Appealing to the Court

Transcript

What if you do not agree with the Canada Revenue Agency’s decision on your objection, or your appeal related to the Canada Pension Plan or Employment Insurance?

Meet Tom.

Tom wants to file an appeal to the Tax Court of Canada following the outcome of a decision he does not agree with.

Appeals can be filed with the Tax Court of Canada electronically through its website, or on paper through its registry, within 90 days of the date of a notice of reassessment, confirmation, or determination received from the CRA, or 90 days after a Canada Pension Plan or Employment Insurance decision is communicated.

There are two types of procedures when filing an appeal with the Tax Court of Canada: Informal and General.

Informal Procedure is meant to simplify the legal steps, and is generally limited to appeals up to $25,000 of federal income tax and penalties, and $50,000 in the case of GST/HST.

Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance appeals are always heard informally.

General Procedure appeals follow traditional court rules and formalities.

An individual may self-represent or be represented by a lawyer.

In both scenarios, a hearing will take place before a judge where you or your representative can present evidence in support of your case.

The CRA's position will be represented by the Department of Justice Canada, which will also present evidence and arguments.

The judge will then issue a decision either orally or in writing.

You have 30 days from the date of the judgment to appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal, followed by the Supreme Court of Canada if you are still not satisfied.

If you're thinking of appealing a decision to the Tax Court of Canada, visit canada.ca/cra-appeals-court