Posted at 5:00 am
Charles-Éric Blais-Poulin Investigative Team, La Presse
The maximum milk price is largely ignored
Convenience stores that use a delivery platform sell their “regular” milk well above the maximum price allowed by law, La Presse found.
We looked at 40 retailers that sell regular milk on Uber Eats in the app’s Convenience Store section. Only one of them respected the minimum and maximum prices set by the Régie des Marchés Agricoles et Alimentaires du Québec. While 2 dealers sold below the legal price, 37 others asked for sums in excess of the legal rates.
Among the culprits: retailers of the 7 Days (Couche-Tard), Boni-Soir (Sobeys Quebec), Provi-Soir (Couche-Tard) and Proxi (Harnois Énergies) brands.
Among so many examples, a one-liter carton of Québon at 2% offered by an independent retailer in Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles costs $6.99 on Uber Eats, about three times the maximum legal price of $2.17 $. That’s not counting the service and delivery fees, which push the bill up to $10.83. The app even suggests tipping the deliverer.
The liquid milk price regulation provides for an exception for retailers who deliver to customers themselves. This allows the milkmen or convenience stores to cover the travel expenses. However, using online ordering platforms does not allow retailers to circumvent regulatory tariffs.
“If the seller is not the one delivering, the maximum prices apply,” confirms Jennifer Lemarquis, acting secretary of the Régie des marchés agricole et aliments du Québec.
Also, the prices displayed on the platforms remain the same when the customer collects their order from the store.
SCREENSHOT, THE PRESS
Regular milk sold at a convenience store in the Quartier des Spectacles. Max price allowed: $2.17
SCREENSHOT, THE PRESS
Regular milk sold in a supermarket in Outremont. Max price: $4.29
SCREENSHOT, THE PRESS
Regular milk sold in a supermarket in Plateau-Mont-Royal. Max price allowed: $8.24
SCREENSHOT, THE PRESS
Regular milk sold in a supermarket in Rosemont-Petite-Patrie. Max price: $3.75
1/4
On DoorDash, a convenience store on Montreal’s Beaubien Street is listing its 4-liter bag of “regular” 3.25% milk for $11.19, versus a legal price of $8.61. It costs $13.49 at a retailer on Parc Avenue at Uber Eats. On display at Skip were 2 liters of 2% milk from a Boni Soir convenience store for $6. Max price: $4.29.
“When a convenience store or grocery store wants to collect platform commissions [aux clients]must be deducted from the price [de base] says Stéphane Lacasse, vice president of public affairs at the Quebec Food Retailers Association (ADAQ).
You can’t increase the price of milk based on cost [qu’on doit payer]. These companies violate the ban.
Stéphane Lacasse, Vice President of Public Affairs at ADAQ
The price adjustments that independent convenience stores make in apps like Uber Eats often exceed intermediaries’ fees by 20% to 30%. This applies to all products. But milk is one of those rare commodities whose high price not only raises ethical but also legal questions.
Uber Canada says it is not responsible for the situation. “Retailers are solely responsible for any regulatory obligations related to the selling prices of their items,” Keerthana Rang, communications manager at Uber Canada, said via email.
“We will communicate with all our dealers and owners to remind them that the regulations on regular milk prices must apply on delivery platforms just as they do in stores,” reacted Anne-Hélène Lavoie, Head of External Communications at Sobeys , to whom the Brands owned by Boni-Soir and Voisin.
“We always comply with the regulations at the level of minimum and maximum milk prices,” said Lysa Bergeron, Vice President of Harnois Énergies, behind the Proxi brand. “This is simply an error on our part which has been corrected. »
Annoying commissions
Youssef Akkouche, owner of Le Pro grocery store in Villeray, says he is doing everything he can to keep milk prices as low as possible. At $10.99 for a 4-liter bag of 2% Québon milk — compared to a top price of $8.24 — he made sure his offering was more attractive than the competition. “But I didn’t know what laws applied to third-party apps,” he says.
In retail, the profit margin for normal milk varies between 8 and 15%. This is below the commissions charged by delivery services.
Uber Eats remains a luxury service. It is there to fix customer problems. There are even mothers who call me to say thank you.
Youssef Akkouche, owner of Le Pro grocery store in Villeray
The grocery retailer has three options for the future: that retailers stop selling ordinary milk via apps, that the price law adapts to the digital market, or that platforms significantly reduce their commissions for regulated products. Mr. Akkouche supports this third proposal and intends to defend it with Uber Eats.
“I’m glad you’re talking about this so things can change,” he continues. I wouldn’t mind not earning money with the milk because the customer keeps buying other products at the same time.”
In order not to break the law, some convenience stores on delivery platforms simply do not offer basic milk, which is also the cheapest. However, in 2016, the Retail Council of Canada made a commitment to the Régie to offer regular milk alongside value-added products.
What is regular or “regular” milk?
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The prescribed prices only concern so-called “normal” milk, which is considered “a food that contributes to a healthy diet, especially for children”. This is white milk sold in cartons or in bags, most commonly under the Québon or Béatrice brands. Milk that has added value – flavored, organic, kosher, microfiltered, long-life, etc. – or whose packaging has special features – plastic caps, glass jars, etc. – can be sold at any price.
A poorly monitored market
According to spokesman Stéphane Lacasse, less than 5% of the approximately 1,000 members of the Quebec Food Retailers Association do business with delivery platforms because of “exorbitant fees” and a penchant for the customer experience. But he says retailers making that choice should follow “the same rules”.
“We require a reasonable profit margin, but we understand that milk is an essential commodity. If we deregulate [les prix], there will be abuse on both sides. »
With the emergence of new distribution networks, “monitoring becomes extremely complicated,” notes Sylvain Charlebois, scientific director of the Agrifood Analytical Sciences Laboratory.
The expert insists he’s not a “big fan” of price regulation in retail, but that societal choice must be respected. “If we have to do it, we do it like humans,” he said. Food inflation is already a major problem for many households. Adding inconsistencies in milk distribution policy means consumers are doubly penalized. »
In its recent decision on regular milk prices, the Régie reminds us that “the current economic situation presents major financial challenges for many families and consumers in vulnerable situations”.
102
Number of complaints about minimum and maximum milk retail prices in 2021-2022, of which 42 were referred for investigation to the Deputy Ministry of Animal Health and the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agriculture “Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ) and the City of Montreal Food Inspection Service.
Sales taxes on products… tax-free
PHOTO ERIC GAILLARD, Portal ARCHIVE
Milk, eggs, bread, cereal, yogurt, fruit, meat: many retailers that appear on online ordering platforms charge sales taxes on basic products that are exempt in Quebec.
Only at Uber Eats, La Presse was able to identify more than 25 convenience stores in the greater Montreal area that add an appropriate percentage to QST (9.975%) and GST (5%) on all their merchandise, ignoring zero-rate groceries. Addresses from the 7 Days and Boni-Soir brands, operated by Alimentation Couche-Tard and Sobeys Quebec respectively, are below.
Retailers, including some Couche-Tard and Marché Express (Parkland) networks, do the same on DoorDash or Skip.
SCREENSHOT, THE PRESS
Convenience stores charging merchandise taxes on delivery apps are legion.
SCREENSHOT, THE PRESS
Convenience stores charging merchandise taxes on delivery apps are legion.
SCREENSHOT, THE PRESS
Convenience stores charging merchandise taxes on delivery apps are legion.
SCREENSHOT, THE PRESS
Convenience stores charging merchandise taxes on delivery apps are legion.
1/4
“However, there is no exception to the zero rating specifically for meal delivery platforms in relation to the sale of basic necessities,” Revenu Québec spokeswoman Mylène Gagnon said in an email to The Press.
Customers are therefore paying 15% too much for a range of groceries, La Presse found. The prices of groceries sold online by most independent convenience stores are already inflated compared to the prices displayed on the shelves.
On the Uber Eats, Skip, and DoorDash side, merchants are responsible for reporting the applicable taxes for each product.
The manager of a supermarket on Décarie Boulevard struggled to explain when we inquired about the sales taxes displayed on DoorDash for picking up a 2-liter container of milk.
“There’s no tax when people buy their milk or bread there, but it’s done automatically on DoorDash,” he said as we picked up the order at the store. “I believe there is a way to fix this. I need to contact DoorDash. »
Even more confusing was the response from the US platform’s customer service. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but that’s DoorDash policy,” one agent wrote to us. « CA$7.75 the price of the item + CA$1.16 as tax [sic] for the company you used [sic] to place the order. That makes a total of CA$ 8.91. »
“Okay, so it’s not taxes, it’s usage fees?” we asked. “Yes, exactly! The taxes and the various costs – delivery or service – are shown as such in the application.
No spokesman for DoorDash or Skip had responded to La Presse at the time of publication.
When asked by La Presse why he was adding taxes to his entire offering, the owner of an Ontario Street supermarket explained that he was “new to Uber Eats” and would rectify the situation.
Since then taxes on many products have been abolished; at the same time, base prices were increased by more than 15%.
Can customers get refunds for incorrectly charged taxes? “Of course,” the retailer emailed us before changing his mind. “Uber Eats collects the taxes and pays the government. If you want the money, you have to contact Uber Eats. »
Incorrect: “Item taxes collected by Uber on behalf of retailers are remitted in full to retailers, who are responsible for the appropriate handling of those amounts,” said Keerthana Rang, communications manager at Uber Canada.
She points out that the San Francisco-based company conducts compliance audits “from time to time,” but that “ultimately retailers are solely responsible for collecting the appropriate amounts.”
Also at Couche Tard
Couche Tard retailers that partner with DoorDash also collect taxes on basic products that are delivered or picked up in-store. We were charged GST and QST for a basket of sliced wheat bread, a 1.5 liter bottle of milk, a packet of cereal and a jar of peanut butter, four categories of tax-free food.
IMAGE FROM A SCREENSHOT
Couche-Tard on DoorDash has charged us taxes on goods, not just shipping and service charges.
Alimentation Couche-Tard had not answered our questions at the time of publication.
Express Markets, a Parkland Corporation brand, also taxes milk on Skip; Added $0.90 to our order for a two-liter take-out container.
IMAGE FROM A SCREENSHOT
Taxes have been added when ordering with a 2 liter container of milk.
“We are investigating this issue with our third-party vendors,” said Tara Overholt, communications manager at Parkland.
Whether the “taxes” levied on basic products always end up with Revenu Québec and the Canada Revenue Agency or remain in the coffers of specific retailers, we have not been able to determine.
“If a merchant has erroneously collected GST and QST when they weren’t required to, they must send them to Revenu Québec,” the agency responsible for collecting the tax said.
Customers can request a GST and QST refund from the retailer, the ordering platform, or Revenu Québec.
“If a user believes they have paid an amount of tax that shouldn’t have been charged by a retailer, they can contact our customer service directly in the application so that corrective action can be taken,” emphasizes Uber Eats.
Our efforts in this direction after a test order were unsuccessful.
What taxes in convenience stores and grocery stores?
“Most products sold in grocery and convenience stores are tax-exempt staples (ie, with a 0% tax rate),” writes Revenu Québec on its website.
Taxable foods include: hot, alcoholic or fizzy drinks, sweets, sugary juices, chewing gum, ice cream under 500ml and other single-serving foods.
It should be noted that the customer must pay GST and QST on basic foodstuffs when sold by an establishment where 90% or more of the beverage and foodstuffs sold are taxable. However, this exception, which applies to canteens, for example, never applies to products that are not intended for immediate consumption, such as raw pasta, eggs, frozen meals or milk cartons of 1 liter or more.