SR&ED and CRA notices of objection

1:29

We have experience representing SR&ED claimants at the objection and appeal stages. At times, we have questioned the CRA’s level of service and processes surrounding SR&ED objections. Today, the CRA published its press release entitled “CRA — Notices of Objection for SR&ED eligibility claims — Improved review process” announcing that it has implemented new SR&ED objection processes.

The CRA announced the following new features:

Additional staff with a broad range of science and engineering expertise has been hired to provide a more specialized review of the issues under objection, and to provide for more timely reviews.
The reviews are more in-depth, with a greater focus on addressing the SR&ED eligibility issues raised by the claimants in their Notices of Objection.
The reviews have been expanded to provide for contact between the Agency’s SR&ED Notice of Objection advisors and the SR&ED claimants. However, it is important to note that these reviews are desk reviews and not second on-site SR&ED technical reviews.

We believe that the objection stage is a crucial stage that provides SR&ED claimants the opportunity to better understand and probe the CRA’s position, to resolve an SR&ED dispute early and — if resolution is not possible — to implement the proper factual, legal and strategic foundation for the appeal stage. We hope that the CRA’s new processes, in fact, lead to a more transparent, efficient and independent SR&ED objection process.

For additional analysis, see our Insights.

Insights

A CRA reassessment and dispute do not start from a neutral position. They shape the dispute, now and later. This article explains how the record develops and the impact on teh range of outcomes.

Notice of Objection Failed to Define the Dispute | Some objection-stage failures are obvious. Others remain invisible and lead to the same result. (941624 Alberta Ltd. v. HMK)

CRA reassessment and notice of objection. Large corporation regime. How a failure to define the dispute can stop an appeal early or narrow what can be argued later.

Notice of Objection Window | What Carries Forward | What is placed on the objection record here is not neutral

Filing a Notice of Objection places part of the dispute on the record before it is treated as final. That record shapes how the matter is assessed and what can still be changed.

CRA Dispute Record Formation | Decisions Made Before Clarity

Decisions made after a CRA reassessment form the dispute record before they are recognized as final. That record shapes what can be said, changed, and defended later.

CRA Reassessment | What Happens Next - What appears to require action is visible. What will shape the outcome is not.

A CRA reassessment sets out a position. It does not show what will determine the outcome. How it is interpreted, carried forward, and placed on the record defines what can still be changed.

Cross-Border Rental & Withholding Reassessment Control - When the structure holds, and where it can still be moved - C&W Offshore Ltd. v. HMK

A cross-border equipment rental led to a withholding tax reassessment under Part XIII. This case shows how much of the exposure can still be reduced when the structure holds.

Explore more insights >

Related Insights

SR&ED and CRA notices of objection

Insights