Tax Court of Canada Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. T-2)

Marginal note:Order for general procedure

• 18.12 (1) The Court shall order that sections 17.1 to 17.8 apply in respect of an appeal referred to in subsection 18(1) if, before the start of the hearing of the appeal, it appears to the Court that

  • (a) the aggregate of all amounts in issue exceeds $25,000; or

  • (b) the amount of the loss in issue exceeds $50,000.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the appellant elects to limit the aggregate of all amounts in issue to $25,000 or the amount of the loss in issue to $50,000, as the case may be.

Marginal note:Order at hearing

• 18.13 (1) The Court shall, on motion of either party or of its own motion, order that sections 17.1 to 17.8 apply with respect to an appeal referred to in subsection 18(1) if, after the hearing of the appeal has started but before a judgment is rendered on the appeal, it appears to the Court that

  • (a) the aggregate of all amounts in issue exceeds $25,000; or

  • (b) the amount of loss in issue exceeds $50,000.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if

  • (a) the appellant elects to limit the aggregate of all amounts in issue to $25,000 or the amount of the loss in issue to $50,000, as the case may be; or

  • (b) the amount of the excess is too small to justify a re-hearing in accordance with the general procedure, taking into account the inconvenience and expense that would result to the parties and the interests of justice and fairness.

Marginal note:Right to appear

18.14 All parties to an appeal referred to in section 18 may appear in person or may be represented by counsel or an agent.

Marginal note:How proceeding instituted

• 18.15 (1) An appeal referred to in section 18 shall be instituted by filing an originating document with the Registry of the Court in the manner set out in the rules of Court and by paying, in accordance with the rules, any required filing fee. The document shall set out, in general terms, the reasons for the appeal and the relevant facts, but no special form is required unless the Act under which the appeal arises provides otherwise.

• Marginal note:Filing date

  (2) An originating document is deemed to be filed on the day on which it is received by the Registry of the Court.

• Marginal note:Hearing

  (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Act under which the appeal arises, the Court is not bound by any legal or technical rules of evidence in conducting a hearing and the appeal shall be dealt with by the Court as informally and expeditiously as the circumstances and considerations of fairness permit.

Marginal note:Time limit for reply to notice of appeal

• 18.16 (1) The Minister of National Revenue shall file a reply to a notice of appeal within sixty days after the day on which the Registry of the Court transmits to that Minister the notice of appeal unless the appellant consents, before or after the expiration of the sixty day period, to the filing of that reply after the sixty day period or the Court allows the Minister, on application made before or after the expiration of the sixty day period, to file the reply after that period.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where an application is made pursuant to subsection 18.11(1) to have an appeal heard in accordance with the general procedure, the Minister of National Revenue need not file a reply to the notice of appeal until the Court decides which procedure applies in respect of the appeal.

• Marginal note:Time after refusal

  (3) Where the Court dismisses an application referred to in subsection (2), the Minister of National Revenue shall file a reply to a notice of appeal on or before the later of

  • (a) a day that is sixty days after the day on which the Registry of the Court transmits to that Minister the notice of appeal, and

  • (b) a day that is thirty days after the day the written judgment dismissing the application is received by the Minister from the Registry of the Court,

  unless the appellant consents, before or after the time referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), to the filing of the reply at a later date or the Court allows the Minister, on application made before or after the time referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), to file the reply after that time.

• Marginal note:Where reply not filed in time

  (4) The Minister of National Revenue may file a reply to a notice of appeal after the period limited under subsection (1) or (3), as the case may be, and where that Minister files the reply after that period or after the extension of time consented to by the appellant or granted by the Court, the allegations of fact contained in the notice of appeal are presumed to be true for the purposes of the appeal.

• Marginal note:Interpretation

  (5) The Minister of National Revenue may file a reply to a notice of appeal by mail and any such reply filed by mail shall be deemed to have been filed on the day on which it is mailed.

Marginal note:Time for hearing

• 18.17 (1) Subject to subsection (1.1), the Court shall fix a date for the hearing of an appeal referred to in section 18 that is not later than one hundred and eighty days or, where the Court is of the opinion that it would be impracticable in the circumstances to fix a date for the hearing of the appeal within that period, three hundred and sixty-five days after the last day on which the Minister of National Revenue must file a reply to the notice of appeal pursuant to subsection 18.16(1) or (3).

• Marginal note:Exceptional circumstances

  (1.1) The Court may, in exceptional circumstances, fix a date for the hearing of an appeal referred to in section 18 at any time after the periods referred to in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Request for time extension

  (2) The Court may grant a request by a party to have an appeal heard after the date referred to in subsection (1) where the other parties consent thereto or where it would be appropriate to delay the hearing of the appeal until judgment has been rendered in another case before the Court or any other court in Canada in which the issue is the same or substantially the same as that raised in the appeal.

Marginal note:Periods excluded

• 18.18 (1) For the purpose of calculating a time limit for the purpose of section 18.16, 18.17 or 18.22,

  • (a) the period beginning on December 21 in any year and ending on January 7 of the next year shall be excluded; and

  • (b) the period during which proceedings are stayed in accordance with subsection 239(4) of the Income Tax Act shall be excluded.

• Marginal note:Calculation of time limits

  (2) For the purpose of calculating a time limit for the purposes of section 18.3003 or 18.3005, the following periods shall be excluded:

  • (a) the period beginning on December 21 in any year and ending on January 7 of the next year; and

  • (b) the period during which proceedings are stayed in accordance with subsection 106(3) of the Customs Act, subsection 219(3) of the Excise Act, 2001 or subsection 327(4) of the Excise Tax Act.

Marginal note:Notice of hearing

• 18.19 (1) When the date of a hearing has been fixed, a copy of the notice of hearing shall, not later than thirty days before that date, be sent by registered mail to all parties, or served on all parties.

• Marginal note:Waiver of notice

  (2) A party to an appeal may waive that party’s right to be notified of a hearing in accordance with subsection (1).

Marginal note:Adjournment

• 18.2 (1) The Court shall adjourn the hearing of an appeal where, in the opinion of the Court, it would be impractical in all the circumstances to proceed on the day fixed for the hearing.

• Marginal note:Request for adjournment

  (2) The Court may grant a request by a party to have the hearing of an appeal adjourned where the other parties consent thereto or where it would be appropriate to delay that hearing until judgment has been rendered in another case before the Court or before any other court in Canada in which the issue is the same or substantially the same as that raised in the appeal.

Marginal note:Failure to appear

• 18.21 (1) Where an appellant does not appear on the day fixed for the hearing, or obtain an adjournment of the hearing, of an appeal, the Court shall, on application by the respondent and whether or not the appellant has received notice of the application, order that the appeal be dismissed, unless the Court is of the opinion that circumstances justify that the appeal be set down for hearing at a later date.

• Marginal note:Application

  (2) An appellant whose appeal has been dismissed pursuant to subsection (1) may apply to have the order of dismissal set aside and the appeal set down for hearing.

• Marginal note:Where order set aside

  (3) The Court may set aside an order of dismissal made under subsection (1) where

  • (a) it would have been unreasonable in all the circumstances for the appellant to have attended the hearing; and

  • (b) the appellant applied to have the order of dismissal set aside as soon as circumstances permitted the application to be brought but, in any event, not later than one hundred and eighty days after the day on which the order was mailed to the appellant.

Marginal note:Time for judgment

• 18.22 (1) The Court shall, other than in exceptional circumstances, render judgment on an appeal referred to in section 18 not later than ninety days after the day on which the hearing is concluded.

• Marginal note:Definition of exceptional circumstances

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), exceptional circumstances includes circumstances in which written material that the Court requires in order to render a judgment was not received in time to permit the Court to consider it and to render judgment within the time limit imposed by that subsection.

• Marginal note:Copy of decision

  (3) On the disposition of an appeal referred to in section 18, a copy of the decision and written reasons for the decision, if any, shall be forwarded by registered mail to the Minister of National Revenue and to each party to the appeal.

Marginal note:Reasons for judgment

18.23 The Court shall give reasons for its judgment but, except where the Court deems it advisable in a particular case to give reasons in writing, the reasons given by it need not be in writing.

Marginal note:Final judgment

18.24 An appeal from a judgment of the Court in a proceeding in respect of which this section applies lies to the Federal Court of Appeal in accordance with section 27 of the Federal Courts Act.

Marginal note:Costs

18.25 If the Minister of National Revenue appeals a judgment referred to in section 18.24, the reasonable and proper costs of the taxpayer in respect of the appeal shall be paid by Her Majesty in right of Canada.

Marginal note:Costs

• 18.26 (1) The Court may, subject to the rules, award costs. In particular, the Court may award costs to the appellant if the judgment reduces the aggregate of all amounts in issue or the amount of interest in issue, or increases the amount of loss in issue, as the case may be, by more than one half.

• Marginal note:Consideration of offers

  (2) The Court may, in deciding whether to award costs, consider any written offer of settlement made at any time after the notice of appeal is filed.

Marginal note:Regulations

18.27 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) increasing the amount of $25,000 referred to in paragraph 18(1)(a), section 18.1, paragraph 18.11(2)(b), subsection 18.11(3), and sections 18.12 and 18.13 to any amount that does not exceed $50,000;

• (b) increasing the amount of $50,000 referred to in paragraph 18(1)(b), and sections 18.1, 18.12 and 18.13 to any amount that does not exceed $100,000; and

• (c) increasing the amount in dispute referred to in paragraphs 18.3002(3)(c) and 18.3008(c) and subparagraph 18.3009(1)(c)(i) to any amount that does not exceed $12,000.

Marginal note:No precedential value

18.28 A judgment on an appeal referred to in section 18 shall not be treated as a precedent for any other case.

Marginal note:Other applications

• 18.29 (1) The provisions of sections 18.14 and 18.15, other than the reference to filing fees, subsection 18.18(1), section 18.19, subsection 18.22(3) and sections 18.23 and 18.24 apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, in respect of appeals arising under

  • (a) Part I of the Canada Pension Plan;

  • (b) Parts IV, VII and VII.1 of the Employment Insurance Act;

  • (c) the Old Age Security Act, to the extent that a ground of the appeal involves a decision or determination as to income;

  • (d) the War Veterans Allowance Act, or Part XI of the Civilian War-related Benefits Act from an adjudication of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board as to what constitutes income or as to the source of income; and

  • (e) the Canada Disability Benefit Act, to the extent that a ground of the appeal involves a decision or determination as to income.

• Marginal note:Inconsistent provisions

  (2) Where an appeal arises out of one of the Acts referred to in subsection (1) and that Act contains a provision that is inconsistent with one of the provisions of this Act referred to in that subsection, the provision of the Act out of which the appeal arises prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.

• Marginal note:Extension of time and postponements of suspensions

  (3) The provisions referred to in subsection (1) also apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, in respect of applications for

  • (a) an extension of time under

    • (i) subsection 28(1) of the Canada Pension Plan,

    • (ii) section 33.2 of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act,

    • (iii) section 97.51 or 97.52 of the Customs Act,

    • (iv) subsection 103(1) of the Employment Insurance Act,

    • (v) section 197 or 199 of the Excise Act, 2001,

    • (vi) section 304 or 305 of the Excise Tax Act,

    • (vi.01) section 88 or 90 of the Global Minimum Tax Act,

    • (vi.1) section 115 or 117 of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act,

    • (vii) section 166.2 or 167 of the Income Tax Act,

    • (viii) section 56 or 58 of the Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge Act, 2006,

    • (ix) section 39 or 41 of the Underused Housing Tax Act, [2022, c. 10, s. 173]

    • (x) section 99 or 101 of the Select Luxury Items Tax Act, or [2022, c. 10, s. 173]

    • (xi) section 74 or 76 of the Digital Services Tax Act; and

  • (b) a postponement of a portion of a period of suspension of authority to issue tax receipts under subsection 188.2(4) of the Income Tax Act.

• Marginal note:Reasons for judgment — extensions of time and postponements

  (4) In respect of an application for an extension of time under the provisions referred to in paragraph (3)(a) or for a postponement referred in paragraph (3)(b), if either party to the application makes a request to the Court for reasons for its judgment, the Court shall give such reasons but those reasons need not be in writing.