Today I attended the Tax Court of Canada (TCC) again for the purposes of observing a case on the denial of a New Housing Rebate (NHR).

The lawyer for the Department of Justice (Respondent) began their case by requesting a quashing of the appeal for being filed outside the statutory periods for objection. The Respondent laid out the applicable dates which showed that the appellant had missed the deadlines for filing a notice of objection and also missed the deadline for filing a request for an extension for objection. The judge went through all the dates and confirmed the evidence that the notice of assessment had been sent to the address of record for the appellant and that the eventual objection was filed several months after the deadline for even an extension had elapsed. At this time the appellant spoke and said that extraordinary life circumstances prevented her from dealing with the reassessment for the NHR and that explained why she filed an objection late. It was at this time that the judge explained to the appellant that the TCC only has the authority to decide matters that are a question of fact or law within the conditions of the statutes. As the appellant had missed the dates for objection or extension to objection given in the statutes, the court could not hear or grant any relief on the matter of the NHR.

The case above is an important cautionary tale to be understood by taxpayers, the deadlines for objections and appeals are written in stone, short of some mistake in delivering an assessment to the taxpayer that prevents them from filing the objection on time. Often when a taxpayer receives an assessment, they are tempted to put it aside for consideration at another time, but often that time doesn’t come until after the statutory limits have expired and the taxpayer has no further recourse. Instead of delaying, immediately request a free consult with a ZheroTax professional who can help you determine your chances of success at appeals and file an objection that is likely to win.