Section 150.1 — Income Tax Act: Definition of electronic filing

For the purposes of this section, electronic filing means using electronic media in a manner specified in writing by the Minister. A person who meets the criteria specified in writing by the Minister may file a return of income for a taxation year by way of electronic filing. If a corporation is, in respect of a taxation year, a prescribed corporation, the corporation shall file its return of income for the taxation year by way of electronic filing. In this section and subsection 162(7.3), tax preparer , for a calendar year, means a person or partnership who, in the year, accepts consideration to prepare more than five returns of income of corporations, more than five returns of income of individuals (other than trusts) or more than five returns of income of estates or trusts, but does not include an employee who prepares returns of income in the course of performing their duties of employment. A tax preparer shall file any return of income prepared by the tax preparer for consideration by way of electronic filing, except that five of the returns of corporations, five of the returns of individuals (other than trusts) and five of the returns of estates or trusts may be filed other than by way of electronic filing. Subsection (2.3) does not apply to a tax preparer for a calendar year in respect of a return of income of a type for which the tax preparer has applied to the Minister for authority to file by way of electronic filing for the year and for which that authority has not been granted because the tax preparer does not meet the criteria referred to in subsection (2); of a corporation described in any of paragraphs 205.1(2)(a) to (c) of the Income Tax Regulations ; or of a type that the Minister does not accept by way of electronic filing. For the purposes of section 150, where a return of income of a taxpayer for a taxation year is filed by way of electronic filing, it shall be deemed to be a return of income filed with the Minister in prescribed form on the day the Minister acknowledges acceptance of it. If a return of income of a taxpayer for a taxation year is filed by way of electronic filing by a particular person (in this subsection referred to as the “filer”) other than the person who is required to file the return, the person who is required to file the return shall make an information return in prescribed form containing prescribed information, retain a copy of it and provide the filer with the information return, and that return and the copy shall be deemed to be a record referred to in section 230 in respect of the filer and the other person. Notwithstanding subsection 244(14.1), a notice of assessment in respect of a return of income for a taxation year of an individual is presumed to have been sent to the individual and received by the individual on the day that it is made available, using electronic means, to the individual, if the return of income is filed by way of electronic filing; and the individual has authorized that notices or other communications may be made available in that manner and has not before that date revoked that authorization in a manner specified by the Minister. This section also applies to Parts I.2 to XIII, with such modifications as the circumstances require.