On May 30, 2016, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) made the following changes to the guidelines for resolving claimants’ SR&ED concerns in order to make the administrative review process faster and more consistent:
- Form RC532: Request for Administrative Review has been introduced to ensure that claimants provide the necessary information to the CRA to evaluate and address their requests.
- A National SR&ED Administrative Review Intake Centre has been set up to help monitor the SR&ED Administrative Reviews by distributing requests and tracking progress as well as outcomes.
- A Request for an Administrative Review can no longer be initiated prior to the claimant receiving the Proposal Package with the results of the SR&ED review. This will allow the claimant to fully understand the results of the SR&ED review and the CRA’s position so that they can best address the CRA with a full explanation of their issue or complaint.
When concerns arise during a technical and/or financial review of an SR&ED claim, the claimant is encouraged by the CRA to take the following steps to resolve their concerns, before the file is closed and processed:
- Step 1 – Talk with the Reviewer: Since issues often arise due to lack of information or misunderstanding of the claim, many concerns can be resolved by talking directly to the Research and Technology Advisor (RTA) and/or Financial Reviewer (FR) as soon as possible.
- Step 2 – Contact the Review Manager: If claimant concerns are not resolved through discussion with the reviewer, the claimant may involve the Research and Technology Manager (RTM) and/or Financial Review Manager (FRM) who will review the case and will work with the claimant and the Reviewer to resolve any concerns.
- Step 3 – Request an Administrative review: If concerns by the claimant have still not been fully addressed by the review manager, claimants should then complete the administrative review form and send it into the National SR&ED Administrative Review Intake Centre, which will be forwarded to the local SR&ED Assistant Director within three business days for processing.
The key to a successful review is being well prepared, including having all your documentation ready and on-hand. With years of experience working with claimants and reviewers, NorthBridge can help to ensure that any and all client and CRA concerns are successfully resolved.
