Global Minimum Tax Act (S.C. 2024, c. 17, s. 81)

Marginal note:Unreasonable appeal

101 If the Tax Court of Canada disposes of an appeal by a person in respect of an amount payable under this Act or if such an appeal has been discontinued or dismissed without trial, the Court may, on the application of the Minister and whether or not the Court awards costs, order the person to pay to the Receiver General for Canada an amount not exceeding 10% of any part of the amount that was in controversy in respect of which the Court determines that there were no reasonable grounds for the appeal, if in the opinion of the Court one of the main purposes for instituting or maintaining any part of the appeal was to defer the payment of any amount payable under this Act.

Marginal note:Definitions

• 102 (1) The following definitions apply in this section.

  planning activity

  planning activity includes

  • (a) organizing or creating, or assisting in the organization or creation of, an arrangement, entity, plan or scheme; and

  • (b) participating, directly or indirectly, in the selling of an interest in, or the promotion of, an arrangement, entity, plan, property or scheme. (activité de planification)

  section 67 avoidance planning

  section 67 avoidance planning by a transferor or a transferee, means planning activity in respect of a transaction or series of transactions

  • (a) that is, or is part of, a section 67 avoidance transaction; and

  • (b) for which one of the purposes of the transaction or series of transactions is to reduce

    • (i) a transferee’s joint and several, or solidary, liability for tax owing under this Act by the transferor, or

    • (ii) the transferor’s or transferee’s ability to pay any amount that is or that may become owing under this Act. (planification d’évitement en vertu de l’article 67)

  section 67 avoidance transaction

  section 67 avoidance transaction means a transaction or series of transactions in respect of which

  • (a) the conditions set out in paragraph 67(7)(a) or (b) are met; or

  • (b) if subsection 67(7) applies to the transaction or series of transactions, the amount determined under subparagraph 67(7)(c)(ii) would exceed the amount determined under subparagraph 67(7)(c)(i). (opération d’évitement en vertu de l’article 67)

  transferee

  transferee has the meaning assigned by subsections 67(2) and (7). (bénéficiaire du transfert)

  transferor

  transferor has the meaning assigned by subsections 67(2) and (7). (auteur du transfert)

• Marginal note:Section 67 avoidance penalty

  (2) Every transferor or transferee that engages in, participates in, assents to or acquiesces in planning activity that the transferor or transferee, as the case may be, knows is section 67 avoidance planning, or would reasonably be expected to know is section 67 avoidance planning, but for circumstances amounting to gross negligence, is liable to a penalty that is the lesser of

  • (a) 50% of the amount payable under this Act (determined without reference to this subsection), the joint and several, or solidary, liability for which was sought to be avoided through the section 67 avoidance planning, and

  • (b) $100,000.

Marginal note:General penalty

103 A person that fails to comply with any provision of this Act, or the regulations made under this Act, for which no other penalty is specified in this Act is liable to a penalty of $2,500.

Marginal note:Payment of penalties

104 A person that is required to pay a penalty under this Act must pay it,

• (a) in the case of a penalty payable under section 98 or 99, on the day on which they are required to file the return or notify the Minister; and

• (b) in any other case, on the day on which the original notice of assessment of the penalty is sent.

Marginal note:Waiving or cancelling penalties

• 105 (1) The Minister may, on or before the day that is 10 calendar years after the end of a fiscal year in which a penalty became payable under this Act by a person, or on application by the person on or before that day, waive or cancel all or any portion of that penalty, and may despite subsection 85(1), make any assessment of the penalty payable by the person that is necessary to take into account the waiver or cancellation of the penalty.

• Marginal note:Refund of amount waived or cancelled

  (2) If a person has paid a penalty and the Minister waives or cancels any portion of that penalty under subsection (1), the Minister must refund the portion of the penalty and pay interest on it at the rate prescribed under section 4301 of the Income Tax Regulations, with any modifications that the circumstances require, beginning on the day that is 30 days after the day on which the Minister received an application in a manner satisfactory to the Minister to apply subsection (1) (or, if there is no such application, on the day on which the Minister waives or cancels the portion of the penalty) and ending on the day on which the portion of the penalty is paid as a refund or applied against another amount owed by the person to His Majesty in right of Canada.

DIVISION 12Offences and Punishment

Marginal note:Failure to file or comply

• 106 (1) A person that fails to file a return as and when required under this Act or that fails to comply with an obligation under subsection 80(6) or (8) or section 81, or an order made under section 112, is guilty of an offence and, in addition to any penalty otherwise provided for under this Act, is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than $2,000 and not more than $40,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both.

• Marginal note:Saving

  (2) A person that is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) for a failure to comply with a provision of this Act is not liable to a penalty imposed under this Act for the same failure, unless a notice of assessment for the penalty was issued before the information or complaint giving rise to the conviction was laid or made.

Marginal note:Offences for false or deceptive statement

• 107 (1) A person commits an offence that

  • (a) makes, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false or deceptive statement in a return, application, form, certificate, statement, document, invoice, record or answer filed or made under this Act;

  • (b) for the purposes of evading payment of any amount payable under this Act, or obtaining a refund or other payment payable under this Act to which the person is not entitled,

    • (i) destroys, alters, mutilates, conceals or otherwise disposes of any records of a person, or

    • (ii) makes, or assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false or deceptive entry, or omits, or assents to or acquiesces in the omission, to enter a material particular in the records of a person;

  • (c) intentionally, in any manner, evades or attempts to evade compliance with this Act or payment of an amount payable under this Act;

  • (d) intentionally, in any manner, obtains or attempts to obtain a refund or other payment payable under this Act to which the person is not entitled; or

  • (e) conspires with any person to commit an offence described in any of paragraphs (a) to (d).

• Marginal note:Punishment

  (2) A person that commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and, in addition to any penalty otherwise provided for under this Act, is liable to

  • (a) a fine of not less than 50%, and not more than 200%, of the amount payable that was sought to be evaded, or of the refund or other payment sought;

  • (b) imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years; or

  • (c) both a fine referred to in paragraph (a) and imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

• Marginal note:Prosecution on indictment

  (3) A person that is charged with an offence described in subsection (1) may, at the election of the Attorney General of Canada, be prosecuted on indictment and, if convicted, is, in addition to any penalty otherwise provided for under this Act, liable to

  • (a) a fine of not less than 100%, and not more than 200%, of the amount payable that was sought to be evaded, or of the refund or other payment sought;

  • (b) imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; or

  • (c) both a fine referred to in paragraph (a) and imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

• Marginal note:Penalty on conviction

  (4) A person that is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) is not liable to a penalty imposed under this Act for the same evasion or attempt unless a notice of assessment for that penalty was issued before the information or complaint giving rise to the conviction was laid or made.

• Marginal note:Stay of appeal

  (5) If, in any appeal under this Act, substantially the same facts are at issue as those that are at issue in a prosecution under this section, the Minister may file a stay of proceedings with the Tax Court of Canada and, on that filing, the proceedings before the Tax Court of Canada are stayed pending a final determination of the outcome of the prosecution.

Marginal note:Failure to pay tax

108 A person that intentionally fails to pay tax as and when required under this Act is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and, in addition to any penalty or interest otherwise provided for under this Act, is liable to

• (a) a fine not exceeding 20% of the amount of the tax that should have been paid;

• (b) imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months; or

• (c) both a fine referred to in paragraph (a) and imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months.

Marginal note:Offence — confidential information

• 109 (1) A person is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both, if the person

  • (a) contravenes subsection 123(2); or

  • (b) knowingly contravenes an order made under subsection 123(7).

• Marginal note:Offence

  (2) A person to whom confidential information has been provided for a particular purpose under subsection 123(6) and that for any other purpose knowingly uses, provides to any person, allows the provision to any person of or allows any person access to that information is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both.

• Marginal note:Definition of confidential information

  (3) In subsection (2), confidential information has the same meaning as in subsection 123(1).

Marginal note:General offence

110 A person that fails to comply with any provision of this Act, or the regulations made under this Act, for which no other offence is specified in this Act is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both.

Marginal note:Defence of due diligence

111 No person is to be convicted of an offence under section 106 or 110 of this Act if the person establishes that they exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

Marginal note:Compliance orders

112 If a person is convicted by a court of an offence for a failure to comply with a provision of this Act, the court may make any order that it deems appropriate to enforce compliance with the provision.

Marginal note:Officers of corporations, etc.

113 If a person other than an individual commits an offence under this Act, every officer, director or representative of the person who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and is guilty of the offence and is liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the person has been prosecuted or convicted.

Marginal note:Power to decrease punishment

114 Despite the Criminal Code or any other law, a court does not have the power to impose less than the minimum fine fixed under this Act in any prosecution or proceeding under this Act.

Marginal note:Information or complaint

• 115 (1) An information or complaint under this Act may be laid or made by any official of the Agency, by a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or by any person authorized to do so by the Minister and, if an information or complaint purports to have been laid or made under this Act, it is deemed to have been laid or made by a person so authorized by the Minister and is not to be called into question for lack of authority of the informant or complainant, except by the Minister or a person acting for the Minister or for His Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Two or more offences

  (2) An information or complaint in respect of an offence under this Act may be for one or more offences, and no information, complaint, warrant, conviction or other proceeding in a prosecution under this Act is objectionable or insufficient by reason of the fact that it relates to two or more offences.

• Marginal note:Territorial jurisdiction

  (3) An information or complaint in respect of an offence under this Act may be heard, tried or determined by any court having territorial jurisdiction where the accused is resident, carrying on a commercial activity, found, apprehended or in custody, even if the matter of the information or complaint did not arise within that territorial jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Limitation of prosecutions

  (4) No proceeding by way of summary conviction in respect of an offence under this Act may be instituted more than eight years after the day on which the subject matter of the proceeding arose, unless the prosecutor and the defendant agree that it may be instituted after the eight years.

DIVISION 13Inspections

Marginal note:Authorized person

• 116 (1) A person authorized by the Minister (referred to in this section as an “authorized person”) to do so may, at all reasonable times, for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act, inspect, audit or examine the records, processes, property or premises of a particular person that may be relevant in determining the obligations of the particular person, or any other person, under this Act and whether the particular person, or any such other person, is in compliance with this Act.

• Marginal note:Powers of authorized person

  (2) Subject to subsection (3), an authorized person may, at all reasonable times, for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act

  • (a) enter any place in which the authorized person reasonably believes that the particular person keeps or should keep records, carries on any activity to which this Act applies or does anything in relation to that activity;

  • (b) require any individual to give the authorized person all reasonable assistance, to answer all proper questions relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act and

    • (i) to attend with the authorized person at a place designated by the authorized person, or by video-conference or by another form of electronic communication, and to answer the questions orally, and

    • (ii) to answer the questions in writing, in any form specified by the authorized person; and

  • (c) require any person to give the authorized person all reasonable assistance with anything the authorized person is authorized to do under this Act.

• Marginal note:Prior authorization

  (3) If any place referred to in subsection (2) is a dwelling-house, an authorized person may not enter that dwelling-house without the consent of the occupant, except under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Warrant to enter dwelling-house

  (4) A judge may on ex parte application by the Minister issue a warrant authorizing a person to enter a dwelling-house subject to the conditions specified in the warrant if the judge is satisfied by information on oath that

  • (a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the dwelling-house is a place referred to in subsection (2);

  • (b) entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act; and

  • (c) entry into the dwelling-house has been, or there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry will be, refused.

• Marginal note:Orders if entry refused

  (5) If a judge is not satisfied that entry into a dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act, the judge may, to the extent that access was or may be expected to be refused and that a record or property is or may be expected to be kept in the dwelling-house,

  • (a) order the occupant of the dwelling-house to provide a person with reasonable access to any record or property that is or should be kept in the dwelling-house; and

  • (b) make any other order that is appropriate in the circumstances to carry out the purposes of this Act.

• Marginal note:Definition of dwelling-house

  (6) In this section, dwelling-house means the whole or any part of a building or structure that is kept or occupied as a permanent or temporary residence, and includes

  • (a) a building within the curtilage of a dwelling-house that is connected to it by a doorway or by a covered and enclosed passageway; and

  • (b) a unit that is designed to be mobile and to be used as a permanent or temporary residence and that is being used as such a residence.