What the “Archived” label means for interpretation bulletins

On August 1, 2013 a standardized Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat “Archived Content” notice was added to all interpretation bulletins (ITs) on the CRA website. The notice has no effect on the status or reliability of the ITs. They are current up to the effective date stated in each publication.

The “Archived” designation merely confirms that the page is not subject to Government of Canada Web standards and that the content will not be altered or updated. Each IT will be cancelled when it is replaced by an income tax folio. For more information, go to Introducing income tax folios.

Taxpayers and their representatives may continue to refer to the ITs for explanations of the CRA’s interpretation of federal income tax law, keeping in mind the caution that has always applied:

While the comments in a particular paragraph in an IT may relate to provisions of the law in force at the time they were made, such comments are not a substitute for the law. The reader should, therefore, consider such comments in light of the relevant provisions of the law in force for the particular taxation year being considered, taking into account the effect of any relevant amendments to those provisions or relevant court decisions occurring after the date on which the comments were made.