War Veterans Allowance Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. W-3)

Definition of overpayment

• 18 (1) In this section, overpayment, in relation to any period, means

  • (a) an allowance payment that was paid to a person in respect of that period and to which the person had no entitlement; or

  • (b) if an allowance payment was paid to a person in respect of that period that was in excess of the amount of the allowance payment to which the person was entitled, the amount of that excess.

• Marginal note:Recovery of overpayments

  (1.01) If, through any cause, an overpayment is paid to a person, the overpayment is a debt due to Her Majesty by that person or by that person’s estate or succession, and

  • (a) may be recovered by deduction from any future payments made pursuant to this Act to that person or to that person’s estate or succession;

  • (b) may be recovered in accordance with section 155 of the Financial Administration Act; and

  • (c) may be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Excessive payments and underpayments

  (1.1) Where an allowance has been paid in respect of any payment period and it is subsequently determined that the income of the recipient and, if applicable, the recipient’s spouse or common-law partner, for the base calendar year calculated as required by this Act, in this subsection referred to as the “actual income”, is not the same as the income of the recipient, in this subsection referred to as the “shown income”, calculated as required by this Act on the basis of a statement required or permitted by section 8.1 to be made or filed by the recipient, the following adjustment shall be made:

  • (a) if the actual income exceeds the shown income, any amount by which the allowance paid to the recipient for months in that payment period exceeds the allowance that would have been paid to the recipient for those months if the shown income had been equal to the actual income shall be considered an overpayment; or

  • (b) if the shown income exceeds the actual income, there shall be paid to the recipient any amount by which the allowance that would have been paid to the recipient for months in that payment period if the actual income had been equal to the shown income, exceeds the allowance paid to the recipient for those months.

• (1.2) [Repealed, 2000, c. 34, s. 75]

• Marginal note:Remission of overpayments

  (2) If a person has received or obtained an overpayment and the Minister is satisfied that

  • (a) the overpayment cannot be recovered within the reasonably foreseeable future,

  • (b) the administrative costs of recovering the overpayment are likely to equal or exceed the amount to be recovered,

  • (c) repayment of the overpayment would cause undue hardship to the person, or

  • (d) the overpayment is the result of an administrative error, delay or oversight on the part of a public servant,

  the Minister may, unless that person has been convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code in connection with the receiving or obtaining of the overpayment, remit all or any portion of the overpayment.

• Marginal note:Recovery from survivor or orphan

  (3) Where a survivor or orphan of a deceased veteran retains any amount of the veteran’s allowance paid after the last day of the month in which the veteran died, that amount may be deducted from any allowance granted to the survivor or orphan.