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Underused Housing Tax Act (S.C. 2022, c. 5, s. 10)

Act current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2022-12-15. Previous Versions

PART 7Administration and Enforcement (continued)

DIVISION 10Inspections

Marginal note:By whom

  •  (1) A person authorized by the Minister to do so may, at all reasonable times, for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act, inspect, audit or examine the records, processes, property or premises of a person that may be relevant in determining the obligations of that or any other person under this Act, or any amount to which that or any other person is entitled under this Act and whether that person or any other person is in compliance with this Act.

  • Marginal note:Powers of authorized person

    (2) For the purposes of an inspection, audit or examination, the authorized person may

    • (a) enter any place in which the authorized person reasonably believes the person keeps or should keep records, carries on any activity to which this Act applies or does anything in relation to that activity; and

    • (b) require any individual to be present during the inspection, audit or examination and require that individual to answer all proper questions and to give to the authorized person all reasonable assistance.

  • Marginal note:Prior authorization

    (3) If any place referred to in paragraph (2)(a) is a dwelling-house, the authorized person may not enter that dwelling-house without the consent of the occupant, except under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (4).

  • Marginal note:Warrant to enter dwelling-house

    (4) A judge may issue a warrant authorizing a person to enter a dwelling-house subject to the conditions specified in the warrant if, on ex parte application by the Minister, a judge is satisfied by information on oath that

    • (a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the dwelling-house is a place referred to in paragraph (2)(a);

    • (b) entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act; and

    • (c) entry into the dwelling-house has been, or there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry will be, refused.

  • Marginal note:Orders if entry not authorized

    (5) If the judge is not satisfied that entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act, the judge may, to the extent that access was or may be expected to be refused and that a record or property is or may be expected to be kept in the dwelling-house,

    • (a) order the occupant of the dwelling-house to provide a person with reasonable access to any record or property that is or should be kept in the dwelling-house; and

    • (b) make any other order that is appropriate in the circumstances to carry out the purposes of this Act.

  • Marginal note:Definition of dwelling-house

    (6) In this section, dwelling-house means the whole or any part of a building or structure that is kept or occupied as a permanent or temporary residence, and includes

    • (a) a building within the curtilage of a dwelling-house that is connected to it by a doorway or by a covered and enclosed passageway; and

    • (b) a unit that is designed to be mobile and to be used as a permanent or temporary residence and that is being used as such a residence.

Marginal note:Compliance order

  •  (1) On summary application by the Minister, a judge may, despite section 58, order a person to provide any access, assistance, information or record sought by the Minister under section 31 or 62 if the judge is satisfied that the person was required under section 31 or 62 to provide the access, assistance, information or record and did not do so.

  • Marginal note:Notice required

    (2) An application under subsection (1) is not to be heard before the end of five clear days from the day on which the notice of application is served on the person against which the order is sought.

  • Marginal note:Judge may impose conditions

    (3) The judge making an order under subsection (1) may impose any conditions in respect of the order that the judge considers appropriate.

  • Marginal note:Contempt of court

    (4) If a person fails or refuses to comply with an order, a judge may find the person in contempt of court and the person is subject to the processes and the punishments of the court to which the judge is appointed.

  • Marginal note:Appeal

    (5) An order by a judge under subsection (1) may be appealed to a court having appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the court to which the judge is appointed. An appeal does not suspend the execution of the order unless it is so ordered by a judge of the court to which the appeal is made.

Marginal note:Search warrant

  •  (1) A judge may, on ex parte application by the Minister, issue a warrant authorizing any person named in the warrant to enter and search any building, receptacle or place for any record or thing that may afford evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act and to seize the record or thing and, as soon as is practicable, bring it before, or make a report in respect of the record or thing to, the judge or, if that judge is unable to act, another judge of the same court, to be dealt with by the judge in accordance with this section.

  • Marginal note:Evidence on oath

    (2) An application under subsection (1) must be supported by information on oath establishing the facts on which the application is based.

  • Marginal note:Issue of warrant

    (3) A judge may issue a warrant referred to in subsection (1) if the judge is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that

    • (a) an offence under this Act has been committed;

    • (b) a record or thing that may afford evidence of the commission of the offence is likely to be found; and

    • (c) the building, receptacle or place specified in the application is likely to contain a record or thing referred to in paragraph (b).

  • Marginal note:Contents of warrant

    (4) A warrant issued under subsection (1) must refer to the offence for which it is issued, identify the building, receptacle or place to be searched and the person that is alleged to have committed the offence, and it must be reasonably specific as to any record or thing to be searched for and seized.

  • Marginal note:Seizure

    (5) Any person that executes a warrant issued under subsection (1) may seize, in addition to the record or thing referred to in that subsection, any other record or thing that the person believes on reasonable grounds affords evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act and must, as soon as is practicable, bring the record or thing before, or make a report in respect of the record or thing, the judge that issued the warrant or, if that judge is unable to act, another judge of the same court, to be dealt with by the judge in accordance with this section.

  • Marginal note:Retention

    (6) Subject to subsection (7), if any record or thing seized under subsection (1) or (5) is brought before a judge or a report in respect of the record or thing is made to a judge, the judge must, unless the Minister waives retention, order that it be retained by the Minister, that must take reasonable care to ensure that it is preserved until the conclusion of any investigation into the offence in relation to which the record or thing was seized or until it is required to be produced for the purposes of a criminal proceeding.

  • Marginal note:Return of records or things seized

    (7) If any record or thing seized under subsection (1) or (5) is brought before a judge or a report in respect of the record or thing is made to a judge, the judge may, on the judge’s own motion or on summary application by a person with an interest in the record or thing on three clear days notice of application to the Deputy Attorney General of Canada, order that the record or thing be returned to the person from which it was seized or the person that is otherwise legally entitled to the record or thing, if the judge is satisfied that the record or thing

    • (a) will not be required for an investigation or a criminal proceeding; or

    • (b) was not seized in accordance with the warrant or this section.

  • Marginal note:Access and copies

    (8) The person from which any record or thing is seized under this section is entitled, at all reasonable times and subject to any reasonable conditions that may be imposed by the Minister, to inspect the record or thing and, in the case of a document, to obtain one copy of the record at the expense of the Minister.

Marginal note:Definition of foreign-based information or record

  •  (1) For the purposes of this section, foreign-based information or record means any information or record that is available or located outside Canada and that may be relevant to the administration or enforcement of this Act.

  • Marginal note:Requirement to provide foreign-based information

    (2) Despite any other provision of this Act, the Minister may, by a notice served or sent in accordance with subsection (4), require a person resident in Canada or a non-resident person that carries on business in Canada to provide any foreign-based information or record.

  • Marginal note:Notice

    (3) A notice referred to in subsection (2) must set out

    • (a) a reasonable period of not less than 90 days for the provision of the information or record;

    • (b) a description of the information or record being sought; and

    • (c) the consequences under subsection (9) to the person of the failure to provide the information or record being sought within the period set out in the notice.

  • Marginal note:Notice

    (4) A notice referred to in subsection (2) may be

    • (a) served personally;

    • (b) sent by confirmed delivery service; or

    • (c) sent electronically to a bank or credit union that has provided written consent to receive notices under subsection (2) electronically.

  • Marginal note:Review of foreign information requirement

    (5) If a person is served or sent a notice of a requirement under subsection (2), the person may, within 90 days after the day on which the notice was served or sent, apply to a judge for a review of the requirement.

  • Marginal note:Powers on review

    (6) On hearing an application under subsection (5) in respect of a requirement, a judge may

    • (a) confirm the requirement;

    • (b) vary the requirement if the judge is satisfied that it is appropriate in the circumstances; or

    • (c) set aside the requirement if the judge is satisfied that it is unreasonable.

  • Marginal note:Related person

    (7) For the purposes of subsection (6), a requirement to provide information or a record is not to be considered to be unreasonable because the information or record is under the control of, or available to, a non-resident person that is not controlled by the person on which the notice of the requirement under subsection (2) is served, or to which that notice is sent, if that person is related to the non-resident person.

  • Marginal note:Time during consideration not to count

    (8) The period between the day an application for the review of a requirement is made under subsection (5) and the day the review is decided must not be counted in the computation of

    • (a) the period set out in the notice of the requirement; and

    • (b) the period within which an assessment may be made under section 33.

  • Marginal note:Consequence of failure

    (9) If a person fails to comply substantially with a notice served or sent under subsection (2) and if the notice is not set aside under subsection (6), any court having jurisdiction in a civil proceeding relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act must, on motion of the Minister, prohibit the introduction by that person of any foreign-based information or record covered by that notice.

Marginal note:Copies

 If any record is seized, inspected, audited, examined or provided under any of sections 22, 31 and 62 to 64, the person by whom it is seized, inspected, audited or examined or to whom it is provided or any officer of the Canada Revenue Agency may make or cause to be made one or more copies of it and, in the case of an electronic record, make or cause to be made a print-out of the electronic record, and any record purporting to be certified by the Minister or an authorized person to be a copy of the record, or to be a print-out of an electronic record, made under this section is evidence of the nature and content of the original record and has the same probative force as the original record would have if it were proven in the ordinary way.

Marginal note:Compliance

 Every person must, unless the person is unable to do so, do everything the person is required to do by or in accordance with any of sections 31 and 62 to 66 and no person is to, physically or otherwise, do or attempt to do any of the following:

  • (a) interfere with, hinder or molest any officer doing anything the officer is authorized to do under this Act; or

  • (b) prevent any officer from doing anything the officer is authorized to do under this Act.

DIVISION 11Collection

Marginal note:Definitions

  •  (1) The following definitions apply in this section.

    action

    action means an action to collect a tax debt of a person and includes a proceeding in a court and anything done by the Minister under any of sections 72 to 77. (action)

    legal representative

    legal representative of a person means a trustee in bankruptcy, an assignee, a liquidator, a curator, a receiver of any kind, a trustee, an heir, an administrator, an executor, a liquidator of a succession, a committee, or any other like person, administering, winding up, controlling or otherwise dealing in a representative or fiduciary capacity with any property, business, commercial activity or estate or succession that belongs or belonged to, or that is or was held for the benefit of, the person or the person’s estate or succession. (représentant légal)

    tax debt

    tax debt means any amount payable by a person under this Act. (dette fiscale)

  • Marginal note:Debts to Her Majesty

    (2) A tax debt is a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and is recoverable as such in the Federal Court or any other court of competent jurisdiction or in any other manner provided under this Act.

  • Marginal note:Court proceedings

    (3) The Minister may not commence a proceeding in a court to collect a tax debt of a person in respect of an amount that may be assessed under this Act, unless when the proceeding is commenced the person has been or may be assessed for that amount.

  • Marginal note:No actions after limitation period

    (4) The Minister may not commence an action to collect a tax debt after the end of the limitation period for the collection of the tax debt.

  • Marginal note:Limitation period

    (5) The limitation period for the collection of a tax debt of a person

    • (a) begins

      • (i) if a notice of assessment in respect of the tax debt, or a notice referred to in subsection 78(1) in respect of the tax debt, is sent to or served on the person, on the last day on which one of those notices is sent or served, and

      • (ii) if no notice referred to in subparagraph (i) in respect of the tax debt was sent or served, on the earliest day on which the Minister can commence an action to collect that tax debt; and

    • (b) ends, subject to subsection (9), on the day that is 10 years after the day on which it begins.

  • Marginal note:Limitation period restarted

    (6) The limitation period described in subsection (5) for the collection of a tax debt of a person restarts (and ends, subject to subsection (9), on the day that is 10 years after the day on which it restarts) on any day, before it would otherwise end, on which

    • (a) the person acknowledges the tax debt in accordance with subsection (7);

    • (b) the Minister commences an action to collect the tax debt; or

    • (c) the Minister assesses, under this Act, another person in respect of the tax debt.

  • Marginal note:Acknowledgement of tax debts

    (7) A person acknowledges a tax debt if the person

    • (a) promises, in writing, to pay the tax debt;

    • (b) makes a written acknowledgement of the tax debt, whether or not a promise to pay can be inferred from the acknowledgement and whether or not it contains a refusal to pay; or

    • (c) makes a payment, including a purported payment by way of a negotiable instrument that is dishonoured, on account of the tax debt.

  • Marginal note:Agent or mandatary or legal representative

    (8) For the purposes of this section, an acknowledgement made by a person’s agent or mandatary or legal representative has the same effect as if it were made by the person.

  • Marginal note:Extension of limitation period

    (9) In computing the day on which a limitation period ends, there must be added the number of days on which one or more of the following is the case:

    • (a) the Minister has postponed collection action against the person under subsection (12) in respect of the tax debt;

    • (b) the Minister has accepted and holds security in lieu of payment of the tax debt;

    • (c) if the person was resident in Canada on the applicable date described in paragraph (5)(a) in respect of the tax debt, the person is non-resident;

    • (d) the Minister may not, because of any of subsections 70(2) to (5), take any of the actions described in subsection 70(1) in respect of the tax debt; and

    • (e) an action that the Minister may otherwise take in respect of the tax debt is restricted or not permitted under any provision of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act or of the Farm Debt Mediation Act.

  • Marginal note:Assessment before collection

    (10) The Minister may not take any collection action under sections 72 to 77 in respect of any amount payable by a person that may be assessed under this Act, other than interest under section 23, unless the amount has been assessed.

  • Marginal note:Payment of remainder

    (11) If the Minister sends a notice of assessment to a person, any amount assessed then remaining unpaid is payable forthwith by the person to the Receiver General.

  • Marginal note:Minister may postpone collection

    (12) The Minister may, subject to any terms and conditions that the Minister may stipulate, postpone collection action against a person in respect of all or any part of any amount assessed that is the subject of a dispute between the Minister and the person.

  • Marginal note:Interest on judgments

    (13) If a judgment is obtained for any amount payable under this Act, including a certificate registered under section 72, the provisions of this Act by which interest is payable for a failure to pay an amount apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, to the failure to pay the judgment debt, and the interest is recoverable in like manner as the judgment debt.

  • Marginal note:Litigation costs

    (14) If an amount is payable by a person to Her Majesty in right of Canada because of an order, judgment or award of a court in respect of the costs of litigation relating to a matter to which this Act applies, sections 69 and 72 to 78 apply to the amount as if it were payable under this Act.

 

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