Excise Tax Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-15)

Marginal note:Definitions

• 327.1 (1) The definitions in subsection 285.01(1) apply in this section.

• Marginal note:Offences

  (2) Every person that, without lawful excuse, the proof of which lies on the person,

  • (a) uses an electronic suppression of sales device or a similar device or software in relation to records that are required to be kept by any person under section 286,

  • (b) acquires or possesses an electronic suppression of sales device, or a right in respect of an electronic suppression of sales device, that is, or is intended to be, capable of being used in relation to records that are required to be kept by any person under section 286,

  • (c) designs, develops, manufactures, possesses for sale, offers for sale, sells, transfers or otherwise makes available to another person an electronic suppression of sales device that is, or is intended to be, capable of being used in relation to records that are required to be kept by any person under section 286,

  • (d) supplies installation, upgrade or maintenance services for an electronic suppression of sales device that is, or is intended to be, capable of being used in relation to records that are required to be kept by any person under section 286, or

  • (e) participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the commission of, or conspires with any person to commit, an offence described in any of paragraphs (a) to (d),

  is guilty of an offence and, in addition to any penalty otherwise provided, is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.

• Marginal note:Prosecution on indictment

  (3) Every person that is charged with an offence described in subsection (2) 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, liable to a fine of not less than $50,000 and not more than $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both.

• Marginal note:Penalty on conviction

  (4) A person that is convicted of an offence under this section is not liable to pay a penalty imposed under any of sections 280.1, 280.11 and 283 to 285.1 or under a regulation made under this Part for the same action 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 Part, 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 and upon that filing the proceedings before the Tax Court are stayed pending final determination of the outcome of the prosecution.

Marginal note:Offence re confidential information

• 328 (1) Every person who

  • (a) contravenes subsection 295(2), or

  • (b) knowingly contravenes an order made under subsection 295(5.1)

  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 twelve months, or to both.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Every person

  • (a) to whom confidential information has been provided for a particular purpose under paragraph 295(5)(b), (c), (g), (k), (l), (m) or (n), or

  • (b) who is an official to whom confidential information has been provided for a particular purpose pursuant to paragraph 295(5)(a), (d), (e) or (h),

  and who 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 liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, or to both.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (3) In subsections (1) and (2), official and confidential information have the meanings assigned by subsection 295(1).

Marginal note:Failure to pay, collect or remit taxes

• 329 (1) Every person who wilfully fails to pay, collect or remit tax or net tax as and when required under this Part is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable, in addition to any penalty or interest otherwise provided, to

  • (a) a fine not exceeding the aggregate of $1,000 and an amount equal to 20% of the amount of tax or net tax that should have been paid, collected or remitted; or

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

• Marginal note:General offence

  (2) Every person who fails to comply with any provision of this Part for which no other penalty is provided under this Subdivision is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding $1,000.

Marginal note:Officers of corporations, etc.

330 Where a person other than an individual is guilty of an offence under this Part, every officer, director or agent of the person who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence, whether the person has been prosecuted or convicted.

Marginal note:Power to decrease punishment

331 Notwithstanding the Criminal Code or any other law, the court has, in any prosecution or proceeding under this Part, neither the power to impose less than the minimum fine or imprisonment fixed by this Part nor the power to suspend sentence.

Marginal note:Information or complaint

• 332 (1) An information or complaint under this Part may be laid or made by any officer of the Canada Revenue Agency, by a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or by any person authorized to do so by the Minister and, where an information or complaint purports to have been laid or made under this Part, it shall be deemed to have been laid or made by a person so authorized by the Minister and shall not be called in question for lack of authority of the informant or complainant, except by the Minister or a person acting for the Minister or for Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Two or more offences

  (2) An information or complaint in respect of an offence under this Part may be for one or more offences and no information, complaint, warrant, conviction or other proceeding in a prosecution under this Part 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 Part may be heard, tried or determined by any court where the accused is resident, carrying on a commercial activity, found or apprehended or is in custody within its territorial jurisdiction notwithstanding the matter of the information or complaint did not arise within its territorial jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Limitation of prosecutions

  (4) An information or complaint under the provisions of the Criminal Code relating to summary convictions, in respect of an offence under this Part, may be laid or made on or before the day that is eight years after the day the matter of the information or complaint arose.

SUBDIVISION GEvidence and Procedure

Marginal note:Service

• 333 (1) Where the Minister is authorized or required to serve, issue or send a notice or other document on or to a person that

  • (a) is a partnership, the notice or document may be addressed to the name of the partnership;

  • (b) is a union, the notice or document may be addressed to the name of the union;

  • (c) is a society, club, association, organization or other body, the notice or document may be addressed to the name of the body; and

  • (d) carries on business under a name or style other than the name of the person, the notice or document may be addressed to the name or style under which the person carries on business.

• Marginal note:Personal service

  (2) Where the Minister is authorized or required to serve, issue or send a notice or other document on or to a person that carries on a business, the notice or document is deemed to have been validly served, issued or sent if it is

  • (a) where the person is a partnership, served personally on one of the partners or left with an adult person employed at the place of business of the partnership; or

  • (b) left with an adult person employed at the place of business of the person.

Marginal note:Sending by mail

• 334 (1) For the purposes of this Part and subject to subsection (2), anything sent by first class mail or its equivalent shall be deemed to have been received by the person to whom it was sent on the day it was mailed.

• Marginal note:Paying or remitting by mail

  (2) A person who is required under this Part to pay or remit an amount shall not be considered as having paid or remitted the amount until it is received by the Receiver General.

Marginal note:Proof of service by mail

• 335 (1) Where, under this Part or a regulation made under this Part, provision is made for sending by mail a request for information, a notice or a demand, an affidavit of an officer of the Canada Revenue Agency, sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits, setting out that the officer has knowledge of the facts in the particular case, that such a request, notice or demand was sent by registered or certified mail on a named day to the person to whom it was addressed (indicating the address), and that the officer identifies as exhibits attached to the affidavit the post office certificate of registration of the letter or a true copy of the relevant portion thereof and a true copy of the request, notice or demand, is evidence of the sending and of the request, notice or demand.

• Marginal note:Proof of personal service

  (2) Where, under this Part or a regulation made under this Part, provision is made for personal service of a request for information, a notice or a demand, an affidavit of an officer of the Canada Revenue Agency, sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits, setting out that the officer has knowledge of the facts in the particular case, that such a request, notice or demand was served personally on a named day on the person to whom it was directed, and that the officer identifies as an exhibit attached to the affidavit a true copy of the request, notice or demand, is evidence of the personal service and of the request, notice or demand.

• Marginal note:Proof of electronic delivery

  (2.1) If, under this Part or a regulation made under this Part, provision is made for sending a notice to a person electronically, an affidavit of an officer of the Canada Revenue Agency, sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits, is evidence of the sending and of the notice if the affidavit sets out that

  • (a) the officer has knowledge of the facts in the particular case;

  • (b) the notice was sent electronically to the person on a named day; and

  • (c) the officer identifies as exhibits attached to the affidavit copies of

    • (i) an electronic message confirming that the notice has been sent to the person, and

    • (ii) the notice.

• Marginal note:Proof of failure to comply

  (3) Where, under this Part or a regulation made under this Part, a person is required to make a return, an application, a statement, an answer or a certificate, an affidavit of an officer of the Canada Revenue Agency, sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits, setting out that the officer has charge of the appropriate records and that after a careful examination and search of the records the officer has been unable to find in a given case that the return, application, statement, answer or certificate, as the case may be, has been made by that person, is evidence that in that case the person did not make the return, application, statement, answer or certificate, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Proof of time of compliance

  (4) Where, under this Part or a regulation made under this Part, a person is required to make a return, an application, a statement, an answer or a certificate, an affidavit of an officer of the Canada Revenue Agency, sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits, setting out that the officer has charge of the appropriate records and that after careful examination of the records the officer has found that the return, application, statement, answer or certificate, as the case may be, was filed or made on a particular day, is evidence that it was filed or made on that day and not before.

• Marginal note:Proof of documents

  (5) An affidavit of an officer of the Canada Revenue Agency, sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits, setting out that the officer has charge of the appropriate records and that a document annexed to the affidavit is a document or true copy of a document, or a print-out of an electronic document, made by or on behalf of the Minister or a person exercising the powers of the Minister or by or on behalf of a person, is evidence of the nature and contents of the document.

• Marginal note:Proof of documents

  (5.1) An affidavit of an officer of the Canada Border Services Agency, sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits, setting out that the officer has charge of the appropriate records and that a document annexed to the affidavit is a document or a true copy of a document, or a printout of an electronic document, made by or on behalf of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness or a person exercising the powers of that Minister or by or on behalf of a person, is evidence of the nature and contents of the document.

• Marginal note:Proof of no appeal

  (6) An affidavit of an officer of the Canada Revenue Agency or the Canada Border Services Agency, sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits, setting out that the officer has charge of the appropriate records and has knowledge of the practice of the Canada Revenue Agency or the Canada Border Services Agency, as the case may be, and that an examination of the records shows that a notice of assessment was mailed or otherwise sent to a person on a particular day under this Part and that, after careful examination and search of the records, the officer has been unable to find that a notice of objection or of appeal from the assessment, as the case may be, was received within the time allowed, is evidence of the statements contained in the affidavit.

• Marginal note:Presumption

  (7) If evidence is offered under this section by an affidavit from which it appears that the person making the affidavit is an officer of the Canada Revenue Agency or the Canada Border Services Agency, as the case may be, it is not necessary to prove the signature of the person or that the person is such an officer, nor is it necessary to prove the signature or official character of the person before whom the affidavit was sworn.

• Marginal note:Proof of documents

  (8) Every document purporting to have been executed under or in the course of the administration or enforcement of this Part over the name in writing of the Minister, the Deputy Minister of National Revenue, the Commissioner of Customs and Revenue, the Commissioner or an officer authorized to exercise the powers or perform the duties of the Minister under this Part, shall be deemed to be a document signed, made and issued by the Minister, the Deputy Minister, the Commissioner of Customs and Revenue, the Commissioner or the officer, unless it has been called in question by the Minister or a person acting for the Minister or for Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Proof of documents

  (8.1) Every document purporting to have been executed under or in the course of the administration or enforcement of this Part over the name in writing of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness or the President of the Canada Border Services Agency, or an officer authorized to exercise the powers or perform the duties of that Minister under this Part, shall be deemed to be a document signed, made and issued by that Minister, the President or the officer, unless it has been called in question by that Minister or a person acting for that Minister or for Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• (9) [Repealed, 1994, c. 13, s. 9]

• Marginal note:Mailing or sending date

  (10) For the purposes of this Part, if any notice or demand that the Minister is required or authorized under this Part to send to a person is mailed, or sent electronically, to the person, the day of mailing or sending, as the case may be, shall be presumed to be the date of the notice or demand.

• Marginal note:Date electronic notice sent

  (10.1) For the purposes of this Part, if a notice or other communication in respect of a person, other than a notice or other communication that refers to the business number of a person, is made available in electronic format such that it can be read or perceived by a person or a computer system or other similar device, the notice or other communication is presumed to be sent to the person and received by the person on the date that an electronic message is sent, to the electronic address most recently provided before that date by the person to the Minister for the purposes of this subsection, informing the person that a notice or other communication requiring the person’s immediate attention is available in the person’s secure electronic account. A notice or other communication is considered to be made available if it is posted by the Minister in the person’s secure electronic account and the person has authorized that notices or other communications may be made available in this manner and has not before that date revoked that authorization in a manner specified by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Date electronic notice sent — business account

  (10.2) For the purposes of this Part, a notice or other communication in respect of a person that is made available in electronic format such that it can be read or perceived by a person or computer system or other similar device and that refers to the business number of a person is presumed to be sent to the person and received by the person on the date that it is posted by the Minister in the secure electronic account in respect of the business number of the person, unless the person has requested, at least 30 days before that date, in a manner specified by the Minister, that such notices or other communications be sent by mail.

• Marginal note:Date assessment made

  (11) If a notice of assessment has been sent by the Minister as required under this Part, the assessment is deemed to have been made on the day of sending of the notice of assessment.

• Marginal note:Proof of return

  (12) In any prosecution for an offence under this Part, the production of a return, an application, a certificate, a statement or an answer required under this Part or a regulation made under this Part, purporting to have been filed or delivered by or on behalf of the person charged with the offence or to have been made or signed by or on behalf of that person, is evidence that the return, application, certificate, statement or answer, as the case may be, was filed or delivered by or on behalf of that person or was made or signed by or on behalf of that person.

• Marginal note:Proof of return

  (12.1) For the purposes of this Part, a document presented by the Minister purporting to be a print-out of the information in respect of a person received under section 278.1 by the Minister shall be received as evidence and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, is proof of the return filed by the person under that section.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (13) In any proceedings under this Part, the production of a return, an application, a certificate, a statement or an answer required under this Part or a regulation made under this Part, purporting to have been filed, delivered, made or signed by or on behalf of a person, is evidence that the return, application, certificate, statement or answer, as the case may be, was filed, delivered, made or signed by or on behalf of that person.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (14) In any prosecution for an offence under this Part, an affidavit of an officer of the Canada Revenue Agency, sworn before a commissioner or other person authorized to take affidavits, setting out that the officer has charge of the appropriate records and that an examination of the records shows that an amount required under this Part to be remitted to the Receiver General on account of tax, net tax, penalty or interest has not been received by the Receiver General, is evidence of the statements contained therein.