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ARTICLE · 12 MAY 2026

Dispute Record Risk At CRA Reassessment

Counter Tax Litigators LLP
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By the time the CRA issues the reassessment, the record is already taking shape. During the objection, the CRA will reinforce its interpretation of the facts and how they apply...

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Unless challenged early, audit and objection assumptions will influence the outcome. Zelkova Design Ltd. v. HMK.

By the time the CRA issues the reassessment, the record is already taking shape. During the objection, the CRA will reinforce its interpretation of the facts and how they apply. That view appears in audit and objection working papers and in what the auditor or appeals officer later states they assumed. 

The DoJ builds on the CRA’s position. It decides what to include in the pleading and what to leave out. What enters the Court record remains unless a party asks the Court to apply the rules and the Court agrees to remove it. 

The Situation

In Zelkova Design Ltd. v. The King, the dispute involved denied deductions, penalties, and a reassessment outside the normal period. However, in its reply, the DoJ added information about prior audits, charges, and a guilty plea tied to different years and a different entity.

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