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CAVCO Public Notice 2024-03 – Call for Comments

Gatineau, October 3, 2024

Proposed new service standard and fee remissions policy

Purpose

  1. The purpose of this public notice is to seek written comments on:
    1. A new, proposed service standard for the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) for the processing of applications to the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) and the Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit (PSTC) programs; and
    2. a draft policy to remit a portion of the fees associated with an application where CAVCO determines that the service standard has not been met.

Background

  1. In CAVCO Public Notice 2024-01 – Call for Comments: Conversion of CAVCO’s Service Standard from Business to Calendar Days, CAVCO informed stakeholders that it would be undertaking a comprehensive review of its service standards to ensure compliance with the Service Fees Act and other Government of Canada directives and policies. These include the Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities and the Directive on Service and Digital.
  2. In 2017, the Government of Canada introduced the Service Fees Act to replace the User Fees Act. The new Act aimed to modernize the administration of service fees charged to individuals and organizations while increasing government accountability and improving transparency. Pursuant to section 4 and subsection 7(1) of the Services Fees Act, the responsible authority for fees defined under subsection 2(1) is required to establish service standards for each of those fees it charges and to reimburse a portion of those fees if it considers that the associated service standards are not met. Amendments in 2023 to the Services Fees Act changed how the Act applies to service fees charged by CAVCO. Consequently, CAVCO must now comply with section 4 and subsection 7(1) of the Act for its service fees.

Key requirements for CAVCO to comply with the Service Fees Act

  1. Under the Service Fees Act, CAVCO is required to set a service standard for the fees charged for processing the following applications:
    • CPTC Part A certificates
    • CPTC Part B certificates
    • CPTC Part A/B certificates
    • Amendments to CPTC certificates
    • PSTC accreditation certificates
    • Amendments to PSTC certificates
  2. Service standards and the associated fee remissions policy should be set in accordance with any Treasury Board policies and directives. Consultations must take place if the service standards are revised, and service standards should be accessible to the public. Importantly, if CAVCO considers that it has not met the service standard, it should remit to the applicant a portion of the fee paid that it considers appropriate. The conditions, procedures and amounts for these fee remissions should be clearly laid out in a public fee remissions policy.
  3. Some of the factors that should be considered in developing the fee remissions policy include (as indicated in the Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities):
    1. The proportion by which the service standard was not met;
    2. The impact on the fee-payer of the service standard not being met;
    3. Any circumstances beyond CAVCO/the Department of Canadian Heritage’s control that may impact its ability to meet the service standard; and
    4. Any role that the fee-payer may play in the standard not being met.
  4. There are also requirements related to the logistics of offering remissions. CAVCO should be responsible for tracking service times and reaching out to applicants when remissions are owed, remissions should be paid by July 1 following the fiscal year in which they were owed, and no interest can be paid on remissions.

Current service standard

  1. Currently, CAVCO’s service standard is to process applications to the CPTC and PSTC programs within 176 calendar days, from the day CAVCO determines the application is complete until the day the production is certified by the Director General of the Audiovisual Branch, on behalf of the Minister of Canadian Heritage. The first day counted towards the service standard will be later than when an application is submitted, since the application needs to be checked to make sure it is complete and the fee is paid. Days start being counted when an application is deemed complete and ready to be assigned to a tax credit officer for analysis. Days continue to be counted while waiting for an applicant to respond to questions from a tax credit officer. This service standard applies to CPTC Part A, CPTC Part B, CPTC Part A/B and PSTC applications that are certified; it does not apply to denied applications or to certificate amendments under either program, which currently do not have a service standard.
  2. CAVCO’s performance target is to meet this service standard 85% of the time. Monthly, cumulative, and annual performance results per program are updated monthly on CAVCO’s performance results web page.

CAVCO service generally

  1. CAVCO continuously works towards improving service times while balancing its obligation to certify only productions that are eligible for the CPTC or PSTC programs. In recent years, CAVCO has increased outreach activities and guidelines updates to help potential and current applicants understand how best to apply to ensure a smooth application process. Internally, CAVCO constantly innovates to process applications more efficiently and strives to hire and train new staff as required.

Review

  1. Working within the framework of the Service Fees Act and other Government guidance, CAVCO has undertaken a comprehensive review of its service standards. In view of the potential impact of the fee remissions, CAVCO has thought about how its new service standard and fee remissions policy would work together. CAVCO has considered how the new service standard and fee remissions policy could be fair to both applicants, who are paying for a service, and CAVCO, which is responsible for certifying only productions that are eligible for the CPTC and PSTC. CAVCO has drawn on past performance data to identify areas for process improvements and to determine what service standards could be realistically implemented. Service standards of organizations offering similar services have been examined, as have fee remissions policies of other Government organizations. Client service excellence and clear communications have been front of mind in developing options.

New, proposed service standard

  1. CAVCO is proposing a single service standard for all CPTC and PSTC applications for certification and certificate amendments. The new service standard would be 180 calendar days, minus applicant delays, from the day a complete application is received (including that the application fee has been paid) until the day a production is certified or denied. Put another way, if an applicant submits a complete application to CAVCO and responds promptly to requests for information or documentation, they can expect their production to be certified within no more than six months. See Annex A for examples of calculating the proposed service standard.
  2. CAVCO proposes keeping its performance target of processing 85% of applications within the service standard.

Rationale for elements of the proposed service standard

Service standard start time – including the registration intake phase in service times

  1. Currently, service days do not start to be counted until a registration officer (called a “junior program officer”) has reviewed an application, confirmed that it is complete, and placed it “in queue,” ready to be assigned to a tax credit officer for analysis.Footnote 1 This effectively excludes the registration intake phase from the current service standard. If there is a backlog of applications in that phase, complete applications may sit for months before they are moved to the review stage and service days start to be counted.
  2. CAVCO is proposing to start counting service days the day a complete application is received, as opposed to the date it is reviewed. A junior program officer would still review the application to determine whether it is complete, however, they would also backdate the application with a timestamp of the date it had been received as a complete application. So, while a file would not be put “in queue” until it is reviewed, its place in the queue would be advanced if it had been submitted complete on an earlier date. This would be fairer to applicants by making CAVCO more accountable for delays in the registration intake phase. This change would also address stakeholder requests to include the registration intake phase in the service standard or to speed up registration service times. It is important to note that if an incomplete application is received, a junior program officer would still review the application and request outstanding information from the applicant. Service days would begin counting once the complete application was finally submitted.

Accounting for applicant delays

  1. Presently, during the review stage, service days continue counting when a tax credit officer is waiting for missing information or clarification from an applicant. Waiting for applicants to respond can be a significant part of the time it takes to review an application. Under the proposed change, days that CAVCO is waiting for outstanding information or clarification from an applicant would not count as service days. As part of the implementation of this change, all tax credit officers would receive training on procedures for requesting additional or missing information so that such requests are made consistently from file to file and only as necessary.

Service standard end time – including both certified and denied applications in the service standard

  1. CAVCO currently tracks its service standard only on applications that are certified. Since a fee is paid whether a production is certified or denied, CAVCO now proposes including denied applications in its service standard. CAVCO would stop counting service days on the day the Director General of the Audiovisual Branch either certifies or denies an application.

180 calendar days - a more ambitious service standard for CAVCO

  1. A service standard of 180 calendar days was chosen because it is easy to visualize as being about six months. Because of the proposed changes to the service start time and the removal of applicant delays, it can be misleading to directly compare the length of the proposed new service standard with the current standard of 176 calendar days. Despite being four days longer, the new service standard would be more ambitious for CAVCO to meet than the current standard. To gauge the impact, CAVCO looked at performance data from the past four fiscal years. CAVCO would have not met the service standard for about 300 more applications per year if the proposed service standard had been in effect. The reason is that applications spent an estimated 69 days on average with CAVCO in registration, which would be counted under the new standard. Not counting applicant delays, on the other hand, will make the standard easier to achieve, but not as significantly, since applications waited an average of 29 days for clients to respond. CAVCO is committed to making service improvements (detailed in paragraph 10) to meet the new more ambitious standard.

Performance target

  1. CAVCO proposes maintaining its performance target to meet the service standard 85% of the time. Based on past performance data, as noted in the previous paragraph, this will be a more ambitious target for CAVCO to meet: while CAVCO met the service standard on 85% of applications over the past four fiscal years, under the parameters of the new service standard, it would have only met the service standard on an estimated 75% of applications. Using the same target demonstrates CAVCO’s commitment to improve service delivery times.

Comparison of current and proposed service standard

  1. The table below compares the current service standard with the proposed, new service standard.
Current service standard Proposed, new service standard
First day counted in service standard Date that CAVCO determines an application is complete Date that a complete application is received by CAVCO
Accounting for applicant delays Days waiting for the applicant to respond to requests for missing information or additional clarification are counted toward the service standard Days waiting for the applicant to respond to requests for missing information or additional clarification are not counted toward the service standard
Last day counted in service standard Date that the production is certified Date that the production is certified or denied
Length of service standard 176 calendar days 180 calendar days
Service standard applies to these types of applications Applications for CPTC Part A, CPTC Part B, CPTC Part A/B and PSTC certificates Applications for CPTC Part A, CPTC Part B, CPTC Part A/B and PSTC certificates and applications for amendments to CPTC and PSTC certificates
Target for meeting performance standard 85% 85%

Proposed Fees Remissions Policy

  1. In short, CAVCO’s proposed fee remissions policy is to refund a percentage of the application fee paid based on the schedule below. Exceptions are explained in the paragraph 27. Details of CAVCO’s proposed fee remissions policy are laid out in the box at paragraph 29.
Number of days past the service standard, minus exception days
1-30 31-60 61-90 91 or more
Percent of fee paid for that application that will be remitted 5% 10% 15% 20%

Rationale for proposed fee remissions policy

  1. In developing the refund schedule, CAVCO considered a number of factors.
  2. Foremost, CAVCO considered the impact on the fee payer of the service standard not being met. The legislated purpose of CAVCO certification is to allow the taxpayer to claim a tax refund under the CPTC or PSTC programs. Not meeting the service standard may cause a delay in receiving the tax refund, but will not result in a taxpayer not receiving the tax refund. For the CPTC program, CAVCO is aware that many applicants use their certificates to unlock financing from broadcasters and funders. In addition, if applicants have taken interim financing loans, they may incur additional interest fees when certification is delayed. Overall, in assessing the impact on the fee payer of CAVCO not meeting a service standard, CAVCO had to take into account that the impact varies from application to application and that the purpose of fee remissions is not to offset impacts of certification delays that are beyond CAVCO’s purview.
  3. Another factor in determining the remission rate was that CAVCO’s proposed new service standard is more ambitious than its current service standard due to the inclusion of the registration intake phase. Government guidance on developing a fee remissions policy suggests that service standards should be set such that remissions are exceptional. Rather than lengthening the service standard to avoid remissions, CAVCO prefers to risk having to pay a higher number of fee remissions while having a service standard that better communicates expected service times. Proposed fee remissions rates start low to help offset the more ambitious service standard.
  4. CAVCO looked at the fee remissions policies of other federal departments for examples of fee remission rates and approaches. The Service Fees Act applies only to Government of Canada organizations that charge service fees, and not all service fees are subject to the fee remissions requirements of the Act. No other organizations offering a similar service to CAVCO have fee remissions policies. CAVCO was, however, able to note reasonable fee remission approaches taken by other organizations complying with the Act.
  5. Keeping in mind the impact on the fee payer of the service standard not being met, CAVCO’s proposed, more ambitious service standard, and examples of fee remissions policies, CAVCO considered that a remission rate of 5 to 20 percent of the fee paid was reasonable. The four tiers of remission are designed to provide a larger refund depending on the degree by which the service standard was not met.

Exceptions

  1. The draft remissions policy depends on the proposed service standard. Front of mind in setting the service standard was to have a clear statement to communicate how long an applicant can typically expect to wait to receive their certificate if they have provided the information CAVCO needs to determine eligibility. The proposed service standard does not account for unusual circumstances that can delay certification, such as cases that require special research to confirm eligibility. Furthermore, the service standard does not account for delays by parties other than CAVCO over which neither the applicant nor CAVCO has full control, or circumstances that prevent CAVCO from working, such as force majeure. Any such causes of delays that are outside of CAVCO’s control or put undue pressure on CAVCO to certify a production that is not clearly eligible, or to deny certification of a production that may become eligible, will count as exceptions in the proposed fee remissions policy.

Effective date

  1. CAVCO’s new service standard and fee remissions policy will come into effect on April 1, 2025.

Draft fee remissions policy

  1. A draft of CAVCO’s fee remissions policy is presented below.
Draft CAVCO fee remissions policy

This policy sets out the conditions under which the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) will remit a portion of an application fee when CAVCO considers that it has not met its service standard for that application.

A. Effective date

A.1 This policy comes into effect on April 1, 2025.

B. Authorities

B.1 This policy is issued pursuant to the Department of Canadian Heritage Act and the Service Fees Act.

C. Application

C.1 This policy applies only to fees administered by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) of the Department of Canadian Heritage that are subject to sections 4 through 7 of the Service Fees Act.

For the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) program, the policy applies to applications fees paid for:

  • Part A certificates
  • Part B certificates
  • Part A/B certificates
  • Amendments to certificates

For the Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit (PSTC) program, the policy applies to applications fees paid for:

  • Accreditation certificates
  • Amendments to certificates

The calculation of these fees can be found on CAVCO’s fee page.

C.2 This policy applies only to applications received on or after April 1, 2025.

C.3 This policy does not apply to CAVCO fees subject to the Low-materiality Fees Regulations.

C.4 This policy does not apply to application fees where the application is withdrawn by the applicant.

D. Exceptions

D.1 Any delays in the processing of applications due to circumstances outside of the Department of Canadian Heritage’s control will be counted as exception days. This includes, but is not limited to:

  1. Unforeseen system disruptions and/or failures, including unforeseen office closures;
  2. Force majeure;
  3. Labour disruptions.

D.2 Any delays in the processing of applications caused by parties other than the Department of Canadian Heritage, including but not limited to Telefilm Canada, the Department of Justice Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency, may count as exception days.

D.3 CAVCO may, on a case-by-case basis, determine to not offer or reduce fee remissions on applications if CAVCO determines that it should not be liable for, respectively, the full or partial remission payment. Generally, CAVCO may not consider itself liable to pay the full or partial remission payment if:

  1. information is intentionally or unintentionally misrepresented in an application;
  2. the service standard is not met only because CAVCO would have otherwise denied the application, but allowed more time for the application to potentially become eligible for the CPTC or PSTC;
  3. the production for which an application is made is not eligible for the tax credit.
E. Fee Remissions

E.1 Where applicable, CAVCO will remit a portion of the fee paid if the service standard associated with the application fee Footnote 2 is not met according to the schedule below.

Number of days past the service standard, minus exception days
1-30 31-60 61-90 91 or more
Percent of final fee paid for that application that will be remitted 5% 10% 15% 20%

E.2 Remission amounts will be calculated based on the final application fee paid, net of adjustments. For the CPTC program, the final application fee for Part A, Part B or Part A/B certificates may be more or less than the initial fee paid if the Eligible Production Cost changes over the course of CAVCO analysis of the application. For the PSTC program, the final application fee paid for an accreditation certificate may be less than the initial application fee paid if a partial rebate of fees applies.

F. Issuance of payment

F.1 Fee-payers who are entitled to fee remission are not required to apply for the remission; CAVCO will initiate the process.

F.2 Fee remissions will be made by cheque. If application fees are owed to CAVCO, fee remissions on the same application will be given as a credit toward the outstanding balance. In the case of fee remissions owed on CPTC Part A certificate applications, the fee remission will be given as a credit towards the associated CPTC Part B application.

F.3 Fee remission payments will be processed no later than July 1 following the fiscal year in which the application was certified or denied. CAVCO’s fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31.

F.4 Fee-payers are responsible for ensuring that CAVCO has up-to-date billing and contact information for remitting payment, including a complete name, mailing address, and contact information. CAVCO will make no more than three attempts to seek updated billing and contact information for remitting payment.

F.5 Interest will not be applied or paid for remissions issued.

G. Enquiries and complaints

G.1 General questions or complaints about this policy may be directed to CAVCO by email at bcpac-cavco@pch.gc.ca.

G.2 Enquiries about specific fee remission payments should be made through an applicant’s CAVCO Online account.

Example scenarios

  1. See Annex A for examples of how the new service standard would be measured and fee remissions calculated.

Call for Comments

  1. CAVCO welcomes written comments on any aspect of the proposed new service standard or draft fee remissions policy. All comments must be received by CAVCO by November 1, 2024. Submissions must include the name of the person or organization providing comments. Paragraphs should be numbered. All comments received will be given due consideration.
  2. Please submit your comments by email to bcpac-cavco@pch.gc.ca to the attention of the Director, CAVCO, citing Public Notice 2024-03 in the subject line.
  3. Any questions about this public notice can be sent to CAVCO by email at bcpac-cavco@pch.gc.ca or you may call toll-free at 1-888-433-2200.

Annex A

The scenarios below are fictious examples to illustrate how the proposed service standard and fee remissions would be calculated.

Scenario 1:

The applicant submits an application on January 1, 2026. The application fee is $2191.03. CAVCO reviews the application on January 8, 2026, and determines that the application is complete. During the analysis phase, CAVCO has all the information needed to recommend certification. The production is certified on July 9, 2026.

Application fee $2191.03
Service start January 1, 2026 (date the complete application was received)
Service end July 9, 2026 (certification date)
Applicant delays 0 days
Service days 189 days (number of days elapsed between the service start and service end dates, minus applicant delays = January 1 to July 9, 2026 [189] - 0 days)
Exception days 0 days
Number of days over service standard, minus exception days 9 days (service days minus exception days minus the service standard = 189 - 0 - 180)
Fee remission rate 5%
Remission amount owing $109.55 (5% of $2191.03)

Scenario 2:

The applicant submits an application on January 1, 2026, paying an application fee of $1321.00. CAVCO reviews the application on January 8, 2026, and determines the application is missing a CAVCO ID. CAVCO notifies the applicant and the applicant submits the missing CAVCO ID on January 15, 2026. On January 16, 2026, CAVCO confirms that the application is now complete. During the analysis phase, CAVCO notices discrepancies in financial information provided and seeks clarification from the applicant on June 9, 2026. The applicant provides updated materials on July 24, 2026. The production is certified on October 9, 2026.

Application fee $1321.00
Service start January 15, 2026 (date the complete application was received)
Service end October 9, 2026 (certification date)
Applicant delays 45 days (number of days elapsed between CAVCO seeking clarification and applicant providing answer = June 9 to July 24, 2026)
Service days 222 days (number of days elapsed between the service start and service end dates, minus applicant delays = January 15 to October 9, 2026 [267] - 45 days)
Exception days 0 days
Number of days over service standard, minus exception days 42 days (service days minus exception days minus the service standard = 222 - 0 - 180)
Fee remission rate 10%
Remission amount owing $132.10 (10% of $1321.00)

Scenario 3:

The applicant submits an application on September 14, 2025, paying an application fee of $598.82. CAVCO reviews the application on September 18, 2025, and determines the application is complete. During the analysis phase, CAVCO has difficulty determining whether the production company is a prescribed taxable Canadian corporation. On October 9, 2025, CAVCO seeks additional information on the company’s corporate structure. The applicant responds with the required information on April 24, 2026. The production is certified on May 29, 2026.

Application fee $598.82
Service start September 14, 2025 (date the complete application was received)
Service end May 29, 2026 (certification date)
Applicant delays 197 days (number of days elapsed between CAVCO seeking clarification and applicant providing answer = October 9, 2025 to April 24, 2026)
Service days 60 days (number of days elapsed between the service start and service end dates, minus applicant delays = September 14, 2025 to May 29, 2026 [257 days] - 197 days)
Exception days 0 days
Number of days over service standard, minus exception days 0 days (service days minus exception days minus the service standard = 60 - 0 - 180)
Fee remission rate Not applicable
Remission amount owing Not applicable

Scenario 4:

The applicant submits an application on November 11, 2025, paying an application fee of $9116.10. A natural disaster at CAVCO headquarters causes a systems outage from November 12 to 17, 2025. On November 24, 2025, CAVCO reviews the application and determines that it is complete. During the analysis phase, CAVCO has all the information needed to recommend certification. The production is certified on May 26, 2026.

Application fee $9116.10
Service start November 11, 2025 (date the complete application was received)
Service end May 26, 2026 (certification date)
Applicant delays 0 days
Service days 196 days (number of days elapsed between the service start and service end dates, minus applicant delays = November 11, 2025 to May 26, 2026 [196 days] - 0 days)
Exception days 5 days (November 12 to 17, 2025)
Number of days over service standard, minus exception days 11 days (service days minus exception days minus the service standard = 196 - 5 - 180)
Fee remission rate 5%
Remission amount owing $455.81 (5% of $9116.10)

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