16 Exemption For Land Subject To Conservation Covenant

16 (1) In this section, “conservation covenant” means a covenant in favour of the Crown that

• (a) is registered under subsection (2), and
• (b) includes
  • (i) one or more provisions described in section 219(4)(b) of the Land Title Act,
  • (ii) provisions that the covenant will not be amended or discharged without the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and
  • (iii) any other provision prescribed by regulation for inclusion.

• (2) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council approves, a covenant referred to in subsection (1) may be registered against the title to land in the same manner as a covenant under section 219(1) of the Land Title Act and, when registered, it is deemed to be a covenant under that section.
• (3) A taxable transaction is exempt from the payment of tax under section 2 to the extent provided in subsection (4) if, at the time of registration of the taxable transaction, a conservation covenant is registered against the title to the land to which the taxable transaction relates.
• (4) A taxable transaction to which subsection (3) applies is exempt to the extent of the fair market value, determined in the prescribed manner, of the interest being transferred that is subject to the conservation covenant.
• (5) The administrator may, by certificate, postpone for up to 6 months the time at which tax would otherwise be payable, if satisfied that a conservation covenant is intended to be registered within that time against the title to the land to which the taxable transaction relates.
• (6) If, within one year after a taxable transaction is registered, a conservation covenant is registered against the title to the land to which the taxable transaction relates, the transferee may apply to the administrator within that one year period for a refund under subsection (7).
• (7) After receiving an application under subsection (6) and on being satisfied that the taxable transaction would have been exempt under subsection (3) from tax had the conservation covenant been registered at the time of the taxable transaction, the administrator must

• (a) pay out of the consolidated revenue fund a refund of the tax paid equivalent to the amount of exemption to which the transferee would have been entitled had the conservation covenant been registered at the time of the taxable transaction, or
• (b) send a letter to the transferee stating the reasons for the refusal, and the letter is deemed to be a notice of assessment for the purposes of allowing the transferee to file a notice of objection under section 19.

• (8) If a conservation covenant is discharged after the taxable transaction has been exempt from taxation because of this section or after the transferee has received a refund under this section, the person registered in the land title office at the time of discharge as owner of the fee simple interest in the land against which the covenant was registered must, at the time of discharge,

• (a) file a return referred to in section 2(1), and
• (b) pay to the government, as tax payable under section 2, an amount equal to the tax that would be payable at that time were the title to the land being transferred to that person as transferee in a taxable transaction referred to in paragraph (a)(i) of the definition of “taxable transaction”.

• (9) A registrar may, without a hearing, refuse to accept an application for discharge of a conservation covenant if there are reasonable grounds to believe

• (a) that the Lieutenant Governor in Council has not approved the discharge,
• (b) that the return required by subsection (8) has not been filed, or
• (c) that the tax imposed by subsection (8) has not been paid.

1987-15-5.2(1) to (9); 1991-16-12; 1994-44-5, effective August 26, 1994 (B.C. Reg. 284/94); 1999-35-10, effective December 12, 2003 (B.C. Reg. 471/2003); 2016-27-9, effective August 2, 2016.