Translation disclaimer
This translation was prepared by Tax Interpretations Inc. The CRA did not issue this document in the language in which it now appears, and is not responsible for any errors in its translation that might impact a reader’s understanding of it or the position(s) taken therein. See also the general Disclaimer below.
Principal Issues: [TaxInterpretations translation] (a) What is the average time for processing Notices of Objection in Quebec and for Montreal? (b) What are the means by which the CRA intends to improve the turnaround time for processing Notices of Objection? (c) Does the CRA intend in the future to decide on Notices of Objection exclusively on the basis of the information appearing in them?
Position: a) The processing time for Notices of Objection for Quebec for the current year is 189 days while it is 236 days for Montreal. b) General comments on the creation of two intake centres. c) No.
FEDERAL TAX ROUNDTABLE
APFF CONFERENCE 2010
Question 51
Problems with notices of objection
(A) Processing time
The time it takes to process objections still appears to be extremely long, particularly in the Greater Montreal area. In addition, notices of objection filed against taxpayers located in the Montreal area are assigned to appeals officers working outside Montreal, including mainly appeals officers in Quebec City. To the extent that face-to-face meetings are required, this entails travel and expenses for taxpayers and their representatives.
Questions to the CRA
(a) Can you tell us what the current average processing time is for Notices of Objection in Quebec and more specifically in the greater Montreal area?
(b) Can you tell us what measures the CRA intends to put in place to improve those turnaround times and ensure that notices of objection filed by taxpayers located in the Montreal area will be processed by Montreal-area objections officers?
(B) Discussion between taxpayer and appeals officer
Taxpayers have a relatively short 90-day period to file a Notice of Objection. In addition, at the time the Notice of Objection is filed, they may not have all the information relevant to the assessment issued, including a copy of the audit report of the CRA auditor who caused the assessment to be issued.
The objection process is therefore traditionally a discussion process in which the taxpayer or the taxpayer's representative and the appeals officer designated to deal with the file must necessarily have a variety of exchanges that allow, in particular:
(i) the taxpayer or the taxpayer's representative to be fully informed of the reasons for the assessment;
(ii) the appeals officer to provide the taxpayer or the representative with preliminary views and to request additional material or representations with respect to the issues that are in dispute;
(iii) the taxpayer or the taxpayer's representative to make additional representations in response to issues raised by the appeals officer.
Rumours have begun to circulate that the CRA is considering changing this process to have appeals officers rule on Notices of Objection based on the contents of the Notice of Objection, without contacting the taxpayer or the taxpayer's representatives.
Question to the CRA
c) Could you confirm whether these rumours are true and, if so, whether the CRA would be willing to reconsider its position, given that it is essential, as specified above, that a dialogue take place between the taxpayer or the taxpayer's representative on the one hand, and the CRA appeals officer on the other, in order to allow for a healthy and comprehensive objection process and to avoid unnecessary and costly appeals to the Tax Court of Canada?
CRA Response to Question 51(a)
The processing time is calculated from the date of mailing of the objection by the taxpayer to the date the decision is issued by the Appeals Division. The processing time for the Quebec Region was 171 days for the 2009-2010 fiscal year and is currently at 189 days for the current year. For the Montreal Tax Services Office, the processing time was 231 days for the 2009-2010 fiscal year and is currently 236 days.
CRA Response to Question 51(b)
In order to improve the timeliness of processing objections, the Appeals Branch (AB) has created two inbox centres. All objections, except those listed below, are screened at these centres and, based on certain selection criteria, objections are identified as Tax Centre (TC) or Tax Services Office (TSO) workload. The TC workload is a national workload while the TSO workload is a regional workload. Consequently, if an objection follows an audit, it will be processed by the Appeals Division of one of the TSOs in the region where the audit took place.
Objections for large files, tax avoidance, research and development and enforcement files are forwarded to the designated regional TSO.
However, in some cases, a meeting may be necessary between the objector and his or her representatives and CRA Appeals Officers. For that reason, we have two policies in place to address those situations:
First, the in-person meetings policy, which sets out the guidelines for this type of meeting, and the file transfer policy, which provides a framework for the process of transferring files from one office to another by determining the factors to be considered where requests are made to transfer files.
These 2 policies have been in place since January 2008.
CRA Response to question 51(c)
We can confirm that those rumours are unfounded.
However, there are "fast track" cases where the Appeals Officer does not contact the taxpayer. For an objection to qualify for expedited processing, the taxpayer must have submitted all the necessary information and documentation with the notice of objection and the appeals officer must grant the objection in full.
Sometimes an Appeals Officer will also send a letter to the taxpayer outlining his or her findings. The Appeals Officer will give the taxpayer a period of time to make further representations. The Appeals Officer will indicate that if a response is not received within the time limit, the file will be closed based on the findings.
The following statement appears on the CRA website under the heading Your Right to a Formal Examination:
"[TaxInterpretations translation] ... The Appeals representative may contact the taxpayer or the taxpayer's authorized representative to discuss the issues and obtain further documentation and clarification. The Appeals Officer will also offer to provide copies of documents supporting the CRA's position, as good communication will assist the dispute resolution process. The officer will then review the information supporting both sides of all issues, and apply the law and CRA policies. "
For more information, please see the following publication:
- P148, Objection and appeal rights under the Income Tax Act
REPONSE PREPARED BY:
Jacques Maheux
Tax and Charities Appeals Directorate
Appeals Branch
Income Tax Rulings Directorate officer responsible:
Guy Goulet
(613) 946-3499
October 8, 2010
2010-037371.
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