About Appeals

At the CCRA, we are responsible for managing one of the Government of Canada's largest dispute resolution services. Through the Appeals business line, we review contested decisions in income tax, goods and services tax (GST), harmonized sales tax (HST), excise tax, trade administration, customs enforcement sanction, Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and Employment Insurance (EI) cases. Clients who are not satisfied with the results of our review may appeal to the courts—or for trade administration issues, to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT).

Our aim is to provide clients with a fair dispute resolution process, respecting Canadians' fundamental right to redress in their dealings with the federal government. To earn and keep the trust of our clients, it is essential that we have an appeals process that is fair and that also is seen to be fair. Canadians should have confidence that when they report a problem with a decision we have made, they can and will be heard, their concerns will be dealt with thoroughly and promptly, and they will be treated at all times with respect. This builds trust in the system as a whole, which in turn promotes voluntary compliance.

As of March 31, 2002, over $8 billion in income taxes, GST/HST/excise taxes, and customs duties were in dispute. These areas are the major sources of redress claims, involving some 78,000 individuals and businesses exercising their fundamental right to redress, up substantially from the approximately 57,000 who were involved in disputes a year earlier. This increase was largely the result of a significant number of income tax objections filed by former and current public servants relating to the taxability of interest received on the federal government's retroactive pay equity settlement.

To support and strengthen the application of fairness principles across all CCRA programs, the Appeals business line also co-ordinates the CCRA's Fairness Initiative. This includes overseeing the application of legislative provisions for forgiving interest and penalties to clients in special circumstances, such as hardship. Appeals is also responsible for administering the Voluntary Disclosures Program, which allows clients to correct past errors or omissions and report without penalty their tax, duty, and tariff obligations.

Some of our key activities and business line characteristics are listed below:

Spending Profile

The Appeals function is separate from other business lines to enhance its impartiality. It is also the CCRA's smallest business line, representing just 2.2% of the total CCRA budget, down from 2.3% last year. In 2001-2002, its actual spending was about $75 million, or some $7 million less than authorized and about $4 million more than last year (see Exhibit 66 ). Difficulties in reaching optimal staffing levels over the year—we operated with 7% fewer employees than planned—accounted for much of the spending shortfall.

Exhibit 66: Business Line Spending

As shown in Exhibit 67 , all of the Appeals business line's activities and resources support the facilitation of voluntary compliance through channels such as publications, case information services, and the timely provision of fair dispute resolution. A general discussion of the compliance continuum can be found beginning on .

Exhibit 67: Total Appeals Resources Allocated to the Compliance Continuum for 2001-2002 ($ million)

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Date modified:

2002-11-07