Mold Leaders – Tax Court of Canada finds that challenging engineering involving standard procedures was not SR&ED

ML was engaged in the custom designing and making of injection moldings. CRA disallowed all of ML’s SRED claims (which were for its eight most-difficult projects). In finding that the first four of the five criteria for SR&ED, as listed in National R&D, were not satisfied, Russell J stated (at paras. 6, 65):

… ML’s success or advancement as to those projects involved a routine engineering and standard practices approach, using methodology familiar to ML. [The president’s] answers did not reveal or identify technological uncertainties being addressed in a scientific manner. …

ML’s favoured approach … was to basically try various options, anticipating that one likely would work. For me that is indicative of routine engineering or standard procedures.

Neal Armstrong. Summary of Mold Leaders Inc. v. The King, 2023 TCC 127 under s. 248(1) – SRED.