Section 327 — Excise Tax Act: Offences

Every person who has made, or participated in, assented to or acquiesced in the making of, false or deceptive statements in a return, application, certificate, statement, document or answer filed or made as required by or under this Part or the regulations made under this Part, for the purpose of evading payment or remittance of any tax or net tax payable under this Part, or obtaining a refund or rebate to which the person is not entitled under this Part, destroyed, altered, mutilated, secreted or otherwise disposed of any documents of a person, or made, or assented to or acquiesced in the making of, false or deceptive entries, or omitted, or assented to or acquiesced in the omission, to enter a material particular in the documents of a person, wilfully, in any manner, evaded or attempted to evade compliance with this Part or payment or remittance of tax or net tax imposed under this Part, wilfully, in any manner, obtained or attempted to obtain a rebate or refund to which the person is not entitled under this Part, or conspired with any person to commit an offence described in any of paragraphs (a) to (c), is guilty of an offence and, in addition to any penalty otherwise provided, is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 50%, and not more than 200%, of the amount of the tax or net tax that was sought to be evaded, or of the rebate or refund sought, or, where the amount that was sought to be evaded cannot be ascertained, a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $25,000, or both a fine referred to in paragraph (f) and imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years. Every person who is charged with an offence described in subsection (1) may, at the election of the Attorney General of Canada, be prosecuted on indictment and, if convicted, is, in addition to any penalty otherwise provided, liable to a fine of not less than 100%, and not more than 200%, of the amount of the tax or net tax that was sought to be evaded, or of the rebate or refund sought, or, where the amount that was sought to be evaded cannot be ascertained, a fine of not less than $2,000 and not more than $25,000, or both a fine referred to in paragraph (a) and imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. A person that is convicted of an offence under this section is not liable to pay a penalty imposed under any of sections 280.1, 280.11 and 283 to 285.1 or under a regulation made under this Part for the same evasion or attempt unless a notice of assessment for that penalty was issued before the information or complaint giving rise to the conviction was laid or made. Where, in any appeal under this Part, substantially the same facts are at issue as those that are at issue in a prosecution under this section, the Minister may file a stay of proceedings with the Tax Court and thereupon the proceedings before the Tax Court are stayed pending final determination of the outcome of the prosecution.