Our Complaint Process
When we receive your complaint, we will review it and determine how to process it. We will then contact you to discuss the next steps. Our goal is to contact you within five business days after receiving your complaint, 95% of the time.
Next Possible Steps
Referral to the CRA
If you submit your complaint to us before CRA Service Feedback has finished its review, we will send it to the CRA on your behalf.
Urgent request
If we determine that your situation is compelling, we will ask the CRA to contact you urgently and try to resolve your complaint.
Is your situation compelling?
We generally consider situations compelling if, waiting for the CRA Service Feedback to finish its review will:
- limit you from having the basic necessities of life
- limit your business from operating
Examination
If there is an unresolved service issue after the CRA finishes reviewing your complaint, we will conduct an examination. An examination officer will:
- ask you and the CRA for more information
- analyze the information we receive
- keep you informed about the progress
- inform you of the outcome
Our goal is to complete the examination within 120 business days (approximately six months), from when it is assigned to an examination officer, 80% of the time. For more information, go to Our Service Standards page.
Upon completing the examination, we may be able to:
- resolve your complaint
- determine if the CRA respected the eight rights we uphold
- make a recommendation to the CRA. For example:
- issue an apology
- process a request
- provide additional training to an employee
- contact you to provide further explanations
- correct an error
- change or create a procedure to improve service
- improve its communications
- improve accessibility
If we identify an issue that could affect more than one person, we will inform our Systemic Examination Team.
We cannot:
- direct the CRA to change a tax-related decision
- direct the CRA to give you monetary compensation
- direct the CRA to stop collection action, reviews or audits
- propose changes to legislation
- direct the CRA to reprimand an employee
- advocate for you or the CRA
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