Appeals

Expected Outcome

Performance Summary – We have mostly met our Anticipated Result, as demonstrated by the following performance against expectations:

• the vast majority of cases were resolved administratively, before reaching the courts, which gives assurance that complex cases are handled where expertise exists, and non-complex cases are resolved consistently
• the majority of court decisions were rendered in favour of the CCRA
• however, improvement is still required in the consistent evaluation of the level and potential impact of risk, and the documentation of the rationale behind decisions

Risk management is essential to promoting the consistent and fair resolution of disputes and litigation within a reasonable time. We seek to minimize the potential impact of cases that could lead to a broader, unintentional erosion of the tax base, or to other societal implications, through early identification and proposals to the departments of Finance and Justice to address needed clarifications.

We attempt to resolve most cases at the administrative level, and did so in over 94% of cases in 2002-2003 for all program areas, with the exception of CPP/EI disputes, where CCRA's unique role makes comparison with other programs difficult. We endeavour to proceed to court only under appropriate circumstances. In 2002-2003, our original determination was confirmed by the courts in the majority of cases (57%), a result which is consistent with our goals. Although our success rate in the courts declined slightly from 59% in 2001-2002, we are very confident in our litigation management approach.

4-1 Outcome of Clients' Disputes and Appeals

This past year, we introduced several programs to better manage risk, including the appointment of quality assurance officers to monitor the processing of files in field offices, along with on-site monitoring activities in six offices. Our first Quality Assurance Annual Report, which reviewed our appeals processes, established 12 quality standards to assess our performance. The report found that the review of objections by officers and the co-operation between Headquarters and the regions are working well. On the other hand, the report noted that there is room for improvement in six areas, including consistently evaluating the level of risk and potential impacts associated with incoming cases and documenting the rationale behind our decisions. Once fully instituted, we expect that our quality assurance and monitoring programs will contribute to stable performance in risk management for both non-complex and complex files.

Date modified:

2003-10-29