Note: The forms and information on these pages are provided as a public service. They were written by employees of the Court's registry. Registry employees are not permitted to give legal advice. For legal advice, you are encouraged to consult a lawyer.
When can I appeal to the TCC?
Before appealing to the TCC to have it resolve an income tax or GST dispute, you must first send a "notice of objection" to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The review of your notice of objection by the CRA will result in a reassessment, a confirmation or a determination. You then have 90 days from the date of the CRA's review of your objection in which to appeal to the TCC.
You may also appeal to the TCC if the CRA does not respond to your notice of objection within 90 days in an income tax case or 180 days in a GST case.
How will my appeal be settled?
In many instances, an appeal is settled by having both parties appear in court to present their versions of the facts to a judge. It is important to note that you will have to explain why you disagree with the CRA's decision.
The judge will then decide the appeal based on the arguments and evidence presented to the Court.
However, it is always advisable to attempt to resolve a dispute without going to court. To settle out of court, both parties are encouraged to communicate with each other throughout the process to see if they can reach an agreement. This solution is less costly.
There are two types of procedures for appealing to the TCC: the General Procedure and the Informal Procedure.
General Procedure (See section 17 of the Tax Court of Canada Act and the general procedure rules)
What is the General Procedure?
Under this procedure, formal court procedures are closely followed and many procedural rules are applied throughout the appeal process.
How do I appeal under the General Procedure?
When appealing under the General Procedure, you may represent yourself or be represented by a lawyer. A corporation must be represented by a lawyer unless the TCC grants a request allowing an officer of the corporation to represent it.
An appeal is commenced by submitting the original and two (2) copies of your notice of appeal, together with the appropriate filing fee, to the Registry at a TCC office. You may do so in person or by mail. You may also send your notice of appeal by fax or by using our online document-filing facility accessible through our Web site, the original and two copies of your documents and the filing fee must follow by mail.
What information is required in my notice of appeal?
Under the General Procedure, your appeal must be presented in the format set out in the "Notice of Appeal - General Procedure" form (to come).
What happens once I submit my notice of appeal to the TCC?
Appeals under the General Procedure are subject to a number of procedures and legal steps. A copy of the TCC's rules may be required to help you follow the entire process. The rules may be obtained from any TCC office or consulted at our Web site.
Once your notice of appeal has been sent to the Registry and the appropriate fee has been paid, the TCC will forward your notice of appeal to Justice Canada, which represents the CRA. Justice Canada will reply to the notice of appeal within 60 days. You or your lawyer will receive a copy of this reply, which contains the CRA's position regarding your appeal. You or your lawyer may answer the reply within 30 days of receiving it. Many procedural steps will then occur in preparation for the hearing.
Once you have answered the reply or the time limit for answering has expired, the parties are required to exchange lists of the documents they will be relying on at the hearing. Examinations for discovery usually follow. An application to schedule a hearing date may be made jointly by the parties to the appeal, or by one of the parties, after these procedural steps are completed or the parties have agreed that they are unnecessary. Other procedural steps can also occur in preparation for the hearing, such as motions, the filing of experts' reports, and pre-hearing conferences.
If no application has been received within 6 months after the reply was received from Justice Canada, the Court may call the parties together to determine the status of the appeal. At that time, the judge may set time limits for completing any remaining steps and schedule a date for your hearing.
On the hearing day, both parties will appear in court to present evidence and arguments before a TCC judge. When the judge has rendered a decision, it will be sent to the parties.
What can I do if I am dissatisfied with a decision of the TCC under the General Procedure?
If you are dissatisfied with a decision of the TCC under the General Procedure you may appeal it to the Federal Court of Appeal.
Filing Fees
A party who files an appeal under the General Procedure must pay the following filing fees at the time of filing the appeal:
Cheques must be made payable to the Receiver General for Canada. If the notice of appeal is filed in person, a debit card may also be used.
Informal Procedure (See section 18.3001 of the Tax Court of Canada Act and the Rules)
What is the Informal Procedure?
The Informal Procedure is intended to minimize the legal steps involved in the appeal process.
For income tax appeals the Informal Procedure is limited to cases in which the amount of federal tax and penalties in dispute for each taxation year, excluding interest, is $12,000 or less. For GST appeals, on the other hand, there is no limit to the amount in dispute.
When the amount in dispute in an income tax case is greater than $12,000, a taxpayer who wishes to choose the Informal Procedure must limit the amount under appeal to $12,000; otherwise the General Procedure applies.
How do I appeal under the Informal Procedure?
You may represent yourself or be represented by a lawyer or by an agent, such as an accountant or a relative. You are encouraged to use the "Notice of Appeal - Informal Procedure" form (to come), or our online document-filing facility accessible through our Web site. A letter is also acceptable. An original and two (2) copies of your notice of appeal must be submitted to a TCC office of your choice. You may do this in person or by mail. Facsimiles and electronic documents are also accepted, but the original and two (2) copies must follow by mail.
What information is required in my notice of appeal? See section 4 of the informal procedure rules)
Your notice of appeal must include:
What happens once I send my notice of appeal to the TCC?
Once your notice of appeal has been received by the Registry, you will receive a letter of acknowledgement. The TCC will forward a copy of your notice of appeal to CRA, which will reply to your notice of appeal within 60 days.
You or your representative will receive a copy of this reply, which contains the CRA's position regarding your appeal.
Usually within 180 days after receiving the reply to your notice of appeal, the TCC will schedule a hearing. A "notice of hearing" which indicates the time and location of your hearing will be sent to you or your representative by registered mail. The notice of hearing will be mailed at least 30 days before your hearing.
An adjournment may be requested prior to the hearing date; however, the Court is reluctant to grant adjournments unless the parties are faced with circumstances which would not permit the hearing to proceed.
On the hearing day, all the parties will appear in court to present their arguments to a TCC judge. You should think carefully well ahead of time about how you will present your evidence and about witnesses and documents you may need to support your position. The parties are also encouraged to contact each other and discuss their positions well ahead of the hearing.
The judge may render a decision on your appeal immediately at the end of the hearing but in most cases this is done within 90 days after the hearing. The TCC will send a copy of the judge's decision to both parties.
What can I do if I am dissatisfied with a decision of the TCC under the Informal Procedure?
If you are dissatisfied with a decision of the TCC under the Informal Procedure you may apply to the Federal Court of Appeal to have it review the decision.
Other information
What do I do if I miss the deadline for appealing to the TCC?
If you miss the deadline for bringing an appeal, you may apply to the TCC to extend the time to appeal. You have one year and 90 days from the date of the reassessment or from the date of the confirmation of the original assessment to file an application to extend the time to appeal.
This application may be in the form of a letter. In your letter you must indicate that you are applying to extend the time within which an appeal may be brought and you must give the reasons why it was not possible to appeal by the deadline. You can also use our online document-filing facility accessible through our Web site. In both cases, the original and two (2) copies of the application, together with the original and two (2) copies of the notice of appeal, must be sent to the Registry at a TCC office.
Once the Registry has received your application, it will be forwarded to the CRA. Justice Canada, which represents the CRA, may respond to the application. If the CRA opposes the application, the TCC will schedule a hearing to give both parties the opportunity to present evidence and make arguments to a judge. The judge will then issue a decision either dismissing or granting the application. If the CRA does not oppose the application, the TCC will review your application without a hearing. The decision will be sent to you or your representative, if any.