Who is responsible for filing the HST return when a joint venture election is in place?

Under a valid joint venture election, the designated operator is the one responsible for filing the GST/HST return and accounting for tax on the eligible activities covered by the election, charging and collecting tax on the joint venture's supplies, and claiming input tax credits on its eligible purchases, under the operator's own HST registration rather than each co-venturer filing separately for their share.

That said, the election doesn't necessarily relieve the other co-venturers of all responsibility if something goes wrong. Depending on how the arrangement and election are structured, and if the operator fails to file or remit correctly, the CRA may still be able to look to the underlying activities and participants in the joint venture, so co-venturers shouldn't assume that naming an operator means they have zero exposure regardless of what happens with the filings.

Because the operator's role carries real administrative responsibility, and the other co-venturers are relying on that person or entity getting it right, the joint venture or co-ownership agreement should clearly document who the operator is, what they're responsible for, and how the co-venturers will address any shortfall or error, rather than leaving that only to the election form itself.