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Bill C-49

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	ENFORCEMENT
	Penalties
Penalty	53. (1) Subject to this section and section 54, if a person fails to pay an amount to the Receiver General as and when required under this Act, the person shall pay a penalty of 6% per year on the amount not paid, computed for the period that begins on the first day after the day on or before which the amount was required to be paid and that ends on the day the amount is paid.
No penalty if security	(2) If on a particular day the Minister holds security under section 73 in respect of an amount payable by a person under this Act, the penalty under this section applies on the particular day only to the extent that the total of all amounts payable by the person under this Act that are outstanding on the particular day exceeds the value of the security at the time it was accepted by the Minister.
Payment before specified date	(3) If the Minister has served a demand that a person pay on or before a specified date all amounts payable by the person under this Act on the date of the demand, and the person pays the amount demanded on or before the specified date, the Minister shall waive any penalty or interest that would otherwise apply in respect of the amount demanded for the period beginning on the first day following the date of the demand and ending on the day of payment.
Effect of extension for returns	54. If the Minister extends the time within which a return of a person shall be filed, the return is filed at or before the expiry of the time so extended, and any amount that the person is required to pay with the return is paid at or before that time, no penalty under section 53 is payable in respect of the return or the amount.
Waiving or cancelling penalties	55. The Minister may waive or cancel penalties payable by a person under section 53.
Failure to answer demand	56. Every person who fails to file a return as and when required under a demand issued under section 26 is liable to a penalty equal to the greater of
	(a) $250, and
	(b) 5% of the amount payable under this Act by the person, for the fiscal month to which the demand applies, that was unpaid on the day that the return was due.
Failure to provide information	57. Every person who fails to provide any information or record as and when required under this Act is liable to a penalty of $100 for every failure unless, in the case of information required in respect of another person, a reasonable effort was made by the person to obtain the information.
False statements or omissions	58. Every person who knowingly, or under circumstances amounting to gross negligence, makes or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of a false statement or omission in a return, application, form, certificate, statement, invoice or answer (each of which is in this section referred to as a ``return'') is liable to a penalty of the greater of $250 and 25% of the total of
	(a) if the false statement or omission is relevant to the determination of an amount payable under this Act by the person, the amount, if any, by which
	(i) the amount payable
	exceeds
	(ii) the amount that would be payable by the person if the amount payable were determined on the basis of the information provided in the return, and
	(b) if the false statement or omission is relevant to the determination of a refund or any other payment that may be obtained under this Act, the amount, if any, by which
	(i) the amount that would be the refund or other payment payable to the person if the refund or other payment were determined on the basis of the information provided in the return
	exceeds
	(ii) the amount of the refund or other payment payable to the person.
	Penalty Imposition
Notice of imposed penalty	59. A penalty that a person is liable to pay under any of sections 56 to 58 may be imposed by the Minister by a notice served personally or by registered or certified mail to the person's latest known address, which notice is deemed to be an assessment.
When penalty becomes payable	60. The amount of penalty imposed on a person under section 59 is payable by the person to the Receiver General at the time it is imposed.
	Offences and Punishment
Offence for failure to file return or to comply with demand or order	61. (1) Every person who fails to file or make a return as and when required under this Act or who fails to comply with an obligation under subsection 37(5) or (8) or section 38 or an order made under section 66 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 $1,000 and not more than $25,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both.
Saving	(2) A person who is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) for a failure to comply with a provision of this Act is not liable to pay a penalty imposed under section 56 or 57 for the same failure, unless a notice of assessment for the penalty was issued before the information or complaint giving rise to the conviction was laid or made.
Offences for false or deceptive statement	62. (1) Every person commits an offence who
	(a) makes, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false or deceptive statement in a return, application, certificate, record or answer filed or made as required under this Act;
	(b) for the purposes of evading payment of any amount payable under this Act, or obtaining a refund to which the person is not entitled under this Act,
	(i) destroys, alters, mutilates, conceals or otherwise disposes of any records of a person, or
	(ii) makes, or assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false or deceptive entry, or omits, or assents to or acquiesces in the omission, to enter a material particular in the records of a person;
	(c) wilfully, in any manner, evades or attempts to evade compliance with this Act or payment of an amount payable under this Act;
	(d) wilfully, in any manner, obtains or attempts to obtain a refund to which the person is not entitled under this Act; or
	(e) conspires with any person to commit an offence described in any of paragraphs (a) to (d).
Punishment	(2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and, in addition to any penalty otherwise provided, is liable to
	(a) a fine of not less than 50%, and not more than 200%, of the amount payable that was sought to be evaded, or of the refund sought, or, if the amount that was sought to be evaded cannot be ascertained, a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $25,000;
	(b) imprisonment for a term not exceeding 18 months; or
	(c) both a fine referred to in paragraph (a) and imprisonment for a term not exceeding 18 months.
Penalty on conviction	(3) A person who is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) is not liable to pay a penalty imposed under any of sections 56 to 58 for the same evasion or attempt unless a notice of assessment for that penalty was issued before the information or complaint giving rise to the conviction was laid or made.
Stay of appeal	(4) If, in any appeal under this Act, 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, on doing so, the proceedings before the Tax Court are stayed pending a final determination of the outcome of the prosecution.
Failure to pay or collect charges	63. Every person who wilfully fails to pay or collect a charge as and when required under this Act 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 charge that should have been paid or collected;
	(b) imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months; or
	(c) both a fine referred to in paragraph (a) and imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.
General offence	64. Every person who fails to comply with any provision of this Act or the regulations made under this Act for which no other offence is specified in this Act is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding $1,000.
Defence of due diligence	65. No person shall be convicted of an offence under this Act if the person establishes that they exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.
Compliance orders	66. If a person is convicted by a court of an offence for a failure to comply with a provision of this Act, the court may make such order as it deems proper in order to enforce compliance with the provision.
Officers of corporations, etc.	67. If a person other than an individual commits an offence under this Act, 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 or not the person has been prosecuted or convicted.
Power to decrease punishment	68. Despite the Criminal Code or any other law, the court has, in any prosecution or proceeding under this Act, neither the power to impose less than the minimum fine fixed under this Act nor the power to suspend sentence.
Information or complaint	69. (1) An information or complaint under this Act may be laid or made by any officer of the Agency, by a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or by any person authorized to do so by the Minister and, if an information or complaint purports to have been laid or made under this Act, it is 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.
Two or more offences	(2) An information or complaint in respect of an offence under this Act may be for one or more offences, and no information, complaint, warrant, conviction or other proceeding in a prosecution under this Act is objectionable or insufficient by reason of the fact that it relates to two or more offences.
Territorial jurisdiction	(3) An information or complaint in respect of an offence under this Act may be heard, tried or determined by any court, if the accused is resident, carrying on a commercial activity, found or apprehended or is in custody within the court's territorial jurisdiction even though the matter of the information or complaint did not arise within that territorial jurisdiction.
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 Act, may be laid or made within two years after the day on which the matter of the information or complaint arose.
	Inspections
By whom	70. (1) A person authorized by the Minister to do so may, at all reasonable times, for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act, inspect, audit or examine the records, processes, property or premises of a person in order to determine whether that or any other person is in compliance with this Act.
Powers of authorized person	(2) For the purposes of an inspection, audit or examination, the authorized person may
	(a) enter any place in which the authorized person reasonably believes the person keeps records or carries on any activity to which this Act applies; and
	(b) require any individual to be present during the inspection, audit or examination and require that individual to answer all proper questions and to give to the authorized person all reasonable assistance.
Prior authorization	(3) If any place referred to in paragraph (2)(a) is a dwelling-house, the 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).
Warrant to enter dwelling-hous e	(4) A judge may issue a warrant authorizing a person to enter a dwelling-house subject to the conditions specified in the warrant if, on ex parte application by the Minister, a judge is satisfied by information on oath that
	(a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the dwelling-house is a place referred to in paragraph (2)(a);
	(b) entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act; and
	(c) entry into the dwelling-house has been, or there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry will be, refused.
Orders if entry not authorized	(5) If the judge is not satisfied that entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act, the judge may, to the extent that access was or may be expected to be refused and that a record or property is or may be expected to be kept in the dwelling-house,
	(a) order the occupant of the dwelling-house to provide a person with reasonable access to any record or property that is or should be kept in the dwelling-house; and
	(b) make any other order that is appropriate in the circumstances to carry out the purposes of this Act.
Definition of ``dwelling-ho use''	(6) In this section, ``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.
Copies of records	71. A person who inspects, audits, examines or is provided a record under section 70 may make, or cause to be made, one or more copies of the record.

Bill C-49

ENFORCEMENT

Penalties

Penalty Imposition

Offences and Punishment

Inspections