What kinds of cases are you looking for?   
< Previous Case Next Case >

Income tax — auditor demanding too much

My client was a Chartered Accountant. One of his clients, a trucking business that was incorporated, was being audited. The CRA auditor wanted to meet the business's owner at his home to conduct an audit. However, the accounting records were all at my client's office, and my client as the business's accountant had prepared the tax returns and was familiar with the business.

The auditor insisted to the accountant that he wanted to have the meeting at the business owner's home or at the CRA, rather than at my client's office where the records were held. He also wanted to examine four years of records. The accountant came to me for help.

I wrote a polite but firm letter to the auditor, explaining that the Income Tax Act provided that the CRA had no right to enter a home without the occupant's consent without a search warrant, and that the CRA had no right to choose who should represent the corporation in dealing with the auditor. I quoted from the CRA Audit Manual as to the procedures that the auditor should follow, why the auditor should not borrow the company's records for the audit, and why he should visit the accountant's office. I explained that my client the accountant was familiar with the business and its records and would answer any questions he had.

I also explained in my letter that the CRA Audit Manual has a policy normally limiting audits to two years. I asked the auditor for his team leader's written approval for an extension of the audit period, explaining why he needed access to four years of records. I stressed that the corporation and its accountant would be happy to comply with the audit process, provided he was following the CRA's own policies. I suggested that if he had a problem with my letter, he should refer it to the CRA's legal counsel for a legal opinion.

A few days later, the accountant advised me that the auditor had backed down from his demands, and would be coming to the accountant's office to examine only two years of records.

Problem solved!

(2010)