The Federal Government is conducting audits of the CEWS program
and requesting businesses to provide proof of eligibility for the
support they received.
On March 15, 2020, the federal government introduced the Canada
Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program to assist qualifying
employers adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To date,
CEWS has provided significant subsidies to Canadian employers that
applied and received claims under the program.
Now the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has commenced its
post-payment audit of the CEWS program, beginning with a small
sample audit of CEWS claims back in August 2020. On December 7,
2021, the CRA sent out communications to tax practitioners and
other stakeholders that it would be continuing its audit activities
in the fall of 2021. These audit activities are expected to
continue into 2022. As of the date of this article, taxpayers and
tax practitioners are starting to see these letters come in from
the CRA.
