Consumption Tax Rebate and Transition Tax - Appeals

Under the Consumption Tax Rebate and Transition Tax Act you have the right to appeal an assessment or penalty assessed under Section 18 of the Act.

• Appeal Process
• Appeals to Minister
• Appeals to Court
• Amount Payable while Assessment is Under Appeal

You have the right to appeal tax assessments and penalties, as well as denials of exemptions or refund claims.

There are two levels of appeal:

1. appeal to the Minister of Finance
2. appeal to the Court

For more information, please see Bulletin GEN 003, Appeals of Tax Assessments, Disallowed Refunds or Other Determinations.

To file a formal appeal, you must mail a letter of appeal to the Minister of Finance within 90 days of the date shown on the Notice of Assessment, or other director's decision, to which you are objecting.

An appeal to the minister lies from a decision of the director about any of the following:

• (a) a determination under section 27 [deemed purchase price];
• (b) a determination under section 18 [director may determine attribution of amount];
• (c) an energy rebate;
• (d) a reimbursement under section 13 [reimbursement of energy credit];
• (e) a refund under Part 6 [Tax Refunds];
• (f) an assessment under section 36 [assessments] or 40 [interest on amount payable];
• (g) an imposition of a penalty under section 37 [penalties].

Mail your notice of objection or application for extension to:

The Minister of Finance
C/O Appeals and Litigation Branch
PO BOX 9629 STN PROV GOVT
VICTORIA BC  V8W 9N6

Please be sure to clearly state the following:

• your name, address and telephone number
• the basis upon which you are objecting
• the facts on which the appeal is based
• any other relevant facts, including an estimate of fair market value if you consider that estimate to be relevant to your objections

Once a formal appeal is submitted, the minister will consider the matter, and then amend, rescind, or affirm the decision and notify you.

An appeal to the Court is started by filing a petition under the Supreme Court Rules. The petition must be filed in the Supreme Court Registry within 90 days of the date of the Minister's notification of decision.

The Crown is named in the petition as "Her Majesty The Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia".

Within 14 days of filing the petition, it must be served on the Attorney General in Victoria. You can:

• leave it with a solicitor on the staff of the Attorney General at 11th Floor - 1001 Douglas Street in Victoria during office hours
• mail it by registered mail to the Deputy Attorney General in Victoria

The address for the Deputy Attorney General in Victoria is:

PO BOX 9280 STN PROV GOVT
VICTORIA BC  V8W 9J7

If you are in disagreement with the decision of the Supreme Court, you may seek leave to appeal the court decision to the Court of Appeal from a justice of that court.

All assessments for tax liabilities are due and payable even if the assessment is under appeal. If the assessment is later set aside or reduced as a result of the appeal, the excess tax paid will be refunded with interest.

Please direct any enquiries concerning payment of the outstanding tax liability to Collections at 1-866-566-3066.