Tax & Trade Blog

On July 20, 2023, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) released a notice that it made a preliminary determination of dumping and subsidy in respect of certain wind towers originating in, or exported from, the People’s Republic of China – resulting in the application of provisional duties on imports of those Subject Goods!

Further to CBSA’s determination, on July 21, 2023, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (“CITT”) released a notice that it is initiating its final inquiry to determine whether the dumping and subsidizing of the Subject Goods has caused, or is threatening to cause, injury to the Canadian domestic industry.

Anyone wishing to participate in the CITT inquiry and hearing must file a Notice by August 4, 2023.

On March 13, 2023, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (“CITT”) issued a notice that it was beginning an expiry review in respect of certain steel piling pipes originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China (China). Anyone wanting to participate in the expiry review must file a Notice of Participation with the CITT by March 28, 2023!

Both domestic producers and exporters should consider participating in the expiry review, as current anti-dumping duties (“ADDs”) for goods without a normal value are 96.4%, and countervailing duties (“CVD”) are 641.35 Chinese Renminbi (RMB) per metric tonne!

On February 21, 2023, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) concluded its normal value review of refined sugar exported from the US by United Food Group Inc. (“United”).

Unlike re-investigations, where the CBSA reviews and redetermines normal values for all exporters in the industry, in a normal value review the CBSA only reviews the normal values of the named party – in this case United.

This particular normal value review was triggered by an importer appeal. However, while United responded to the CBSA’s RFI, the producer of the goods did not, and accordingly the CBSA concluded the review.

On February 13, 2023, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (“CITT”) issued a notice that it was beginning an expiry review in respect of certain liquid dielectric transformers (large power transformers) originating in or exported from the Republic of Korea (South Korea).  Anyone wanting to participate in the expiry review must file a Notice of Participation with the CITT by February 28, 2023!

Both domestic producers and exporters should consider participating in the expiry review, as current anti-dumping duties (“ADDs”) for goods without a normal value are 101%!

On January 16, 2023, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (“CITT”) issued a notice that it was beginning an expiry review in respect of certain carbon pipe fittings originating in or exported from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (“Vietnam”). Anyone wanting to participate in the expiry review must file a Notice of Participation with the CITT by January 31, 2023!

Both domestic producers and exporters should consider participating in the expiry review, as current anti-dumping duties (“ADDs”) for goods without a normal value are 159%, and countervailing duties (“CVDs”) are 76,360.47 VND per unit!

The effect of the Canada Revenue Agency’s (“CRA”) administrative policies on GST/HST audits is often misunderstood by taxpayers and CRA auditors alike. While policies carry some interpretive value, they do not supplant actual law in the form of legislation and regulations.

This sometimes makes relying on CRA administrative policy a risky proposition, particularly where the policy provides a benefit or relief against the legislation and regulations. This is because where CRA assesses a registrant for non-compliance with a beneficial policy, the Tax Court is bound to apply the legislation and regulations as-written, and cannot allow a CRA policy – even one that benefits the taxpayers – to take precedence over the law.

The decision in Dr. Kevin L. Davis Dentistry Professional Corporation v. The Queen, 2021 TCC 25 (“Dr. Davis Dentistry”) considered this very issue.

In our previous blog, we discussed the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in Canada v. Cameco Corporation (“Cameco”) which considered the CRA’s broad audit powers in paragraph 231.1(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act (“ITA”) (and/or 286 of the Excise Tax Act(“ETA”)), ultimately holding that a request for oral interviews was outside of the scope of those powers. Recently, the Federal Court (the “FC”) in Canada (National Revenue) v. Miller (“Miller”) considered the Cameco decision and the same ITA provisions but this time with respect to CRA’s use of Requests for Information (“RFIs”) to compel taxpayers to provide information that ought to be in the taxpayer’s books and records – even if it was not recorded/diarized there. In Miller, the FC upheld the CRA’s use of RFIs as within the scope of legislation, and issued a compliance order.

The Government of Ontario has now made a long-hoped for change to the Ontario Business Corporations Act (“OBCA”) removing the director residency requirement effective July 5, 2021.

This means that corporations incorporated or continued into Ontario no longer need to have any Canadian resident directors and will help put Ontario on a level playing field with provinces like British Columbia which have been without a director residency requirement for nearly two decades!

Section 182 of the Excise Tax Act (“ETA”) generally deems any payment made to a registrant as a consequence of a breach, modification, or cancellation of an agreement (other than as consideration for a supply), to be a taxable supply. This rule, in effect, means that where there is a breach of an agreement to supply property or services, a payment to the supplier by the recipient to compensate for that breach will generally be deemed to include GST/HST.

Unfortunately, section 182 is often overlooked by parties resolving legal disputes, as the recent Tax Court of Canada (“TCC”) decision in THD Inc. c. La Reine, 2018 CCI 147 demonstrates.