The initial assessment of a particular year of the taxpayer resulted in an amount of tax payable, which remained unpaid, so that interest accrued thereon. A non-capital loss was then carried back from the second subsequent taxation year pursuant to s. 152(6), resulting in CRA issuing a notification that no tax was payable for the particular year.
The taxpayer then requested an amendment to its return for the particular year (which now was statute-barred) so as to recharacterize as a capital gain an amount previously reported as business income, thereby eliminating the loss carryback. The Directorate stated:
[A]cceding to the taxpayer’s request to amend the return filed for the particular year would require the loss carryback to be eliminated and would have no impact on the tax payable for that year … [so that] no reassessment would be required. Accordingly … the Minister may, at any time, notify again the taxpayer that no tax is payable.
However, although on “receiving a request to amend a return, the Minister is required to examine the amended return and issue a reasonable decision … [w]here it would not be appropriate for the Minister to accept the taxpayer’s request to amend the return, the Minister can deny the request.”