Definitions

1   (1) In this regulation:

"Act" means the Special Accounts Appropriation and Control Act;

"application commencement date" means August 15, 2015;

"BCTES grant", in relation to an eligible child, means financial assistance provided out of the British Columbia Training and Education Savings Program special account to or for the eligible child under this regulation and section 9.4 (5) (a) of the Act;

"eligible child" means a child who, under section 3, is eligible for a BCTES grant;

"qualifying RESP" means an RESP for which

(a) an eligible child is the only beneficiary, or

(b) an eligible child and one or more siblings of the eligible child are the only beneficiaries;

"registered education savings plan" or "RESP" means a registered education savings plan as defined in section 146.1 of the Income Tax Act (Canada);

"sibling" means a sibling, half-sibling or step-sibling;

"subscriber" means a person who enters into an RESP contract with an RESP trustee and designates one or more beneficiaries for whom the person will make contributions;

"trustee" has the same meaning as "trust" in section 146.1 of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

(2) Unless a contrary intention appears, a word or an expression defined in section 146.1 of the Income Tax Act (Canada) has the same meaning in this regulation.

Financial assistance may be provided to RESP

2   (1) Financial assistance under section 9.4 (5) (a) of the Act may be provided in respect of a child referred to in that section by way of a BCTES grant paid into a qualifying RESP.

(2) The amount of financial assistance that may be paid for any one child under section 9.4 (5) (a) of the Act is $1 200.

Eligibility requirements

3   For the purposes of section 9.4 (5) (a) of the Act, a child in relation to whom an application for a BCTES grant is submitted is eligible for the BCTES grant if, at the date the application is submitted by the subscriber to the RESP trustee, the child and a guardian of the child are ordinarily resident in British Columbia.

Conditions for payment of BCTES grants

4   A BCTES grant must not be paid into an RESP for a child unless

(a) the child is an eligible child,

(b) the RESP is a qualifying RESP,

(c) the application for the BCTES grant was submitted by the subscriber to the RESP trustee,

(i) in the case of a child whose 6th birthday falls in 2012, within 4 years after the application commencement date,

(i.1) in the case of a child whose 6th birthday falls in 2013 or 2014, within 3 years after the application commencement date,

(ii) in the case of a child whose 6th birthday falls in 2015, within 3 years after the later of

(A) the application commencement date, or

(B) the child's 6th birthday, or

(iii) in the case of a child whose 6th birthday falls in 2016 or later, within 3 years after the child's 6th birthday, and

(d) the application for the BCTES grant submitted to the RESP trustee under paragraph (c) was submitted by the RESP trustee within 3 years of receipt of the BCTES grant application by the RESP trustee to the government of Canada or the agency of the government of Canada that is party to the agreement, as applicable, under section 5 (a).

[am. B.C. Reg. 79/2016, Sch. 1.]

Agreements with Canada

5   A BCTES grant must not be paid unless

(a) the minister responsible for the administration of section 9.4 of the Act has entered into an agreement with the government of Canada, or an agency of the government of Canada, respecting the administration, or part of the administration, of the British Columbia Training and Education Savings Program, and

(b) the RESP trustee has entered into an agreement respecting BCTES grants with the minister of the government of Canada who is responsible for the agreement.

When BCTES grant must be repaid

6   (1) In this section:

"BCTES beneficiary", in relation to a BCTES grant, means one or both of the following:

(a) the eligible child for whom the BCTES grant has been paid into an RESP;

(b) a sibling of the eligible child for whom the BCTES grant has been paid into an RESP;

"RESP" includes an RESP into which a BCTES grant is transferred after the BCTES grant is initially paid into another RESP for the BCTES beneficiary.

(2) The BCTES grant paid into an RESP for a BCTES beneficiary must be repaid from the RESP to the government by the RESP trustee, on behalf of the subscriber, if

(a) any of the circumstances referred to in subsection (3) occur, and

(b) the RESP contains sufficient funds for the repayment of the full BCTES grant or a portion of the BCTES grant.

(3) A BCTES grant must be repaid under subsection (2) (a) if

(a) the RESP is terminated before the grant is paid out as part of an educational assistance payment to a BCTES beneficiary,

(b) the registration of the RESP is revoked before the grant is paid out as part of an educational assistance payment to a BCTES beneficiary,

(c) the grant or a portion of the grant is withdrawn from the RESP and is not used as an educational assistance payment by a BCTES beneficiary,

(d) a payment described in paragraph (b) or (d) of the definition of "trust" in section 146.1 (1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) is made under the RESP,

(e) an amount is transferred from the RESP to another RESP, except if, under subsection (4), the transfer is an eligible transfer,

(f) an individual becomes a beneficiary under the RESP in place of a BCTES beneficiary, except if section 204.9 (4) (b) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) applies in respect of the replacement,

(g) an educational assistance payment is made from the RESP to an individual who is not a BCTES beneficiary under the RESP,

(h) an individual other than a BCTES beneficiary becomes a beneficiary of the RESP, or

(i) the application for the BCTES grant contained false information.

(4) For the purpose of subsection (3) (e), the transfer of an amount from the RESP into which the grant was paid to another RESP is an eligible transfer

(a) if

(i) any beneficiary under the receiving RESP is, immediately before the transfer, a beneficiary under the transferring RESP, or

(ii) a beneficiary under the receiving RESP is a sibling of an individual who was, immediately before the transfer, a beneficiary under the transferring RESP and

(A) the receiving RESP is an RESP that allows more than one beneficiary at any one time, or

(B) in any other case, the beneficiary under the receiving RESP had not attained 21 years of age at the time the receiving RESP was entered into,

(b) if, at the time of the transfer, an eligible child or one or more siblings of an eligible child are the only beneficiaries of the RESP, and

(c) if the receiving RESP complies with the conditions for registration set out in section 146.1 (2) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) that apply in respect of education savings plans entered into on January 1, 1999.

Information to be included in application

7   An application for a BCTES grant must include the following:

(a) the name and mailing address of the subscriber submitting the application, and

(b) the name, date of birth and social insurance number of the child in relation to whom the application is submitted.