Just and Equitable Considerations for Applications for the Extentions of Notices of Objection

Abstract

The author analyzes the provisions in Canadian income tax law which provide discretion to the Tax Court to grant an extension of time, beyond the strict statutory period, for the filing of an objection to an assessment or a reassessment if the circumstances of the case are such that it would be just and equitable to do so, assuming that certain conditions precedent have been met. The author discusses two approaches available to the courts in determining whether the circumstances of a particular case are such as to make the granting of an extension "just and equitable": the constrained vision, which concentrates on the form of the process, or the unconstrained vision, which concentrates on the substance of the result. The author concludes that Canadian courts have followed a constrained vision in determining whether an extension of time is just and equitable in a given set of circumstances.