Responsibilities

• As an electronic filer
• In your advertising
• Monitoring
  • Suspension

As an electronic filer:

• You must renew your participation in electronic filing on a yearly basis and inform the CRA of any changes to your EFILE registration. To modify your account, access the Account maintenance page.
  
  
• Deal directly with your client. You cannot accept and transmit records from an unregistered preparer. If you offer transmission services to clients who prepare their own returns, we consider you to be acting as the tax preparer and require you to fulfill all the responsibilities outlined below.
  
  
• To protect your interests and the integrity of our tax system, take proper care to verify the identity of your client. Ensure your client has documents (such as information slips and receipts) to support all income, deductions, and credits reported or claimed on the return. Verify the authenticity of these information slips before conducting financial transactions.
  
  
• Inform your client that elections, designations, agreements, waivers, and special elective returns must be submitted on paper by the appropriate due date, as established in the Income Tax Act.
  
  
• Make sure your client completes and signs Form T183, Information Return for Electronic Filing of an Individual's Income Tax and Benefit Return, before transmitting the return.
  
  
• For each System for Electronic Notification of Debt (SEND) request submitted, get a signed Form T1153, Consent and Request Form from your client.
  
  
• Ensure the return is prepared with software that has been certified by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as compatible with either EFILE On-Line or EFILE On-Line Plus, depending on which filing option you will use to transmit.
  
  
• Use only the EFILE number and password we assigned to you when you registered or renewed. Keep this information confidential.
  
  
• Transmit eligible returns using a secure Web browser that supports 128-bit secure socket layer encryption.
  
  
• Correct rejected records and transmit again. Inform your client of any delays in the transmission or acceptance of these returns. Advise your client, in writing, of any changes to refunds or balances owing.
  
  
• Protect the confidentiality of taxpayer information and let us know immediately of any loss, suspected loss, or unauthorized disclosure of client information obtained through electronic filing.
  
  
• Ensure that all documents are properly disposed of to protect your clients' confidentiality.
  
  
• Comply with all provisions of the Income Tax Act.

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In your advertising

• Time frames quoted for processing an electronically filed return or refund have to be consistent with the time frame we quote, which is about two weeks.
  
  
• You cannot imply a special relationship with, or an endorsement by, the CRA, nor can you use the CRA's signature or marking.
  
  
• You cannot use the words authorized or agent in the advertising.
  
  
• Any public communication that refers to EFILE On-Line or EFILE On-Line Plus cannot contain false, fraudulent, or misleading statements or claims.

If you want to use any part of a CRA publication (such as a guide, return, or schedule) in your advertising, you must first ask for our approval. In your request, indicate which publication you want to use and provide us with a sample of the advertisement. Send your request to the following address:

Canadian Government Publishing
Crown Copyright and Licensing
Public Works and Government Services Canada
4th floor, 350 Albert Street
Ottawa ON  K1A 0S5

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Monitoring

We monitor the activities of electronic filers to ensure that they comply with our requirements. This maintains a high standard of quality for electronic returns and transmissions. If an electronic filer does not comply with these requirements during the program, we will issue warning letters as required and can suspend EFILE privileges.

We monitor such items as the following:

• compliance of electronic filers with the requirements relating to Form T183, Information Return for Electronic Filing of an Individual's Income Tax and Benefit Return, and with authorization requirements;
  
  
• compliance of electronic filers who use the System for Electronic Notification of Debt (SEND) with the requirements relating to Form T1153, Consent and Request Form;
  
  
• the quality of electronic transmissions; and
  
  
• complaints received about electronic filers.

We periodically request copies of the T1153 Form from each electronic filer. SEND privileges may be revoked if the forms we request are not provided in the time frame that we specify.

We will advise electronic filers of problems originating in branch offices. If there are repeated or continuing problems with a particular branch office, the "parent" will be required to drop that office from the program. Failure to take corrective action with the problem branch will lead to suspension of the "parent." Such a suspension will apply to all returns filed by an electronic filer, including all branch offices.