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Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure) (SOR/90-688a)

Regulations are current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2023-07-05. Previous Versions

Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure)

SOR/90-688a

TAX COURT OF CANADA ACT

Registration 1990-10-01

Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure)

P.C. 1990-2121  1990-09-27

Whereas, pursuant to subsection 22(3)Footnote * of the Tax Court of Canada Act, the rules committee of the Tax Court of Canada published a notice of the proposed revocation of the Tax Review Board Rules, C.R.C., c. 1513, and the Tax Court of Canada Rules of Practice and Procedure for the Award of Costs (Income Tax Act)Footnote **, except in respect of any appeals or proceedings instituted before January 1, 1991, and a copy of the proposed Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure) and the proposed Tax Court of Canada Rules (Informal Procedure), substantially in the form annexed hereto, in the Canada Gazette Part I on April 21, 1990, and invited any interested person to make representations to the rules committee with respect thereto;

Therefore, the rules committee of the Tax Court of Canada, pursuant to section 20Footnote *** of the Tax Court of Canada Act and subject to the approval of the Governor in Council, hereby

  • (a) revokes, effective January 1, 1991, the Tax Review Board Rules, C.R.C., c. 1513, and the Tax Court of Canada Rules of Practice and Procedure for the Award of Costs (Income Tax Act), approved by Order in Council P.C. 1985-183 on January 24, 1985Footnote **, except in respect of any appeals or proceedings instituted before January 1, 1991; and

  • (b) makes, effective January 1, 1991, the annexed Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure) and Tax Court of Canada Rules (Informal Procedure), in substitution therefor.

Dated this 7th day of September 1990

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J.-C. Couture,

Chief Judge

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D. H. Christie,

Associate Chief Judge

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M. J. Bonner

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A. Garon

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Helen C. Turner

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Maurice Regnier, Q.C.

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, pursuant to subsection 20(1)Footnote * of the Tax Court of Canada Act, is pleased hereby to approve

  • (a) the revocation, by the rules committee of the Tax Court of Canada, effective January 1, 1991, of the Tax Review Board Rules, C.R.C., c. l5l3, and the Tax Court of Canada Rules of Practice and Procedure for the Award of Costs (Income Tax Act), approved by Order in Council P.C. 1985-183 on January 24, 1985Footnote **, except in respect of any appeals or proceedings instituted before January 1, 1991; and

  • (b) the making, by the rules committee of the Tax Court of Canada, effective January 1, 1991, of the Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure) and the Tax Court of Canada Rules (Informal Procedure), in substitution therefor.

Definitions, Application, Interpretation, Forms, Videoconferences and Teleconferences

 [Repealed, SOR/2014-26, s. 1]

Definitions

 In these rules,

Act

Act means the Tax Court of Canada Act; (Loi)

assessment

assessment includes a determination, a redetermination, a reassessment, and an additional assessment; (cotisation)

counsel

counsel means every person who by virtue of subsection 17.1(2) of the Act, may practise in the Court; (avocat)

counsel of record

counsel of record means the person who by virtue of sections 30 to 34 is the counsel of record for a party; (avocat inscrit au dossier)

Court

Court means the Tax Court of Canada; (Cour)

electronic filing

electronic filing means the act of filing, by electronic means, through the Court’s website (www.tcc-cci.gc.ca) or any other website referred to in a direction issued by the Court, any document listed on those sites; (dépôt électronique)

fax

fax means to transmit a facsimile of printed matter electronically or a document so transmitted; (télécopie)

Hague Convention on Service Abroad

Hague Convention on Service Abroad means the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters signed at the Hague on November 15, 1965; (Convention de La Haye relative à la signification et à la notification à l’étranger)

interlocutory application

interlocutory application includes an application to extend time under these rules or to dismiss an appeal for want of prosecution or for failure to comply with a statutory condition precedent to instituting a valid appeal or on the ground that the Court has no jurisdiction to entertain an appeal for some other reason; (requête interlocutoire)

judgment

judgment includes an order; (jugement)

litigation process conference

litigation process conference means

  • (a) a status hearing under section 125,

  • (b) a case management conference under subsection 126(2),

  • (c) a trial management conference under section 126.1, or

  • (d) a settlement conference under section 126.2; (conférence dans le cadre d’une instance)

notice of objection

notice of objection means a notice of objection referred to in the Income Tax Act or the Petroleum and Gas Revenue Tax Act; (avis d’opposition)

originating document

originating document means a document that is filed under section 21; (acte introductif d’instance)

proceeding

proceeding means an appeal or reference; (instance)

Registrar

Registrar means the person appointed as Registrar of the Court by the Chief Administrator of the Courts Administration Service in consultation with the Chief Justice; (greffier)

Registry

Registry means the Registry established by the Chief Administrator of the Courts Administration Service at the principal office of the Court at 200 Kent Street, 2nd Floor, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M1 (telephone: (613) 992-0901 or 1-800-927-5499; fax: (613) 957-9034; website: www.tcc-cci.gc.ca) or at any other local office of the Court specified in notices published by the Court. (greffe)

  • SOR/93-96, s. 1
  • SOR/95-113, s. 1
  • SOR/2004-100, s. 1
  • SOR/2007-142, s. 1
  • SOR/2008-303, s. 1(E)
  • SOR/2014-26, s. 2

Application

 These rules apply to all proceedings in the Court to which the general procedure in the Act applies.

  • SOR/93-96, s. 2
  • SOR/2004-100, s. 2
  • SOR/2008-303, s. 2

Interpretation

  •  (1) These rules shall be liberally construed to secure the just, most expeditious and least expensive determination of every proceeding on its merits.

  • (2) Where matters are not provided for in these rules, the practice shall be determined by the Court, either on a motion for directions or after the event if no such motion has been made.

  • SOR/2004-100, s. 3(F)

Forms

 The forms in Schedule I shall be used where applicable and with such variations as the circumstances require.

Hearings by Videoconference or Teleconference

 The Court may direct that any step in a proceeding be conducted by teleconference, by videoconference or by a combination of both and may specify the party responsible for establishing the communication.

  • SOR/93-96, s. 3
  • SOR/2014-26, s. 3

Associate Judges

  •  (1) An associate judge of the Court has all the powers of a judge of the Court under these Rules.

  • (2) Any associate judge may sit and act at any time and at any place in Canada for the transaction of the business of the Court, and, where the associate judge so sits or acts, that associate judge constitutes the Court.

Non-compliance with the Rules

Effect of Non-compliance

 A failure to comply with these rules is an irregularity and does not render a proceeding or a step, document or direction in a proceeding a nullity, and the Court,

  • (a) may grant all necessary amendments or other relief, on such terms as are just, to secure the just determination of the real matters in dispute, or

  • (b) only where and as necessary in the interests of justice, may set aside the proceeding or a step, document or direction in the proceeding in whole or in part.

Attacking Irregularity

 A motion to attack a proceeding or a step, document or direction in a proceeding for irregularity shall not be made,

  • (a) after the expiry of a reasonable time after the moving party knows or ought reasonably to have known of the irregularity, or

  • (b) if the moving party has taken any further step in the proceeding after obtaining knowledge of the irregularity,

except with leave of the Court.

Court may Dispense with Compliance

 The Court may, where and as necessary in the interests of justice, dispense with compliance with any rule at any time.

  • SOR/2004-100, s. 4

Remedying Default

 When a notice of motion for a direction under section 91 or section 110 has been filed and served, the person or party against whom the motion is made may not, without the consent of the other party or leave of the Court, remedy any default on the basis of which relief is sought by such proposed motion.

Time

Computation

 In the computation of time under these rules or a direction, except where a contrary intention appears,

  • (a) where the time limited for the doing of a thing expires or falls on a holiday or a Saturday, the thing may be done on the day next following that is not a holiday or Saturday, and

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

Extension or Abridgement

  •  (1) The Court may extend or abridge any time prescribed by these rules or a direction, on such terms as are just.

  • (2) A motion for a direction extending time may be made before or after the expiration of the time prescribed.

  • (3) A time prescribed by these rules for filing, serving or delivering a document may be extended or abridged by consent in writing.

Hearing in Absence of Opposite Party

 No motion, examination, taxation of costs or other matter except a motion made without notice, shall proceed before a judge or an officer in the absence of the opposite party until thirty minutes after the time fixed for it.

Court Office Hours

 Unless otherwise directed by the Chief Justice, every office of the Court shall be open for the transaction of business each day except holidays and Saturdays, from 9 in the forenoon until 5 o’clock in the afternoon, and at such other times as the Court may, for special reason, direct.

  • SOR/2004-100, s. 44(E)

Court Documents

Format

 A document prepared for use in a proceeding shall be of good quality paper, 215 mm in width and not exceeding 279 mm in length and the text shall be printed, typewritten, written or reproduced legibly on one side only, with double spaces between the lines and a margin of approximately 40 mm on the left-hand side.

  • SOR/2007-142, s. 2

Photocopies of Court Documents

 Subject to any order that the Court, in special circumstances, may make restricting access to a particular file by persons other than the parties to a matter before the Court, any person may, subject to appropriate supervision, and when the facilities of the Court permit without interfering with the ordinary work of the Court,

  • (a) inspect any Court file relating to a matter before the Court; and

  • (b) on payment of $0.40 per page, obtain a photocopy of any document on a Court file.

  • SOR/95-113, s. 2

Confidentiality Order

  •  (1) On motion, the Court may order that a document or part of a document shall be treated as confidential at the time of filing of the document or part of the document and determines the conditions in relation to its reproduction, destruction and non-disclosure.

  • (2) Where the Court makes an order pursuant to subsection (1), a party or solicitor of record may have access to the confidential document or part of the confidential document only on conditions determined by the Court in relation to its reproduction, destruction and non-disclosure.

  • (3) The order remains in effect until the Court orders otherwise.

  • SOR/2007-142, s. 3

Notice to be in Writing

 Where these rules require notice to be given, it shall be given in writing.

Filing of Documents

  •  (1) Except as otherwise provided in these rules and unless otherwise directed by the Court, a document other than a notice of appeal may be filed using one of the following methods:

    • (a) depositing it with the Registry;

    • (b) sending it by mail to the Registry; or

    • (c) sending it by fax or by electronic filing to the Registry.

  • (2) Except as otherwise provided in these rules and unless otherwise directed by the Court, the date of filing of a document is deemed to be

    • (a) in the case of a document filed with the Registry or sent by mail or by fax, the date shown by the date received stamp placed on the document by the Registry at the time of filing; or

    • (b) in the case of a document filed by electronic filing, the date shown on the acknowledgment of receipt issued by the Court.

  • (3) Except as otherwise provided in these rules and unless otherwise directed by the Court, where a document is filed by electronic filing, the copy of the document that is printed by the Registry and placed in the Court file is deemed to be the original version of the document.

  • (4) A party who files a document by electronic filing shall, if required by these rules or at the request of a party or the Court, provide a paper copy of the document and file it with the Registry.

  • (5) Where the Registry has no record of the receipt of a document, it is deemed not to have been filed, unless the Court directs otherwise.

  • SOR/2007-142, s. 4
  • SOR/2008-303, s. 3

Affidavits

  •  (1) An affidavit used in a proceeding shall be in Form 19.

  • (2) An affidavit shall be confined to a statement of facts within the personal knowledge of the deponent or to other evidence that the deponent could give if testifying as a witness in Court, except where these rules provide otherwise.

  • (3) Where there is a reference in an affidavit to an exhibit, that reference shall be made by words identifying the exhibit, as, for example, “Exhibit A to this my affidavit”.

  • (4) Where there is a reference in an affidavit to an exhibit, there shall be endorsed on or attached to the exhibit a certificate identifying the exhibit and signed by the person before whom the affidavit is sworn or affirmed, as, for example, “This is Exhibit A to the affidavit of blank line, sworn before me the blank line day of blank line 20blank line”.

  • (5) Where an exhibit is referred to in an affidavit and the exhibit,

    • (a) is referred to as being attached to the affidavit, it shall be attached to and files with the affidavit,

    • (b) is referred to as being produced and shown to the deponent, it shall not be attached to the affidavit or filed with it, but shall be left with the Registrar for the use of the Court, and on the disposition of the matter in respect of which the affidavit was filed, the exhibit shall be returned to the counsel or party who filed the affidavit, unless the Court directs otherwise, and

    • (c) is a document, a copy shall be served with the affidavit, unless it is not practical to do so.

  • (6) Where it appears to a person taking an affidavit that the deponent is illiterate or blind, the person shall certify in the jurat that the affidavit was read in his or her presence to the deponent, that the deponent appeared to understand it, and that the deponent signed the affidavit or placed his or her mark on it in the presence of the person taking the affidavit.

  • (7) Where it appears to a person taking an affidavit that the deponent does not understand the language used in the affidavit, the person shall certify in the jurat that the affidavit was interpreted to the deponent in the person’s presence by a named interpreter who took an oath or made an affirmation before him or her to interpret the affidavit correctly.

  • (8) Any interlineation, erasure or other alteration in an affidavit shall be initialed by the person taking the affidavit and, unless so initialed, the affidavit shall not be used without leave of the presiding judge or officer.

  • SOR/2004-100, s. 43

Requisitions

 Where a party is entitled to require the Registrar to carry out a duty under these rules the party may do so by filing a requisition and paying the prescribed fee, if any. (Form 20)

Institution of Proceedings

Filing

  •  (1) Every proceeding to which the general procedure in the Act applies shall be instituted by filing an originating document in the Registry

  • (2) A notice of appeal shall be filed using one of the following methods:

    • (a) by depositing the original and two copies of the notice of appeal with the Registry;

    • (b) by mailing the original and two copies of the notice of appeal to the Registry; or

    • (c) by sending a copy of the notice of appeal by fax or by electronic filing to the Registry.

  • (3) An agreement or an application for the determination of a question shall be filed using one of the following methods:

    • (a) by depositing the original and two copies of the document with the Registry;

    • (b) by mailing the original and two copies of the document to the Registry; or

    • (c) by sending a copy of the document by fax or by electronic filing to the Registry.

  • (4) The filing fee with respect to a document referred to in subsection (2) or (3) shall be paid within five days after the receipt of the document by the Registry.

  • SOR/92-41, s. 1
  • SOR/96-144, s. 1
  • SOR/99-209, s. 1
  • SOR/2004-100, s. 5
  • SOR/2007-142, s. 5
  • SOR/2008-303, s. 4
 

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