Appeals

Under the International Financial Activity Act, you have the right to appeal:

if you are refused registration if your registration is suspended or cancelled decisions regarding your refund or interest if you are assessed an administrative penalty if the commissioner rules you have not provided satisfactory proof for your refund the effective date of your registration

There are two levels of appeal:

1. appeal to the Minister of Small Business and Revenue
2. appeal to the Court

To file a formal appeal, you must serve a notice of appeal on the Minister of Small Business and Revenue within 90 days of the mailing date of the Notice in respect of the matter you are appealing. If sent by mail or courier, the appeal must be received by the ministry within 90 days. A separate notice of appeal must be filed for each Notice you are disputing.

The notice of appeal must be in writing and sent to:

The Minister of Small Business and Revenue
PO BOX 9629 STN PROV GOVT
VICTORIA BC  V8W 9N6

Please be sure to clearly state the following:

• your name, address and telephone number
• the decision in dispute
• the reasons for the appeal
• the facts on which the appeal is based

Once a formal appeal is submitted, the minister will consider the matter, and then amend, rescind or affirm the decision and notify you.

If you are in disagreement with the Minister's decision, you may further appeal the matter to the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

An appeal to the Court is started by filing a petition under the Supreme Court Rules. The petition must be filed in the Supreme Court Registry within 90 days of the date of the Minister's notification of decision.

The Crown is named in the petition as "Her Majesty The Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia".

Within 14 days of filing the petition, it must be served on the Attorney General in Victoria. You can:

• leave it with a solicitor on the staff of the Attorney General at 11th Floor – 1001 Douglas Street in Victoria during office hours
• mail it by registered mail to the Deputy Attorney General in Victoria

The address for the Deputy Attorney General in Victoria is:

PO BOX 9280 STN PROV GOVT
VICTORIA BC  V8W 9J7

If you are in disagreement with the decision of the Supreme Court, you may seek leave to appeal the court decision to the Court of Appeal from a justice of that court.

Any outstanding tax, penalties or interest is payable even though an appeal has been filed. Please direct any enquiries concerning payment of the outstanding tax liability to Revenue Services of British Columbia – Collections at 1-866-361-5050.

If the Minister's or Court's decision results in an increased refund, it will be paid with interest.