http://decision.tcc-cci.gc.ca/tcc-cci/decisions/en/item/99493/index.do 
Liu v. The Queen (November 13, 2014 – 2014 TCC 335) was a case dealing with a situation where the appellant purchased a lot from a builder and then had another corporation build an expensive home on the lot:
[1] The issue in this appeal is whether the Appellant is entitled to the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (“GST/HST”) New Housing Rebate in respect of tax paid for the construction of a house in 2010.
[2] On March 28, 2010, the Appellant and her spouse purchased lot 25 on River Valley Drive in Kitchener, Ontario from Hidden Valley Kitchener Ltd. for the amount of $295,000. On the same day, they agreed to have Adelaide Custom Homes Ltd. construct a home for them on lot 25 for the amount of $626,344.15.
[3] According to the Appellant, she and her spouse purchased the land and engaged the builder to construct the house in two separate transactions because they were advised by a financial officer with East Forest Homes that it would result in a savings to them of $24,600.
[4] On June 15, 2011, the Appellant filed an application for the GST/HST New Housing Rebate. She used the form which specified that it was to be used only for houses purchased from a builder. She was informed, by letter dated November 3, 2011 from the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”), that in order to qualify for the GST/HST New Housing Rebate for houses purchased from a builder, section 254 of the Excise Tax Act (“ETA”) required that both the land and the house must be purchased from the builder. The letter also informed the Appellant that her application for a rebate would be disallowed and a notice of assessment would follow. In addition, she was advised that perhaps she qualified for a new housing rebate under section 256 of the ETA and she would have to submit a “GST 191 – GST/HST New Housing Rebate Application for Owner-Built Houses” (“Owner-Built application”).
[5] The notice of assessment was issued to the Appellant on November 4, 2011 and the Appellant filed a notice of objection on February 3, 2012. She didn’t file the Owner-Built application. The assessment was confirmed on February 5, 2013.
The court held that the appellant was not entitled to the New Housing Rebate in respect of a house purchased from a builder nor in respect of an owner-built home. She was not entitled to any federal rebate since the house was too expensive and she was too late to be entitled to a provincial rebate:
[11] The Appellant’s house would have been considered as purchased from the builder if she had purchased the land and the house from the builder, which she did not. She may have signed the documents to purchase the land and have her house built at the same time. However, she contracted with two separate corporate entities. She purchased lot 25 from Hidden Valley Kitchener Ltd. and she contracted with Adelaide Custom Homes to build her house. Her house is considered owner-built as she engaged Adelaide Custom Homes to build her home on land she owned. The Appellant was required to file the Owner-Built application to apply for the new housing rebate.
[12] However, the Appellant would not have been eligible for the federal portion of the HST paid for new houses regardless of which application form she filed with the Minister of National Revenue (the “Minister”). Both paragraph 254(2)(c) of the ETA ( which applies to a new housing rebate for houses “purchased from the builder”) and paragraph 256(2)(b) (which applies to “owner-built houses”) require that the cost of the house is less than $450,000. In the present case, the cost of the Appellant’s house exceeds the $450,000 limit. The relevant paragraphs of the ETA provide:
254(2) New housing rebate [purchased home] — Where
(c) the total (in this subsection referred to as the “total consideration”) of all amounts, each of which is the consideration payable for the supply to the particular individual of the complex or unit or for any other taxable supply to the particular individual of an interest in the complex or unit, is less than $450,000,
256(2) Rebate for owner-built homes — Where
(b) the fair market value of the complex, at the time the construction or substantial renovation thereof is substantially completed, is less than $450,000,
[13] In order to receive the rebate on the provincial portion of the HST, the Appellant was required to file an Owner-Built application within the 2 year limit given in subsection 46(6) of the New Harmonized Value-Added Tax System Regulations No.2 to the ETA.
…
[14] The Appellant took possession of the house on October 29, 2010. The day that was the earliest of the conditions listed in subsection 46(6) was October 29, 2012.
[15] The Appellant did not file the “Owner-Built” application even though she had been advised by the CRA to do so. Moreover, this advice was given to her in a letter dated November 3, 2011 which was well within the 2 year limit. She cannot now blame the Minister for her failure to act.
As a result the appeal was dismissed.