The Taxpayers' Ombudsman, Sherra Profit, released on Feb. 21 a “systemic examination” of the “delays and lack of transparency” in Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) processing of individual income tax and benefit returns and adjustment requests.

The examination was launched in March 2019, and looks at the CRA's processes, its published service standards, how it reports against those standards, and service issues that arise from delays in processing individual income tax and benefit returns and adjustment requests.

The Ombudsman found that lack of clarity in the CRA's published information leaves many filers unaware their returns and adjustment requests may be excluded from or processed outside of the CRA's published service standard timeframes. “When filers contact the CRA, they are not provided clear and precise information on how long it will take to process their returns and adjustment requests,” said the Ombudsman in a statement.

"The delays and lack of clear and accurate information from the CRA about expected processing timeframes is frustrating to filers and can lead to personal and financial hardship. Filers want to understand when they can expect their return or adjustment request to be processed and, if it is delayed past that time, why it is delayed, and when they can expect it to be completed," stated Sherra Profit.

She added that the “CRA needs to find ways to reduce delays of the processing of returns and adjustment requests and do a better job of letting filers know how long it will actually take to process their return or adjustment request."

To learn more, consult the full report here.