CRA DIRECTS TAXPAYER TO WRONG COURT!
PROPER JURISDICTION REQUIRED AT OUTSET OF ALL TAX DISPUTES
The question of jurisdiction (that is, which Court has the authority to hear a particular dispute) remains often confused in the administration of Canadian tax law. While the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) routinely provides directions in its decision letters about where taxpayers can appeal, a recent Tax Court of Canada (“TCC”) decision demonstrates that the CRA sometimes gets this wrong – with serious consequences for taxpayers!
More problematically, a similar scenario may now be unfolding with the Canada Border Services Agency’s (“CBSA”) appeal process for remission applications made in respect of Canada’s recent retaliatory tariffs imposed on US goods.