Canada Revenue Agency Act

This Act may be cited as the Canada Revenue Agency Act.

The definitions in this section apply in this Act.

Agency means the Canada Revenue Agency continued by subsection 4(1). (Agence)

Board means the Board of Management of the Agency established by section 14. (conseil)

Commissioner means the Commissioner of Revenue appointed under section 25. (commissaire)

Minister means the Minister of National Revenue, appointed to serve at pleasure by commission under the Great Seal. (ministre)

program legislation means any other Act of Parliament or any instrument made under it, or any part of such an Act or instrument

that the Governor in Council or Parliament authorizes the Minister, the Agency, the Commissioner or an employee of the Agency to administer or enforce, including

the Excise Act,

the Excise Tax Act,

the Customs Act,

the Income Tax Act,

the Air Travellers Security Charge Act,

the Excise Act, 2001,

the Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge Act, 2006,

the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act,

the Underused Housing Tax Act,

the Select Luxury Items Tax Act, and

[Repealed, 2026, c. 3, s. 147]

the Global Minimum Tax Act; or

under which the Minister or another minister authorizes the Agency, the Commissioner or an employee of the Agency to administer a program or carry out an activity. (législation fiscale)

This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency is continued as a body corporate under the name of the Canada Revenue Agency.

The Agency is for all purposes an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada.

The headquarters of the Agency must be at such place in Canada as may be designated by the Governor in Council.

The Agency is responsible for

supporting the administration and enforcement of the program legislation;

implementing agreements between the Government of Canada or the Agency and the government of a province or other public body performing a function of government in Canada to carry out an activity or administer a tax or program;

implementing agreements or arrangements between the Agency and departments or agencies of the Government of Canada to carry out an activity or administer a program; and

implementing agreements between the Government of Canada and an aboriginal government to administer a tax.

The Agency may provide any support, advice and services that can be provided in the course of carrying out its mandate under subsection (1).

The powers, duties and functions of the Minister extend to and include all matters over which Parliament has jurisdiction, not by law assigned to any department, board or agency of the Government of Canada other than the Agency, relating to

[Repealed, 2005, c. 38, s. 40]

duties of excise;

stamp duties and the preparation and issue of stamps and stamped paper, except postage stamps, and the Excise Tax Act, except as therein otherwise provided;

internal taxes, unless otherwise provided, including income taxes;

the collection of debts due to Her Majesty under Part V.1 of the Customs Act; and

such other subjects as may be assigned to the Minister by Parliament or the Governor in Council.

The Minister is responsible for the Agency.

The Minister may designate any person, or person within a class of persons, as an officer as defined in section 2 of the Excise Act or section 2 of the Excise Act, 2001 to exercise any powers or perform any duties and functions of an officer under those Acts that the Minister may specify.

The Minister may authorize the Commissioner or any other person employed or engaged by the Agency or who occupies a position of responsibility in the Agency, subject to any terms and conditions that the Minister may specify, to exercise or perform on the Minister’s behalf any power, duty or function of the Minister under any Act of Parliament or of a province.

Subsection (1) does not apply where an Act of Parliament, other than this Act, or an Act of a province authorizes the Minister to delegate the power, duty or function to any person or authorizes any person to exercise or perform it.

Subsection (1) does not include

a power to make regulations; or

a power, duty or function of the Minister under this Act, other than those referred to in subsection 6(1) or section 7.

The Commissioner may authorize any person employed or engaged by the Agency or who occupies a position of responsibility in the Agency to exercise or perform on the Minister’s behalf any power, duty or function that the Commissioner is authorized to exercise or perform under subsection (1).

The Minister may direct the Commissioner or any other person in the exercise of a power or the performance of a duty or function of the Minister that the Commissioner or the person is authorized to exercise or perform under subsection 8(1) or (4) or under the program legislation.

If another federal minister authorizes the Commissioner or any other person employed or engaged by the Agency or who occupies a position of responsibility in the Agency to exercise a power or perform a duty or function, the Minister may, at the request of that federal minister, direct the person in the exercise of the power or performance of the duty or function.

The Minister may issue a written direction to the Agency, addressed to the Chair of the Board, on any matter within the authority or responsibility of the Board that, in the Minister’s opinion, affects public policy or could materially affect public finances.

A direction issued under subsection (1) is not a statutory instrument for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.

Every person who is directed by the Minister under section 9 or 10 or subsection 11(1) must comply with the direction.

The Minister may inquire into any activity of the Agency and has access to any information under the Agency’s control.

There shall be a Board of Management of the Agency consisting of fifteen directors, including the Chair, the Commissioner, a director nominated by each province and one director nominated by the territories.

Each director, other than the Commissioner and the Chair, must be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure for any term of not more than three years that will ensure, as far as possible, the expiry in any one year of the terms of office of not more than one half of the directors.

Each director nominated by a province or the territories must be selected by the Governor in Council from a list of nominees submitted by the minister responsible for revenue administration in the province or a territory, or by another minister that the province or a territory designates.

If a province does not submit, or none of the territories submit, a list of nominees who are qualified for appointment as directors within two months after the day on which this Act is assented to, or within six months after the day on which the position of the director nominated by the province or territories becomes vacant, the Governor in Council may appoint a director, notwithstanding subsection (2).

The directors must be persons who, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, have the experience and the capacity required for discharging their functions.

No person may be appointed or continue as a director of the Agency who

is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;

is a member of the Senate or House of Commons or a member of a provincial or territorial legislature; or

is employed on a full-time basis in the federal public administration or the public service of a province or territory.

Paragraph (2)(c) does not apply to the Commissioner.

The Governor in Council may renew the term of office of a director, other than the Chair or the Commissioner, for a maximum of two further terms of not more than three years each, but in the case of a director nominated by a province or the territories, the nomination must first be renewed.

If a director, other than the Chair or the Commissioner, is not appointed to take office on the expiry of the term of an incumbent director, the incumbent director may continue in office until a successor is appointed.

All the directors except the Commissioner must carry out the duties and functions of their office on a part-time basis.

The Agency must pay the directors, other than the Commissioner, the fees fixed by the Governor in Council for attendance at meetings of the Board or any committee of directors, or for the performance of other duties.

The directors, other than the Commissioner, are entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred by them in the course of performing their duties while absent from their ordinary place of residence.

For the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and any regulation made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act, the directors and the Deputy Commissioner appointed under subsection 26(1) are deemed to be employees in the federal public administration.

The Chair of the Board must be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure for a term of not more than five years, which term may be renewed for one further term of not more than five years.

In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Chair or a vacancy in that office, the Minister may appoint another director to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Chair, but no director may be so appointed for a term of more than sixty days without the approval of the Governor in Council.

The Chair must preside at meetings of the Board and exercise any powers and perform any duties and functions that are assigned by the by-laws of the Agency.

The Commissioner of Revenue must be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure for a term of not more than five years, which term may be renewed for one or more further terms of not more than five years each.

A Deputy Commissioner of Revenue may be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure for a term of not more than five years, which term may be renewed for one or more further terms of not more than five years each.

The Deputy Commissioner must exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions that the Commissioner assigns.

The Deputy Commissioner must act as Commissioner if the Commissioner is absent or incapacitated or the office of Commissioner is vacant and, for that purpose, has all the powers, duties and functions of the Commissioner.

In the event of the absence or incapacity of, or vacancy in the office of, the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner, the Minister may appoint an employee of the Agency to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Commissioner, but no employee may be so appointed for a term of more than sixty days without the approval of the Governor in Council.

The Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner must carry out the duties and functions of their office on a full-time basis.

The Agency must pay the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner remuneration at the rate fixed by the Governor in Council.

The Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner are entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred by them in the course of performing their duties while absent from their ordinary place of work.

The Agency has authority over all matters relating to

general administrative policy in the Agency;

the organization of the Agency;

Agency real property and Agency immovables as defined in section 73;

human resources management, including the determination of the terms and conditions of employment of persons employed by the Agency; and

internal audit in the Agency.

Notwithstanding the Financial Administration Act, the Agency is not subject to any regulation or requirement established by the Treasury Board under that Act that relates to any matter referred to in subsection (1), except in so far as any part of the regulation or requirement relates to financial management.

The Board is responsible for overseeing the organization and administration of the Agency and the management of its resources, services, property, personnel and contracts.

The Board is responsible for the development of the corporate business plan referred to in section 47.

The Board may make by-laws to carry out its responsibilities under this Act and for the conduct of its affairs.

The Board must, after making, amending or repealing a by-law, send a copy of that by-law to the Minister.

The Board may advise the Minister on matters that relate to the general administration and enforcement of the program legislation.

The Board may not direct the Commissioner or any other person

in the exercise of a power or the performance of a duty or function conferred or delegated under the program legislation or the laws of a province or authorized to be exercised or performed on the Minister’s behalf under this Act; or

on the administration and enforcement of the program legislation.

Nothing in this Act authorizes the disclosure to the Board of information

that directly or indirectly reveals the identity of the person, organization or business to which it relates; and

that is obtained under the program legislation or the laws of a province or that is prepared from information so obtained.

The Commissioner is the chief executive officer of the Agency and is responsible for the day-to-day management and direction of the Agency.

The Commissioner may authorize any person, subject to any terms and conditions that the Commissioner may specify, to exercise or perform on behalf of the Commissioner any power, duty or function of the Commissioner under this Act or any other Act.

Subsection (1) does not include a ministerial power, duty or function conferred on the Commissioner under subsection 8(1) or the Commissioner’s power under subsection 8(4) or this section.

The Commissioner must keep the Minister informed of any matter that could affect public policy or that could materially affect public finances, and any other matter that the Minister considers necessary.

The Commissioner must assist and advise the Minister in the exercise of the Minister’s powers and in the performance of the Minister’s duties and functions under any Act of Parliament or of a province and in the carrying out of the Minister’s duties as a minister of the Crown.

Subject to any confidentiality provisions in the program legislation or in the Privacy Act, the Commissioner must provide a federal department or agency on whose behalf the Agency administers a program or carries out an activity with the information necessary to evaluate the program or activity and formulate policies related to it.

The Commissioner must consult with any federal department or agency on whose behalf the Agency administers a program or carries out an activity on matters that could have a significant impact on the program or activity.

Subject to any confidentiality provisions in the program legislation or in the Privacy Act, the Commissioner must provide the government of a province on whose behalf the Agency administers a tax or program or carries out an activity with the information necessary to evaluate the tax, program or activity and formulate policies related to it.

The Commissioner must consult with the government of a province on whose behalf the Agency administers a tax or program or carries out an activity on matters that could have a significant impact on the tax, program or activity.

The Commissioner must annually report on the Agency’s administration of any tax or program or its carrying out of any activity on behalf of a province to the responsible provincial minister or to any other minister that the province designates.

The Commissioner must offer to meet annually with the provincial minister referred to in subsection (1) to consider the minister’s views and recommendations related to the Agency’s administration of any tax or program or carrying out of any activity on behalf of the province.

Every director of the Agency, in exercising their powers and performing their duties and functions, must

act honestly and in good faith, with a view to the best interests of the Agency having regard to its mandate; and

exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances.

A director is not liable for a breach of duty under subsection (1) if the director relies in good faith on

the financial statements of the Agency represented in a written report by the Auditor General or an employee of the Agency who is authorized to issue such a report as fairly reflecting the Agency’s financial condition; or

a report of an accountant, lawyer, notary or other professional person whose profession lends credibility to a statement made by them.

A director is not liable for a breach of duty under subsection (1) by reason only of an act or omission of another person in respect of a matter referred to in section 34 on which the Board may not direct.

Compliance with a direction issued by the Minister under subsection 11(1) is deemed to be in the best interests of the Agency.

A director of the Agency must disclose any interest in a material contract or proposed material contract with the Agency by writing to the Agency or by requesting to have entered in the minutes of a meeting of the Board the nature and extent of the interest, if the director

is a party to a material contract or proposed material contract with the Agency; or

is a director or officer of, or has a material interest in, any person who is a party to a material contract or proposed material contract with the Agency.

The disclosure required by subsection (1) must be made

at the meeting of the Board at which the proposed contract is first considered;

if the director was not then interested in the proposed contract, at the first meeting of the Board after the director becomes interested;

if the director becomes interested after the contract is made, at the first meeting of the Board after the director becomes interested; or

if the director was interested in the contract before becoming a director, at the first meeting of the Board after becoming a director.

If a material contract or proposed material contract is one that in the ordinary course of the business or activity of the Agency would not require approval by the Board, a director must disclose in writing to the Agency or request to have entered in the minutes of a meeting of the Board the nature and extent of the director’s interest as soon as the director becomes aware of the contract or proposed contract.

A director referred to in subsection (1) may not vote on any resolution to approve the contract.

For the purposes of this section, a general notice to the Board by a director, declaring that they are a director or officer of or have a material interest in a person and are to be regarded as interested in any contract made with that person, is a sufficient declaration of interest in relation to any contract so made.

A material contract between the Agency and one or more of its directors or between the Agency and another person of which a director of the Agency is a director or an officer or in which the director has a material interest, is neither void nor voidable by reason only of that relationship or by reason only that a director with an interest in the contract is present at or is counted to determine the presence of a quorum at a meeting of the Board that authorized the contract, if

the director disclosed the interest in accordance with subsection 43(2), (3) or (5); and

the contract was approved by the Board and it was reasonable and fair to the Agency at the time it was approved.

If a director of the Agency fails to disclose their interest in a material contract in accordance with section 43, a court may, on application of the Agency or on behalf of the Crown, set aside the contract on any terms that it thinks fit.

In this section, court has the same meaning as in subsection 118(2) of the Financial Administration Act.

The Agency may indemnify a present or former director of the Agency and the director’s heirs and legal representatives against all costs, charges and expenses, including an amount paid to settle an action or satisfy a judgment, that are reasonably incurred by the director in respect of any civil, criminal or administrative action or proceeding to which the director is a party by reason of being or having been a director, if the director

acted honestly and in good faith, with a view to the best interests of the Agency having regard to its mandate; and

in the case of any criminal or administrative action or proceeding that is enforced by a monetary penalty, believed on reasonable grounds that the director’s conduct was lawful.

An amount that is payable in respect of indemnification under this section may be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The Agency must annually submit a corporate business plan to the Minister for recommendation to the Treasury Board for approval. The Treasury Board may approve the plan subject to any terms and conditions that it may specify.

The corporate business plan must cover any period that the Treasury Board may specify and include a statement, for that period, of

the Agency’s objectives;

the strategies that the Agency intends to use to achieve its objectives, including

operational and financial strategies, and

human resource strategies and their impact on overall salaries and benefits;

the Agency’s expected performance;

the Agency’s operating and capital budgets, including grants and contributions and revenues from the conduct of the Agency’s operations; and

any other strategic information that the Treasury Board may require.

The Agency must submit the corporate business plan in the form and manner and within the time specified by the Treasury Board and provide any further information that the Treasury Board may require in respect of it.

The Agency must act in a manner consistent with its most recent corporate business plan and comply with any terms and conditions specified by the Treasury Board.

After the Treasury Board approves the corporate business plan, the Agency must submit a summary of the plan to the Minister for approval.

The Minister must cause a copy of the summary to be tabled in each House of Parliament on any of the first fifteen days on which that House is sitting after the Minister approves it.

The summary of the corporate business plan must include a summary of each of the statements referred to in subsection 47(2) and a statement of the principles that will govern the Agency’s staffing program.

The Agency is a separate agency under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act.

The Agency may, in the exercise of its responsibilities in relation to human resources management,

determine its requirements with respect to human resources and provide for the allocation and effective utilization of human resources;

determine requirements for the training and development of its personnel and fix the terms and conditions on which that training and development may be carried out;

provide for the classification of Agency positions and employees;

after consulting with the President of the Treasury Board, determine and regulate the pay to which persons employed by the Agency are entitled for services rendered, the hours of work and leave of those persons and any related matters;

provide for the awards that may be made to persons employed by the Agency for outstanding performance of their duties, for other meritorious achievement in relation to those duties and for inventions or practical suggestions for improvements;

establish standards of discipline for its employees and prescribe the financial and other penalties, including termination of employment and suspension, that may be applied for breaches of discipline or misconduct and the circumstances and manner in which and the authority by which or by whom those penalties may be applied or may be varied or rescinded in whole or in part;

provide for the termination of employment or the demotion to a position at a lower maximum rate of pay, for reasons other than breaches of discipline or misconduct, of persons employed by the Agency and establish the circumstances and manner in which and the authority by which or by whom those measures may be taken or may be varied or rescinded in whole or in part;

after consulting with the President of the Treasury Board, determine and regulate the payments that may be made to Agency employees by way of reimbursement for travel or other expenses and by way of allowances in respect of expenses and conditions arising out of their employment; and

provide for any other matters that the Agency considers necessary for effective personnel management, including terms and conditions of employment not otherwise specifically provided for in this subsection.

The Commissioner must apply the penalties, including termination of employment and suspension, under paragraph (1)(f) and provide for termination or demotion under paragraph (1)(g) on behalf of the Agency.

The Agency may establish or enter into a contract to acquire group insurance or benefit programs for its employees and may set any terms and conditions in respect of those programs, including those relating to premiums, contributions, benefits, management and control and expenditures to be made from those contributions and premiums, and may audit and make contributions and pay premiums in respect of those programs.

The Financial Administration Act does not apply to any contributions made or premiums paid by the Agency or the members in respect of any program established under subsection (1) or any benefits received by the members of such a program.

The Agency has the exclusive right and authority to appoint any employees that it considers necessary for the proper conduct of its business.

The Commissioner must exercise the appointment authority under subsection (1) on behalf of the Agency.

The Agency must develop a program governing staffing, including the appointment of, and recourse for, employees.

No collective agreement may deal with matters governed by the staffing program.

For the purpose of deployments or appointments made, or advertised internal appointment processes, under the Public Service Employment Act, employees of the Agency must be treated as if they were employees within the meaning of the Public Service Employment Act and had the rights of recourse provided by that Act.

The Public Service Commission may, in consultation with the Treasury Board, set terms and conditions for the deployment of Agency employees to departments and agencies under the Public Service Employment Act if, in the opinion of the Commission, the principles governing the Agency’s staffing program are incompatible with those governing staffing under the Public Service Employment Act.

When the Agency considers employees within the meaning of the Public Service Employment Act for employment within the Agency, it must treat them as if they were employees of the Agency and had the rights of recourse of Agency employees.