Information Provision Policy

The Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Information Provision Policy is an overarching document that outlines the commitments, practices, and tools to be applied by the CRA when providing Canadians and businesses with information and guidance on regulatory obligations. It also identifies the conditions under which written responses to questions will be provided.

Agency Context

The CRA administers tax laws for the Government of Canada and on behalf of most provinces and territories. In addition, the CRA administers various social and economic benefit and incentive programs. In order to help Canadians and businesses meet their obligations and receive their entitlements, the CRA offers a diverse suite of online services: self-service options through secure online portals, website content including forms, publications, videos and webinars, and social media tools such as Twitter and YouTube. Other services include agent-assisted telephone support as well as more formal rulings and interpretations services for complex questions.

Predictability

Canadians and businesses can rely on the written information the CRA provides. All written content undergoes an extensive and rigorous quality review process to ensure completeness, use of plain language, timeliness, and accuracy. Consultation with, and review by, internal and external stakeholders is conducted to validate quality and accuracy. CRA agents are available to assist callers and to direct them to where they can find the information they need on the CRA website. The telephone enquiries service is tiered to manage enquiries as they become more complex. Questions received in writing will generally be responded to in writing. This includes technical interpretations and binding rulings for income tax, GST/HST, and CPP/EI.

Service

The CRA is committed to providing complete, accurate, clear, and timely information as described in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Taxpayers and benefit recipients can expect to be served by the CRA with a high degree of accuracy, professionalism, courtesy, and fairness. In addition, service standards represent the CRA’s commitment to a level of performance that Canadians and businesses can expect.

The CRA is committed to providing its employees with the training required to provide Canadians and businesses with the best service possible. For example, CRA agents have extensive training and reference tools that help them respond quickly and accurately to questions, providing the highest quality of service.

The CRA has various mechanisms to resolve complaints and disputes, including service complaints. Depending on the nature of the complaint or dispute, these resolutions can range from legislated solutions to administrative ones.

For service complaints, Canadians and businesses can contact the Office of the Taxpayer’s Ombudsman if they are not satisfied with the CRA’s handling of their complaint.

Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholders are regularly consulted for input on draft technical publications and new policies. They identify gaps, the need for new information, and provide concrete examples that better reflect the taxpayer reality. Regular meetings are also conducted with the tax practitioner community and key industry associations to gain external perspectives and share knowledge. The CRA also solicits feedback from Canadians through the guides – “Your opinion counts” and by accepting comments through an online mailbox.

Canadians and businesses can also subscribe to the CRA’s RSS feeds and email lists to be notified of new information on the CRA website, including when technical publications become available. In addition, the CRA communicates regularly with various stakeholder groups using a stakeholder database.

Improvement

The CRA has committed to consultations every two years with the small business community to help identify priority areas for improvement. Consultations were held with businesses in the fall of 2012 and again in the fall of 2014. Information on the 2014 consultations was released on June 19, 2015. The results of these consultations have helped the CRA’s continued efforts to further improve services for small businesses.

The fall 2014 consultations were conducted in several different formats. Independent third-party facilitated consultation sessions were held in 8 cities. CRA conducted roundtable meetings, hosted by local Chambers of Commerce, in another 13 cities. In addition, there were online consultations and stakeholder associations were also invited to provide feedback on behalf of their members.

Participants of the 2014 consultations were asked to provide their views on CRA’s progress in reducing red tape and feedback on CRA’s services. They were also asked to identify the challenges facing the business community. Participants provided suggestions on the following topics:

• Telephone Service Improvements;
• Accessible, Clear and Understandable Tax Information;
• Filing Requirements and Frequency;
• Online Service Improvements;
• Sharing Information Within Government; and
• Recently Audited Businesses.

Feedback received through these consultations is being used to improve CRA’s information provision practices. For more details, see CRA’s Improvement Priorities and Metrics and the CRA’s Improvement Priorities – March 2017 Implementation Report.

Related Reports

• Improvement Priorities and Metrics
• Improvement Priorities – March 2017 Implementation Report

For more information

• Guide for Developing and Posting Interpretation Policies
• Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management
• Red Tape Reduction Action Plan
• Canada–United States Regulatory Cooperation Council

To learn about upcoming or ongoing consultations on proposed federal regulations, visit the Canada Gazette and Consulting with Canadians websites.

Date modified:

2017-03-28