Roofmart Ontario Ordered to Disclose Customer Information to Tax Authorities

  • November 11, 2020
  • Ivan Merrow

On May 11, 2020, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld a sweeping order for Canada’s tax authorities to obtain customer information from Roofmart Ontario Inc. (“Roofmart”) to investigate its customers’ tax compliance.

In the court’s decision Roofmart Ontario Inc. v. Canada (National Revenue), 2020 FCA 85 (CanLII), Roofmart was ordered to disclose business information and customer purchase history of unidentified businesses to the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”). As a result, Roofmart is required to deliver information to the CRA about its customers who spent over $20,000.00 annually with the supplier during the period from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017.

The information ordered to be disclosed to the CRA includes Roofmart’s customers’ name, contact information, business number, itemized transaction details, and all bank account information from credit applications or other records maintained by Roofmart.

Importantly, Roofmart was not under audit by the CRA during this period, and the disclosure order is not limited to any individual customers under audit by the CRA. The order operates as a dragnet, capturing Roofmart’s customer information who are not otherwise targets of the CRA.