COVID-19 Tax Update: Federal Court Extends Suspension Period and Updates Plan for Resuming Operations

On April 29, 2020 the Federal Court of Canada released an updated Practice Direction and Order advising that the previously announced suspension period, which was set to expire on May 15, 2020, will now run until May 29, 2020.

The Court further advised that it will not hold in-person hearings until June 29, 2020 and that timelines for filing documents and completing other procedural steps will be extended by 14 days after the suspension period is over, to June 12, 2020, to allow parties and their legal counsel time to prepare.

The updated Practice Direction and Order can be found here.

A summary of extensions and other policies implemented by courts hearing tax matters across Canada due to the COVID-19 crisis can be found in our blog post “COVID-19 Tax Update: Audits and disputes amidst the pandemic”.