http://decisions.fca-caf.gc.ca/fca-caf/decisions/en/item/126480/index.do
Vo v. Canada (November 4, 2015 – 2015 FCA 246, Ryer (author), Boivin, Rennie JJ. A.).
Précis: Ms. Vo’s 2008 taxation year was assessed in 2011. She claimed not to have had notice of the assessment until 2013. Both the Minister and the Tax Court denied her application for an extension of the time to file a notice of objection. The Federal Court of Appeal agreed with the Tax Court and dismissed the appeal from the bench with costs of $300 to the Crown.
Decision: Unfortunately for Ms. Vo she was outside of both the time limit to apply to the Minister for an extension and the time limit to apply to the Tax Court for an extension:
[5] Unfortunately for the Taxpayer, subsection 166.1(7) of the Act prevents the Minister from granting an extension where the application is made after one year from the expiration of the period within which the Act permits a notice of objection to be filed. In the circumstances, that one year period ended on January 4, 2013. Accordingly, by correspondence dated June 7, 2013, the Minister denied the application.
[6] By letter dated September 20, 2013, the Taxpayer applied to the Tax Court of Canada for an extension of time to file a notice of objection, as permitted by subsection 166.2(1) of the Act. However, that provision requires that such an application be made within 90 days after the date of mailing of the Minister’s refusal of the application made under subsection 166.1(1) of the Act. Accordingly, the Taxpayer’s application to the Tax Court of Canada was made outside of this 90 day period.
[7] Additionally, subsection 166.2(5) of the Act precludes the granting of an application for an extension by the Tax Court of Canada unless the application to the Minister under subsection 166.1(1) of the Act is made within the one year period immediately following the expiration of the 90 day period within which the taxpayer is permitted to file a notice of objection under subsection 165(1) of the Act.
[8] As a result, even if the Taxpayer’s application under subsection 166.2(1) of the Act had been made on a timely basis, paragraph 166.2(5)(a) of the Act would have prevented the Tax Court of Canada from granting the requested extension. In order to have avoided the limitation in that paragraph, the Taxpayer would have had to make her application under subsection 166.1(1) of the Act no later than January 4, 2013, which she did not do.
As a result the appeal was dismissed with costs of $300 to the Crown.