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Pill press waiver owner category

Last updated on September 16, 2021

Waiver Holder Application

The Waiver Owner Category is available to a business that wishes to own, use, or possess Controlled Equipment but does not fall under the criteria for the Authorized Owner or Registered Seller Owner Categories. A Waiver Holder is a term used to describe a business that has applied to the Registrar and received a Waiver certificate under the Act.

For the purposes of the Act, a business must be able to establish that they are authorized to own, possess, or use Controlled Equipment. If a business wishes to own, use or possess Controlled Equipment, and does not meet the criteria for either of the Authorized Owner or Registered Seller category, it must apply for a Waiver to comply with the Act.

Clients must apply for the Waiver Owner Category through the Pill Press Online Registry. All applications for Waivers will be processed using the Pill Press Online Registry. A Waiver certificate does not authorize the business to sell Controlled Equipment – only Registered Sellers are permitted to sell Controlled Equipment to persons in BC.

The Registrar will grant a Waiver certificate only for the intended products and uses disclosed in the application. If the intended products or uses change, the business must apply for a new Waiver.

Waiver Certificate

After the business’ Waiver Holder application is approved by the Registrar, a Waiver certificate will be issued to the business. The Waiver certificate is evidence that the business is allowed to own, use, or possess Controlled Equipment for the uses specified in the certificate.

Upon approval of the application, the Registrar will issue a Waiver certificate and a pdf version of the certificate will be available on the Client Dashboard, which the business can print. The Waiver certificate will contain the name of the business that is the Waiver Holder, issued date, and a unique Waiver number. Generally, Waivers expire 5 years after the issued date. However, in accordance with section 8(3)(b) of the Act, the Registrar has the discretion to set an earlier expiry date. The expiry date will be shown on the Waiver certificate.

The business may be requested to provide evidence that they are allowed to own, use, or possess Controlled Equipment. Therefore, it is recommended that the business to whom a Waiver certificate has been issued print it and keep it at the location where their Controlled Equipment is ordinarily stored.

When a business purchases a new piece of Controlled Equipment from a BC seller, they will be required to provide to the seller their assigned Waiver number, which is shown on their Waiver certificate.

Limits and Conditions

In accordance with s. 8 (1) of the Act, the Registrar may grant a Waiver with limits and conditions. These limits and conditions can be standard on any Waiver certificate or specific to a particular Waiver. For example, a business may have received approval for a given product category (i.e. consumable, non-consumable) and a product sub-category (i.e. candy, batteries). The approved product category and sub-category are based on the information disclosed by the business in their application regarding their products and intended uses. Any specific limits and conditions will appear on the face of the Waiver certificate.

The Registrar may issue a Waiver certificate that allows the Waiver Holder to produce products only in approved categories of “consumable” or “non-consumable”. The term “consumable” refers to a product, good, substance or item that:

  • Is intended for human or animal consumption;
  • Includes, but is not limited to: pills, candy tablets, dog food, chewable vitamins, gummy bears, suckers, breath mints, and animal feed

The term “non-consumable” refers to a product, good, substance, or item that is not intended for human or animal consumption.

In accordance with section 8(4) of the Act, Waivers are not transferable.

Waiver Holder’s Responsibilities and Obligations

In accordance with the Act and Regulation, Waiver Holders have a number of ongoing obligations and responsibilities, including:

Notification of manufacture of new products

A Waiver Holder is only allowed to manufacture product categories and sub-categories consistent with the language on their Waiver certificate. If a Waiver Holder wishes to produce a new line of products or is significantly changing intended uses of the products disclosed in their original Waiver Holder application, the business is required to submit a new Waiver Holder application that clearly outlines all current information. Note that if the intent of the business is to continue to manufacture original products as well as manufacture new products utilizing Controlled Equipment, then the new Waiver Holder application should include information about the original products as well as the new products, with their corresponding intended uses.