Hugessen,
J.:—The
appellant
is
an
employer.
It
withheld
amounts
from
its
employees'
wages
in
respect
of
income
tax,
as
required
by
section
153
of
the
Income
Tax
Act.
It
did
not
remit
those
amounts
within
the
time
prescribed
by
Regulation
108
although
it
did
remit
them
later.
Notwithstanding
that
remittance,
the
Minister
assessed
it
for
the
penalty
provided
by
subsection
227(9)
of
the
Act,
which
then
read:
227.
(9)
Every
person
who
has
failed
to
remit
or
pay
(a)
an
amount
deducted
or
withheld
as
required
by
this
Act
or
a
regulation,
or
(b)
an
amount
of
tax
that
he
is,
by
section
116
or
by
a
regulation
made
under
subsection
215(4),
required
to
pay,
is
liable
to
a
penalty
of
10%
of
that
amount
or
$10,
whichever
is
the
greater,
in
addition
to
the
amount
itself,
together
with
interest
on
the
amount
at
the
rate
per
annum
prescribed
for
the
purposes
of
subsection
(8).
(The
text
has
since
been
amended
but
that
cannot
affect
the
outcome
of
this
case
either
way.)
The
learned
trial
judge
correctly
dismissed
the
appellant's
appeal.
As
soon
as
the
appellant
failed
to
remit
on
time,
it
had
failed
to
remit
within
the
meaning
of
the
statute
and
was
liable
to
the
penalty
provided.
That
failure
and
that
liability
did
not
somehow
vanish
when
the
appellant
made
its
remittance
out
of
time.
The
trial
judge
got
it
right
when
he
said:
Even
if
the
provision
is
not
as
clear
as
it
ought
to
be,
it
must
be
construed
within
the
general
framework
or
the
scheme
of
the
Act.
The
basic
section
on
withholding
is
section
153
which
stipulates
that
an
employer
shall
deduct
or
withhold
from
wages
and
shall
“at
such
time
as
may
be
prescribed,
remit
that
amount
to
the
Receiver
General”.
Subsection
227(8)
imposes
a
penalty
of
10
per
cent
of
the
amount
not
deducted
or
withheld
when
an
employer
has
failed
to
deduct
or
withhold
as
required
by
section
153.
Similarly,
subsection
227(9)
poses
a
penalty
of
10
per
cent
of
the
amount
not
remitted
when
an
employer
has
failed
to
remit
or
pay.
Subsection
108(1)
of
the
Regulations
provides
that
the
amounts
deducted
or
withheld
under
section
153
shall
be
remitted
to
the
Receiver
General
on
or
before
the
15th
day
of
the
following
month.
Viewed
in
that
context,
subsection
227(9)
is
capable
of
only
one
reasonable
interpretation,
namely,
that
it
imposes
a
penalty
on
the
employer
who
fails
to
remit
on
time.
(at
page
271
(D.T.C.)
6091).
The
appeal
will
be
dismissed
with
costs.
Appeal
dismissed.
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