29 June 1998 External T.I. 9813715 - USE OF SOCIAL INSURANCE NUMBERS

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Department.

Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle du ministère.

Principal Issues: Misuse of Social Insurance Number

Position: Question of Fact

Reasons: Wheter a subsection 239(2.3) offense has occurred depends on all the facts.

XXXXXXXXXX 			5-981371
			Karen Power, CA
Attention:  XXXXXXXXXX 

June 29, 1998

Dear Madam:

Re: Use of Social Insurance Numbers

This is in reply to your letter of May 15, 1998, concerning the application of subsection 239(2.3) of the Income Tax Act (the “Act”) and the use of a social insurance numbers in a particular situation.

You have described a situation in which you act on behalf of several large employers as administrators for pension, savings and group benefit plans. In this role, you use the SINs of employees, former employees and retirees for income tax reporting purposes. As part of your service to client organizations, the employees and retirees may access their files and make certain elections XXXXXXXXXX In order to protect the confidentiality of the files, participants who call the XXXXXXXXXX are required to identify themselves using their SIN and a personal identification number (PIN). XXXXXXXXXX does not obtain the employee's specific written consent to use their SINs in the way described.

In your opinion, a penalty pursuant to subsection 239(2.3) will not apply because the employer (or XXXXXXXXXX acting as the employer’s agent) is not actually using the SIN; rather, the participant is initiating the call and choosing to provide the SIN for the specific purpose of accessing the XXXXXXXXXX.

Our Comments

In our view, an offence under subsection 239(2.3) of the Act occurs when any person (including an officer, employee or agent of such a person) provided with an individual's SIN pursuant to the Act, knowingly and without the individual's written consent uses, communicates or allows to be communicated the SIN, if such use or communication is for some purpose other than:

1. a purpose for which the SIN was provided by the individual;

2. as required or authorized by law; or

3. in the course of duties in connection with the administration or enforcement of the Act.

Where the SIN has been used or communicated for one of the three purposes enumerated above, an offence is not considered to have been committed. Thus, it is important to identify the purpose for which the SIN was provided by the individual or clarify the circumstances surrounding the particular use or communication.

As the determination of whether a subsection 239(2.3) offence has occurred depends on all the facts of each case, the Department is only able to comment in general terms on the possibility of prosecution.

We regret that we cannot be of more assistance to you.

Roberta Albert, CA
for Director
Business and Publications Division
Income Tax Rulings and
Interpretations Directorate
Policy and Legislation Branch

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