated December 14, 2022. Accessed August 5, 2026.
14. DSWR CSV Fields Specification and Validation Rules, Version 6.0British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch. January 29, 2017. Still linked from BCLDB's current 2026 DSWR user-guides page. Accessed August 5, 2026.
15. Wines of Marked Quality Regulation, B.C. Reg. 168/2018King's Printer, Province of British Columbia. Consolidation current to July 28, 2026. Accessed August 5, 2026.
16. Statement on implementing direct-to-consumer alcohol salesIntergovernmental Affairs, Government of Canada. May 29, 2026. Accessed August 5, 2026.

Change log

Looking for another jurisdiction? Browse the Solera winery guides or read operational analysis on the Solera blog.

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Disclaimer: This guide summarizes official information available as of 5 August 2026 and is not legal, tax or compliance advice. Verify all requirements with the responsible authority or a qualified adviser.