Canada Pension Plan (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-8)

Marginal note:Books and records

• 24 (1) Every employer paying remuneration to an employee employed by him in pensionable employment shall keep records and books of account at his place of business or residence in Canada, or at such other place as may be designated by the Minister, in such form and containing such information as will enable any contributions payable under this Act or any contributions or other amounts that should have been deducted or paid to be determined, and where any such employer has failed to keep adequate records and books of account, the Minister may require him to keep such records and books of account as he may specify, and the employer shall thereafter keep records and books of account as so required.

• Marginal note:Keeping of records and books of account

  (2) Every employer required by this section to keep records and books of account shall retain those records and books of account and every account and voucher necessary to verify the information contained therein until the expiration of six years from the end of the year in respect of which those records and books of account are kept or until written permission for their prior disposal is given by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Electronic records

  (2.1) Every employer required by this section to keep records who does so electronically shall retain them in an electronically readable format for the retention period referred to in subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Exemption

  (2.2) The Minister may, on such terms and conditions as are acceptable to the Minister, exempt an employer or a class of employers from the requirement in subsection (2.1).

• Marginal note:Retention for ruling or appeal

  (3) If the employer or an employee of the employer is subject to a ruling under section 26.1 or has made an appeal to the Minister under section 27 or 27.1, the employer shall retain every record, book of account, account and voucher necessary for dealing with the ruling or the appeal until the ruling is made or the appeal is disposed of and any further appeal is disposed of or the time for filing a further appeal has expired.

Marginal note:Interpretation

• 25 (1) In this section,

  authorized person

  authorized person means a person authorized by the Minister for the purposes of this section; (personne autorisée)

  documents

  documents includes money, securities and any of the following, whether computerized or not: books, records, letters, telegrams, vouchers, invoices, accounts and statements (financial or otherwise); (documents)

  dwelling-house

  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; (maison d’habitation)

  judge

  judge means a judge of a superior court having jurisdiction in the province where the matter arises or a judge of the Federal Court. (juge)

• Marginal note:Inspections

  (2) An authorized person may, at any reasonable time, for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act, inspect, audit or examine any document that relates or may relate to the information that is or should be contained in the records or books of account or to the amount of any contribution payable under this Act and, for those purposes, the authorized person may

  • (a) subject to subsection (3), enter any premises or place where any records or books of account are or should be kept; and

  • (b) require the owner, occupant or person in charge of the premises or place to give to the authorized person all reasonable assistance and to answer all proper questions relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act and, for that purpose, require the owner, occupant or person in charge of the premises or place to attend at such premises or place with the authorized person.

• Marginal note:Warrant required to enter dwelling-house

  (3) Where a premises or 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 or order

  (4) Where, on ex parte application by the Minister, a judge is satisfied by information on oath

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

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

  • (c) that entry into the dwelling-house has been refused or that there are reasonable grounds for believing that entry thereto will be refused,

  the judge shall issue a warrant authorizing an authorized person to enter that dwelling-house subject to such conditions as may be specified in the warrant but, where the judge is not satisfied that entry into that dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act, the judge shall

  • (d) order the occupant of the dwelling-house to provide an authorized person with reasonable access to any document that is or should be kept therein, and

  • (e) make such other order as is appropriate in the circumstances to carry out the purposes of this Act

  to the extent that access has been or may be expected to be refused and that the document is or may be expected to be kept in the dwelling-house.

• Marginal note:Requirement to provide documents or information

  (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Minister may, subject to subsection (6), for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act, by notice served personally or by registered or certified mail, require that any person provide, within such reasonable time as is stipulated in the notice,

  • (a) any information or additional information, including a return of income or a supplementary return; or

  • (b) any document.

• Marginal note:Unnamed persons

  (6) The Minister shall not impose on any person, in this section referred to as a “third party”, a requirement under subsection (5) to provide information or any document relating to one or more unnamed persons unless the Minister first obtains the authorization of a judge under subsection (7).

• Marginal note:Judicial authorization

  (7) On ex parte application by the Minister, a judge may, subject to such conditions as the judge considers appropriate, authorize the Minister to impose on a third party a requirement under subsection (5) relating to an unnamed person or more than one unnamed person, in this section referred to as the “group”, where the judge is satisfied by information on oath that

  • (a) the person or group is ascertainable; and

  • (b) the requirement is made to verify compliance by the person or persons in the group with any duty or obligation under this Act.

  • (c) and (d) [Repealed, 1998, c. 19, s. 254]

• Marginal note:Service of authorization

  (8) Where an authorization is granted under subsection (7), the authorization shall be served together with the notice referred to in subsection (5).

• Marginal note:Review of authorization

  (9) Where an authorization is granted under subsection (7), a third party on whom a notice is served under subsection (5) may, within 15 days after the service of the notice, apply to the judge who granted the authorization or, where the judge is unable to act, to another judge of the same court for a review of the authorization.

• Marginal note:Powers on review

  (10) On hearing an application under subsection (9), a judge may cancel the authorization previously granted if the judge is not then satisfied that the conditions in paragraphs (7)(a) and (b) have been met and the judge may confirm or vary the authorization if satisfied that those conditions have been met.

• Marginal note:Additional remedy

  (11) Where a person is found guilty of an offence under subsection 41(2) for failing to comply with a requirement under subsection (5), the court may make such order as it deems proper in order to enforce compliance with the requirement.

• Marginal note:Copies as evidence

  (12) Where any document is inspected, audited, examined or provided under this section, the person by whom it is inspected, audited or examined or to whom it is provided or any officer of the Canada Revenue Agency may make, or cause to be made, one or more copies thereof and, in the case of an electronic document, make or cause to be made a print-out of the electronic document, and any document purporting to be certified by the Minister or an authorized person to be a copy of the document, or to be a print-out of an electronic document, made pursuant to this subsection is evidence of the nature and content of the original document and has the same probative force as the original document would have if it were proven in the ordinary way.

• Marginal note:Compliance

  (13) No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with any person doing anything that he is authorized to do by or pursuant to this section or prevent or attempt to prevent any person from doing any such thing and, notwithstanding any other Act or law, every person shall, unless he is unable to do so, do everything he is required to do by or pursuant to this section.

Marginal note:No action against person deducting

• 26 (1) No action lies against any person for deducting any sum of money in compliance or intended compliance with this Act.

• Marginal note:Receipt of Minister sufficient discharge

  (2) The receipt of the Minister for an amount deducted by any person as required by or under this Act is a good and sufficient discharge of the liability of any debtor to his creditor with respect thereto to the extent of the amount referred to in the receipt.

Rulings and Appeals

Marginal note:Request for ruling

• 26.1 (1) The Minister of Employment and Social Development, an employer, an employee or a person claiming to be an employer or an employee may request an officer of the Canada Revenue Agency authorized by the Minister of National Revenue to make a ruling on any of the following questions:

  • (a) whether an employment is pensionable;

  • (b) how long an employment lasts, including the dates on which it begins and ends;

  • (c) what is the amount of any earnings from pensionable employment;

  • (d) whether a contribution is payable;

  • (e) what is the amount of a contribution that is payable; and

  • (f) who is the employer of a person in pensionable employment.

• Marginal note:Time limit

  (2) The Minister of Employment and Social Development may request a ruling at any time, but a request by any other person must be made before June 30 of the year after the year in respect of which the question relates.

• Marginal note:Ruling

  (3) The authorized officer shall make the ruling within a reasonable time after receiving the request.

• Marginal note:Presumption

  (4) Unless a ruling has been requested with respect to a person in pensionable employment,

  • (a) an amount deducted from the remuneration of the person or paid by an employer as a contribution for the person is deemed to have been deducted or paid in accordance with this Act; or

  • (b) an amount that has not been so deducted or paid is deemed not to have been required to be deducted or paid in accordance with this Act.

Marginal note:Appeal of rulings

27 An appeal to the Minister from a ruling may be made by the Minister of Employment and Social Development at any time, and by any other person concerned within 90 days after the person is notified of the ruling.

Marginal note:Appeal of assessments

27.1 An employer who has been assessed under section 22 may appeal to the Minister for a reconsideration of the assessment, either as to whether an amount should be assessed as payable or as to the amount assessed, within 90 days after being notified of the assessment.

Marginal note:Notification of appeal

• 27.2 (1) Where an appeal is made to the Minister under section 27 or 27.1, the Minister shall

  • (a) notify any person who may be affected by the appeal that the Minister intends to decide the appeal, including the Minister of Employment and Social Development in the case of an appeal of a ruling; and

  • (b) give the person an opportunity to provide information and to make representations to protect the person’s interests, as the circumstances require.

• Marginal note:Where appeal to be sent

  (2) An appeal shall be addressed to the Assistant Director of Appeals in a Tax Services Office of the Canada Revenue Agency and delivered or mailed to that office.

• Marginal note:Decision

  (3) The Minister shall decide the appeal within a reasonable time after receiving it and shall notify the affected persons of the decision in any manner that the Minister considers adequate.

Marginal note:Minister’s authority not restricted

27.3 Nothing in sections 26.1 to 27.2 restricts the authority of the Minister to make a decision under this Part on the Minister’s own initiative or to make an assessment after the date mentioned in subsection 26.1(2).

Marginal note:Appeal to Tax Court of Canada

• 28 (1) A person affected by a decision on an appeal to the Minister under section 27 or 27.1, or the person’s representative, may, within 90 days after the decision is communicated to the person, or within any longer time that the Tax Court of Canada on application made to it within 90 days after the expiration of those 90 days allows, appeal from the decision to that Court in accordance with the Tax Court of Canada Act and the applicable rules of court made thereunder.

• Marginal note:Communication of decision

  (1.1) The determination of the time at which a decision on an appeal to the Minister under section 27 or 27.1 is communicated to a person shall be made in accordance with the rule, if any, made under paragraph 20(1.1)(h.1) of the Tax Court of Canada Act.

• Marginal note:Extension of time to appeal

  (1.2) Section 167, except paragraph 167(5)(a), of the Income Tax Act applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, in respect of applications made under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Decision of Court

  (2) On an appeal under this section, the Tax Court of Canada may vacate, confirm or vary a decision on an appeal under section 27 or an assessment that is the subject of an appeal under section 27.1 or, in the case of an appeal under section 27.1, may refer the matter back to the Minister for reconsideration and reassessment, and shall without delay

  • (a) notify the parties to the appeal in writing of its decision; and

  • (b) give reasons for its decision, but, except where the Court deems it advisable in a particular case to give reasons in writing, the reasons given by it need not be in writing.