Effective January 1, 2016, Appeals files will be sent back to Audit if information requested by Audit is now provided

Points on the Appeals process made by Anne-Marie Levesque, Assistant Commissioner, Appeals at the Annual CTF Conference include:

Q.3: CRA has changed its practice so that an appeals officer can consider a request for interest or penalty relief at the same time as considering the objection – but only a decision letter will be given at that stage so as to not invalidate the objection.

Q.4: Effective January 1, 2016, if an appeals officer is provided with information which had been requested by but not provided to the auditor, the appeals officer will be required to send the file back to the auditor for review of the additional information to determine whether it changes the initial audit determination.

Q.5: There have been quite a number of cases where the appeals officer has disagreed with a valuation report, and asked for another valuation, or overturned the reassessment. Appeals also has overturned reassessments notwithstanding a GAAR Committee recommendation to apply the GAAR (so that it is worthwhile making submissions to Appeals to overturn a GAR Committee adverse opinion) – and, conversely, Appeals can raise the GAAR even if Audit did not raise it. Appeals does not go through the GAAR Committee, and can apply the GAAR on its own.

Neal Armstrong. Answers of Anne-Marie Levesque, Assistant Commissioner on Appeals Procedures.