Tax - Goods and Services Tax - Rebates
Property owner purchased new house and was credited by builder with new housing rebate under s. 254(2) of Excise Tax Act. Owner rented home to third party instead of occupying it, so Minister determined that she was not eligible for new housing rebate and assessed her for amount credited to her by builder. Owner’s application for rental property rebate under s. 256.2(3) of Act was denied as filed outside two-year limit. Owner appealed. Appeal dismissed. Owner did not file application until several months after deadline of two years after she took possession of house, as that was when tax in respect of house purchase became payable, and whether she received assessment denying new housing rebate was not relevant to determining time limit . Application for rental property rebate could not be considered amendment to new housing rebate application that she filed within two-year statutory period, as there were different prescribed forms and different prescribed information. Allowance of rebate amounts not otherwise payable due to expiry of statutory time limits, under s. 296(2.1) of Act, only applied within assessments of net tax or of overdue amounts, which both required assessment of amount payable by person under Part IX of Act. Since no amount was paid to owner in respect of rental property rebate before determination that she was not entitled to it, Minister did not assess amount payable by person under Part IX of Act and s. 296(2.1) of Act did not apply. If owner had objected to Minister’s assessment in respect of new housing rebate, she could have argued that Minister should have reduced amount being assessed in respect of that rebate by amount of rental property rebate but as she did not, it was not before court.
Zdzieblowska v. The Queen (2019), 2019 CarswellNat 503, 2019 CarswellNat 549, 2019 TCC 40, 2019 CCI 40, Steven K. D'Arcy J. (T.C.C. [Informal Procedure]).
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