Florida Ceilings Inc. v. Canada

Florida Ceilings Inc. v. Canada Court (s) Database Federal Court of Appeal Decisions Date 2004-09-14 Neutral citation 2004 FCA 296 File numbers A-149-03 Decision Content Date: 20040914 Docket: A-149-03 Citation: 2004 FCA 296 CORAM: ROTHSTEIN J.A. SHARLOW J.A. MALONE J.A. BETWEEN: FLORIDA CEILINGS INC. Appellant and HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN Respondent Heard at Toronto, Ontario on September 14, 2004. Judgment delivered from the Bench at Toronto, Ontario on September 14, 2004. REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT BY: SHARLOW J.A. Date: 20040914 Docket: A-149-03 Citation: 2004 FCA 296 CORAM: ROTHSTEIN J.A. SHARLOW J.A. MALONE J.A. BETWEEN: FLORIDA CEILINGS INC. Appellant and HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN Respondent REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Delivered from the Bench at Toronto, Ontario on September 14, 2004.) SHARLOW J.A. [1] This is an appeal from a judgment of the Tax Court of Canada granting the Crown's motion to dismiss, for lack of jurisdiction, an appeal commenced by the appellant in that Court: Florida Ceilings Inc. v. Canada, [2003] T.C.J. No. 78, [2003] G.S.T.C. 37. [2] The Crown is attempting to collect from the appellant certain amounts payable under the provisions of the Excise Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-15, relating to goods and services tax (GST). On December 4, 2001, the tax authorities sent a document to the appellant that bore the title "Notice of (Re) Assessment - Goods and Services Tax / Harmonized Sales Tax". The key contents of that document are found in a single line which reads as follows: Total amount assessed 0.00 Total amount owing 307,146.28 as of December 04, 2001 [3] The appellant filed a notice of objection in response to the December 4, 2001 document. The tax authorities treated the objection as invalid. The appellant appealed to the Tax Court of Canada on the basis that the objection had not been dealt with within the 180 days permitted by the applicable provisions of the Excise Tax Act. The Crown then filed a notice of motion seeking to have the appeal quashed for lack of jurisdiction. The Tax Court Judge granted the motion. [4] The position of the Crown in the Tax Court, and in this Court, is that the appeal is an invalid attempt to challenge a notice of assessment that was issued on July 12, 1995 for tax payable in respect of the period April 1, 1991 to March 31, 1995. [5] It was open to the Tax Court Judge to conclude, as he did, that the December 4, 2001 document was not a notice of assessment, and that the amounts referred to in the December 4, 2001 document were the subject of a notice of assessment dated July 12, 1995. Given those factual conclusions, the Tax Court Judge was correct to allow the Crown's motion and quash the appeal. [6] For these reasons, this appeal will be dismissed with costs which are fixed at $1,000 inclusive of disbursements. "Karen R. Sharlow" J.A. FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD DOCKET: A-149-03 STYLE OF CAUSE: FLORIDA CEILINGS INC. Appellant and HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN Respondent PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO DATE OF HEARING: SEPTEMBER 14, 2004 REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT BY: (ROTHSTEIN J.A., SHARLOW J.A., MALONE J.A.) DELIVERED FROM THE BENCH BY: SHARLOW J.A. APPEARANCES BY: Mr. Ross Morrison FOR THE APPELLANT Mr. Shatru Ghan FOR THE RESPONDENT SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Morrison, Brown, Sosnovitch LLP Toronto, Ontario FOR THE APPELLANT Morris Rosenberg Deputy Attorney General of Canada Toronto, Ontario FOR THE RESPONDENT