Sinnott News Company Ltd. v. The Minister of National Revenue, 56 DTC 1047, [1956] CTC 81, [1956] S.C.R. 433 -- summary under Timing

The taxpayer was found to have made deliveries of periodicals to its retail dealers on a sale or return basis, with the result that the sale price for periodicals which still were on hand at the dealers at the end of the taxation year were excluded from the taxpayer's income for that year, notwithstanding that for accounting purposes it had booked the sale price of all deliveries made by it to the dealers and deducted a reserve for expected returns. Locke J. stated (p. 1052) that "the position of a person holding goods on sale or return who has not exercised his option to purchase or otherwise become liable to the owner will be the same as if they were held on consignment. In the case of the bankruptcy of the dealer, the property would not pass to the trustee in either case." Kellock J. (who concurred with the majority on other grounds) characterized a sale or return as entailing a transfer of property to the retail dealer, but subject to a condition subsequent which could result in the property re-vesting in the taxpayer.