Tax Court of Canada Rules of Procedure Respecting the Customs Act (Informal Procedure)

19 (1) A person who has made an application to the Minister to extend the time for filing a notice of objection may apply to the Court to have the application granted after either

• (a) the Minister has refused the application, or

• (b) 90 days have elapsed after service of the application and the Minister has not notified the person of the Minister’s decision,

but no application under this section may be made after the expiration of 30 days after the day on which notification of the Minister’s decision was mailed to the person.

(2) An application made under subsection (1) may be in the form set out in Schedule 19.

(3) An application under subsection (1) shall be made by filing with the Registrar, in the manner provided in section 4.1, three copies of the application made to the Minister accompanied by three copies of the notice of objection and three copies of the Minister’s decision, if any.

(4) The Court may dispose of an application made under subsection (1) by

• (a) dismissing it, or

• (b) granting it,

and, in granting it, may impose such terms as it deems just or order that the notice of objection be deemed to be a valid objection as of the date of the order.

(5) No application shall be granted under this section to a person unless

• (a) the application is made within one year after the expiration of the time specified by Part V.1 of the Customs Act for filing a notice of objection*, and

• (b) the person demonstrates that

  • (i) within the applicable time specified in paragraph (a), the person

    • (A) was unable to act or to give a mandate to act in the person’s name, or

    • (B) had a bona fide intention to object to the assessment,

  • (ii) given the reasons set out in the application and the circumstances of the case, it would be just and equitable to grant the application, and

  • (iii) the application to extend time was made to the Minister as soon as circumstances permitted it to be made.

• * Subsection 97.48(1) of the Customs Act provides:

  • “97.48 (1) Any person who has been assessed under section 97.44 and who objects to the assessment may, within ninety days after the day notice of assessment is sent to the person, file with the Minister a notice of objection in the prescribed form and manner setting out the reasons for the objection and all relevant facts.”

(6) The application pursuant to subsection (1) is deemed to have been filed on the date of its receipt by the Registry, even if the application is not accompanied by the documents listed in subsection (3), provided that those documents are filed within 30 days after that date or within any reasonable time that the Court establishes.