Congiu – Tax Court of Canada defers to the Cour du Québec

The taxpayer was assessed under the equivalent GST and QST provisions of s. 159 for distributing property without a clearance certificate.  The Quebec assessment was judicially reviewed first, and while this decision was under appeal by her to the Quebec Court of Appeal, her federal appeal came before Angers J on the basis of an agreed statement of facts reflecting the findings in the Quebec action.

Although the federal action was not res judicata (there were different taxing statutes and governments involved), Angers J found that it would be an abuse of process to consider essentially the same dispute, as there was a need to maintain "coherence" in judicial dispositions of the same question.

Neal Armstrong.  Summary of Congiu v. The Queen, 2013 CCI 271, under General Concepts – Res Judicata.