General offences

230   (1) [Repealed 2023-23-168.]

(2) [Repealed 2024-13-229.]

(3) A person who does any of the following commits an offence:

(a) makes, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false or deceptive statement in a return, a declaration, an application for a refund or a form required to be made or filed under this Act;

(b) destroys, alters, mutilates, hides or otherwise disposes of a record to evade payment of an amount to be paid or remitted to the government under this Act;

(c) makes, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false or deceptive entry in a record related to an amount to be paid or remitted to the government under this Act;

(d) omits, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the omission of, a material particular in a record required to be kept under this Act;

(e) wilfully, in any manner, or fraudulently claims, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the claiming of, an exemption by using a document or other record in a false or deceptive manner or by making a false or deceptive declaration;

(f) wilfully, in any manner, fails to comply with this Act or the regulations;

(g) wilfully, in any manner, evades or attempts to evade compliance with this Act or the regulations or payment or remittance of taxes required under this Act;

(h) conspires with any person to do anything described in paragraphs (a) to (g).

(4) An individual who commits an offence under subsection (3) is liable to

(a) a fine of not less than 50% and not more than 200% of the amount of tax not levied, remitted or paid or equal to the amount received as a refund of a tax under this Act that was in excess of the amount that was due, as applicable,

(b) imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or

(c) both the fine and imprisonment referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection.

(4.1) A corporation that commits an offence under subsection (3) is liable to a fine of not less than 50% and not more than 200% of the amount of tax not levied, remitted or paid or equal to the amount received as a refund of tax under this Act that was in excess of the amount that was due, as applicable.

(5) In a prosecution under subsection (3), a certificate signed by the director stating the amount of tax or the amount of a refund referred to in subsection (4) or (4.1) is evidence of the amount of tax or the amount of the refund referred to in the applicable subsection.

(6) A penalty under this section is in addition to any other penalty under this Act.

Offences in relation to confidential information

230.1   (1) A person commits an offence if the person

(a) contravenes section 228 (2) [information sharing], or

(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 228 (8).

(2) A person commits an offence if

(a) the person has been provided with confidential information for a particular purpose under section 228 (5) (a) to (e), (i), (j) or (l), and

(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.

(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable to one or both of the following:

(a) a fine of not more than $5 000;

(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months.

Other offences for specific contraventions

230.2   (1) A person commits an offence if the person contravenes any of the following provisions:

(a) section 177 (1), (2) or (3) [prohibitions relating to use of registration number];

(b) section 194 (3) (a) or (7) (a) or (b) [inspection and audit powers];

(c) section 195 [requirement to provide records];

(d) section 196 (3) [demand for information].

(2) An individual who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable to

(a) a fine of not more than $100 000,

(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months, or

(c) both the fine and imprisonment referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection.

(3) A corporation that commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable to a fine of not more than $100 000.

(4) A penalty under this section is in addition to any other penalty under this Act.

Onus of proof

231   In a prosecution for failure to levy, remit or pay an amount under this Act, the onus is on the accused to prove that the accused levied the amount or remitted or paid the amount to the government.

Evidence

232   In a prosecution under this Act,

(a) evidence that a person applied to be registered under section 168 [registration] is evidence that the person is registered for the purposes of this Act,

(b) evidence that a person is described as a partnership on an application form submitted under section 168 [registration] is evidence that the persons named on the form as partners in the partnership are partners in the partnership,

(c) evidence that a person filed a collector's return is evidence that the person collected tax, and

(d) a notice of assessment given under this Act is evidence that the amount stated in the notice of assessment is due and owing.

Offence by corporation

233   If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, an employee, officer, board member or agent of the corporation who authorized, permitted or acquiesced in the offence also commits that offence, whether or not the corporation is prosecuted or convicted.

Time limit on prosecution

234   No prosecution for an offence under this Act or the regulations may be instituted more than 6 years after the day the alleged offence was committed.

Section 5 of Offence Act

235   Section 5 [general offence] of the Offence Act does not apply to this Act or the regulations.