Remission Policy

1. Effective date

This policy takes effect on April 1, 2021.

2. Application

This policy applies to Part 4, Fixed Fees, of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Cost Recovery Fees Regulations in respect of:

• licences to transport nuclear substances under the Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substances Regulations, 2015, except licences to package or transport under special arrangement
• certifications of package designs under the Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substances Regulations, 2015, except certifications of designs for special form radioactive material
• certifications of radiation device models under the Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations
• certifications of Class II prescribed models of equipment under the Class II Nuclear Facilities and Prescribed Equipment Regulations 
• certification of exposure device operators under the Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations

A link to a list of fixed fees subject to the requirements of section 7 of the Service Fees Act and to which this policy applies is provided in appendix A.

3. Context

This policy will establish appropriate consideration for determining if a service standard has not been met and whether a remission (as defined in appendix B) is warranted. Only fixed fees meet the application criteria for performance standards under the Service Fees Act. This policy should be read in conjunction with sections 4.2.4 and 6.2.2 of the Treasury Board Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities.

4. Policy statement

4.1 Objectives

• To outline the authority and rationale for remission decisions
• To provide a reference guide for CNSC employees assessing and granting remissions

4.2 Expected results

• Remissions are processed fairly and consistently
• Service standards are met

5. Policy requirements

• Performance standards for the CNSC’s fixed fees are monitored and tracked for each fee payer on an individual basis. Where the CNSC’s actual performance falls short of the established performance standard, the CNSC will initiate a remission.
• The maximum remission is 25% of the fee paid.
• The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Cost Recovery Fees Regulations currently do not allow the CNSC to recover the full cost of regulatory activities for fixed fees; this was a consideration in establishing the remission tiers. The portion of the fee to be remitted to the fee payer will be determined according to the following structure:

  % time (in days) beyond service standard	Remission (% of fee paid)
  Up to 25%	10%
  26% to 50%	15%
  More than 51%	25%

• The remission decision may also objectively apply considerations such as, but not limited to:
  • the impact on the fee payer, such as lost income or a delay in being able to benefit from the application or certification; if this applies, 25% of the fee paid will be remitted
  • circumstances beyond the CNSC’s control, such as a natural disaster; in such a case, when a service standard is not met, the duration of the circumstance beyond the CNSC’s control will reduce the number of days beyond the service standard
  • whether the fee payer played a role in the delay (for example, not providing required information); if this applies, the number of days over service standard will be reduced in accordance with the length of the delay caused by the fee payer’s actions
• As outlined in subsection 4.2.4.3 of the Treasury Board Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities, interest is not paid on remissions made under section 7 of the Service Fees Act.
• Remission amounts will be rounded to the nearest $10.
• Remissions will be issued in the form of a refund before July 1 of the following fiscal year.
• This policy will be reviewed and updated every 3 years, or more often if needed.

6. Roles and responsibilities

President

• Approve the CNSC Remission Policy

Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs Branch

• Ensure compliance with the Treasury Board Policy on Service and Digital for client centric service design and delivery

Vice-President , Regulatory Operations Branch, and Vice-President, Technical Services Branch

• Establish service standards for fixed fees in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Service and Digital
• Establish and implement processes for tracking and monitoring the service standards vs actuals for each fixed fee on an individual basis in order to facilitate remission decisions
• Ensure that all service standards are measurable and trackable

Vice-President, Corporate Services Branch and Chief Financial Officer

• Ensure the remissions policy and procedures are available to the public
• Ensure that remissions are granted to a fee payer as per the provisions of this policy and section 7(1) of the Service Fees Act
• Ensure that appropriate portion of fees be remitted to the affected fixed fee payer(s) before July 1 of the following fiscal year in cases of where the established performance standard is not met
• Establish clear criteria and considerations for remission
• Ensure that amount of the fee remission is in proportion with the level or degree of non-compliance with the service standard

Director General, Directorate of Nuclear Substance Regulation

• Approve remission requests

Director General, Directorate of Safety Management

• Approve remission requests

Deputy Chief Financial Officer

• Oversee the implementation of the remission policy to ensure fairness and consistency of application

Director, Strategic Planning Division

• Develop and annually update the CNSC’s service inventory
• Post the CNSC’s service inventory to the Government of Canada Open Government Portal
• Ensure the development, management and regular review of service standards, related targets and performance information
• Ensure the reporting of performance information for service standards on the CNSC’s website

Director, Financial Management and Internal Controls

• Review and evaluate remission issues in consideration of the service standards
• Provide relevant input to senior management in order to facilitate management decisions on remissions
• Respond to remission queries from fee payers

Chief, Revenue Management

• Ensure timely processing of approved remissions and notify fee payers
• Make reasonable attempts to issue remissions; when a remission cannot be issued due to circumstances beyond the CNSC’s control, keep a record of the attempts to return the funds and advise the Director General in the Directorate of Safety Management or the Directorate of Nuclear Substance Regulation, as applicable

7. Monitoring and reporting

• Transport Licensing and Strategic Support Division (TLSSD) and Personnel Certification Division (PCD) to track and monitor compliance with service standards and initiate remission requests
• CNSC to report on the results annually in the Fees Report and publish the report on the its website

8. Remission process flow

9. Consequences

The Chief Financial Officer is responsible for taking appropriate corrective action for any breach of this policy.

10. References

• Financial Administration Act
• Service Fees Act
• Treasury Board Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities
• Nuclear Safety and Control Act
• Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Cost Recovery Fees Regulations
• Treasury Board Directive on Service and Digital

11. Inquiries

For any inquiries regarding this policy, please contact the Financial Reporting and Policy Section at policies-politiques@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca

Appendix A: List of fees

Fixed fees falling under this policy are listed in Schedule 2 (Section 22) of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Cost Recovery Fees Regulations.

Appendix B: Definitions

fee:

An amount charged for the provision of a service, product, use of a facility, or any authorization provided by a department (permit, licence, right or privilege) or for the recovery of costs incurred in relation to a regulatory scheme.

normal circumstances:

the expected level of supply and demand for regular day-to-day service operations. This differs from special circumstances (or exceptional circumstances for purposes of this policy), where regular service standards may not apply and that are typically not within the organization’s control. Examples of special or exceptional circumstances include, but are not limited to, holidays, natural disasters or other emergency situations.

performance standard:

service standard for the purposes of this policy (see service standard)

reasonable attempt to remit:

best effort on the part of the responsible authority to obtain complete information required from the fee payer in order to issue a remission within the prescribed time frame.

remission:

the reimbursement to a fee payer of a fee or portion of a fee paid – in respect of a service, use of facility, or right or privilege – for which the department determines that the service standard was not met.

service standard:

a public commitment to a measurable level of performance that fee payers can expect under normal circumstances.

designation of responsibility authority:

written designation by the appropriate Minister (as defined in section 2 of the Financial Administration Act), with respect to a federal entity, of the federal entity’s chief executive officer or deputy head – whatever their title – as a responsible authority for any fees fixed in relation to that entity.