The Canada Revenue Agency: The First Five Years

Setting the Foundation for Tax and Benefit Administration in the 21^st Century

The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Act created the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, now the Canada Revenue Agency, on November 1, 1999. The Act requires a mandatory parliamentary review and assessment of the provisions and operation of the Act after five years. As part of the review, the Minister of National Revenue submitted the document entitled "The Canada Revenue Agency: The First Five Years – Setting the Foundation for Tax and Benefit Administration in the 21^st Century". The document describes the provisions of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Act, their implementation by the Agency, and the consequences the legislation has had for the Agency's operations and the quality of its services.

Note

On December 12, 2003, the Government announced that the Customs function of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) was transferred to the Canada Border Services Agency. As a result of this transfer, it is proposed that the CCRA be continued under the name of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). This name change is contemplated in Bill C-26, An Act to establish the Canada Border Services Agency, which has received second reading at the time of printing of this document.

To reflect these proposed legislative changes, and to ensure the reader understands that the information contained in this document pertains only to the CRA, we are using the name of the CRA throughout this document. It should be noted, however, that all references to the CRA contained in the body of this document are to be read as a reference to the CCRA.