Canada Revenue Agency
www.cra.gc.ca
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Assessment of Returns and Payment Processing
Processing visitor GST/HST rebate applications
We aim to meet this timeliness standard 95% of the time.
Communication of this Standard:
Background: In 2004-2005, the Corporate Business Plan noted a downward adjustment of the target from 100% of cases processed within six weeks, to 95% of cases. It had become apparent that this was a more reasonable target, since we must inevitably account for claims that contain errors and/or require additional research or claimant input before completion.
We processed 86,201 Visitor Rebate/Foreign Convention and Tour Incentive claims in 2007-2008, rebating over $8,927,219. On September 25th, 2006, the Government of Canada announced amendments to the Excise Tax Act that eliminated the Visitor Rebate Program effective April 1, 2007. We anticipate the majority of all 2007-2008 rebate claims have already been processed, but the final date for grandfathered applications is April 2010. The expectation is that claims being filed between April 2009 and April 2010 would be very few.
The legislative amendments required to replace this program with the new Foreign Convention and Tour Incentive Program received Royal Assent on June 22, 2007.
Performance: While we processed visitor GST/HST rebate claims in line with our target for previous years, timeliness of service for 2007-2008 was impacted while CRA awaited passage of legislation that cancelled the program. For a period of time, inventories were being stockpiled and could not be processed until CRA received the final legislation.
Complaint and Redress Mechanisms: Applicants are informed, on the back of their Notice of Assessment, of their right to appeal and of the ensuing process. Applicant complaints and program enquiries are received by mail, telephone, fax, and email.
If taxpayers are still dissatisfied with a service provided by the CRA, they have the right to file a formal complaint with CRA – Service Complaints.
Monitoring: Mainframe, ad hoc, and manual measurement systems are used to establish the actual performance against the four to six weeks processing standard.
Satisfaction Surveys: Surveys are completed by telephone during the Quality Assurance review process. The most recent was completed in June 2006.
Future Considerations: After April 1, 2009, claimants still had one year to file their rebate applications. A new standard was applied at that point for the duration of the program due to the legislative change to interest accrual from 60 days to 30 days. The service standard changed to four weeks.
