OTTAWA: Canada Revenue Agency’s online services have been restored after they were suspended right in the middle of income tax season. The CRA reported Sunday night that all of its digital services had returned to normal operation as of 5 p.m.“Individuals, businesses and representatives are now able to file returns, make payments, and access other digital services available through the CRA’s website, including all our secure portals,” a news release stated. The agency had posted a notice on its website Friday afternoon saying “system maintenance” had discovered a problem that would stop Canadians from filing their tax returns electronically. Saturday evening, it released a statement saying it did so to ensure personal taxpayer information was not compromised.
“The CRA takes the protection of Canadians’ tax information very seriously,” the Sunday media release stated. “Upon becoming aware of an internet vulnerability that affected some computer servers used by websites worldwide, the CRA acted quickly to temporarily take down our online services, including electronic filing, and put in place the necessary maintenance security patches to ensure that all information and systems remained safe. “We took this action as a precaution, not as the result of a successful hack or breach.” The agency had said earlier in the weekend that it was not aware of any unauthorized access to taxpayer information, nor was this a hack or breach of its system. The deadline for returns this year is May 1 because the traditional deadline of April 30 falls on a Sunday. Typically, more than 75 per cent of Canadians file their tax returns electronically.
