COVID-19 Tax Update: Minister of National Revenue issues time extension orders under Time Limits Act
The Minister of National Revenue (the “Minister”) recently issued orders pursuant to the Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19) (the “Act”), extending certain time periods under the Income Tax Act (“ITA”) and Excise Tax Act (“ETA”).
Most importantly, the Minister extended the normal reassessment period described in subsection 152(3.1) of the ITA and the assessment period described in section 298 of the ETA. The extension applies to time limits which would otherwise expire between May 20, 2020 and December 30, 2020. Such time limits are extended by six months or until December 31, 2020 (if that day is before the end of those six months). Normal reassessment periods that expired on May 19, 2020 or earlier are not affected by the Ministerial orders.
Other time limits affected by the Ministerial orders are filing deadlines for certain Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) claims and application deadlines for extensions of time to object to assessments. Those deadlines, if they would otherwise have expired on or after March 13, 2020, will be extended by six months or to December 31, 2020 (whichever is earlier).
The Ministerial orders should be published in the Canada Gazette and tabled in each House of Parliament shortly, after which they will have full force and effect.
The Ministerial order regarding the extension of ITA provisions can be found here and the Ministerial order regarding the extension of ETA provisions can be found here. Additional information about the scope of the Act can be found in our earlier blog post.