Tax Court of Canada

The Informal Procedure is a simplified process available to taxpayers where the total tax and penalties (but not interest) at issue is CAD$25,000 or less per taxation year ($50,000 in the case of GST).

In General Procedure cases, discoveries are held by exchange of documents followed by the examination, without a judge, of one witness on behalf of each party.

One or both parties may then apply for a hearing date where witnesses will be examined and cross-examined before a judge and documents formally entered into evidence.

Generally, the Minister of National Revenue is represented by specialized tax litigation counsel from the Department of Justice.

This differs from the rules of general civil litigation, but it does offer the opportunity to develop creative settlement strategies particularly where multiple taxation years or issues are involved.