CRA is doing its part in expediting SR&ED claims, are you?

Written by Raj Phalpher.

CRA has substantially improved its performance in expediting SR&ED claims over the past few quarters.

Of more interest to CCPC’s is the wide gap in response time of 60 days vs.160 days for the claims filed within 6 months of year end vs. those filed between 6 and 18 months. CRA's performance is as follows:

Success Rate and Average Processing Times: April 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013

Type of Claim	CRA Success Rate	Average Days within CRA's control	Average Days outside CRA's control	Total Average Time (days)*
Refundable claims 120 Days	97%	32	27	60
Refundable claimant-adjusted claims 240 Days	93%	106	54	160
Non-Refundable claims 365 Days	96%	88	85	173
Non-Refundable claimant-adjusted claims 365 Days	92%	166	142	308
All claims	96%	61	47	108

* The average days within CRA's control and the average days outside CRA's control may not add up to the Total Average time due to rounding.

Situations that may lead to delays outside of the CRA's control include:

Filing an incomplete claim
Filing an SR&ED claim without filing the associated income tax return
Not filing a claim at the appropriate tax centre or filing a claim at a tax services office
Being unable to respond to CRA's requests for information in a timely manner
Postponement or inability to schedule meetings with the CRA
Being unable to respond in a timely manner to a proposal letter sent by the CRA
Reviews of prior year SR&ED claims impacting the review of the current year claim
Modification to a claim during the course of a review
Requests by claimants that the review of their claim be delayed