Annual designated industrial property assessments

The frequency of asset sales and industry amalgamations is increasing year over year. To ensure continued confidentiality, branch staff require an annual letter of authorization acknowledging that current authorization is in place.

The letter of authorization also requires renewal when:

• a company amalgamates with another company
• a company is bought by or sold to another company
• the name of the representative changes

One letter of authorization is required for each company. However, multiple companies per letter will be accepted if each company is specified in the letter (for example, subsidiaries).

The registered company name is the name of the company as it appears in the Corporate Registry.

The letter needs to be provided on appropriate company letterhead in its original form (do not copy the text of the letter into an email – a scanned copy of the original is acceptable) and must include:

• the date
• the tax year to which the authorization is applicable (tax year runs from January 1 to December 31)
• the name of the company and/or agents who will represent you
• the name of the company that owns or operates the linear property
• a clear description of the responsibilities
• the name, title, signature and phone number of the officer or executive of the company that owns or operates the linear property

If your company has filed a letter of authorization for the current tax year, a copy of your Request for Information package will also be forwarded to your authorized representative.

Examples of a company officer or executive who has authorization to sign on behalf of a company would be:

• president
• vice president
• controller
• chairman
• director of assessment or taxation
• director of financial services
• senior manager

Representative responsibilities:

• Provide information in the form and manner requested by the designated linear property assessor (the assessor) about the company’s linear property.
• Request information and data that is in the assessor’s possession about the company’s linear property or the assessment of that property.
• Discuss all matters with the assessor regarding the linear property assessment and complaints.

The assessment year is the year on which the assessment is based. The tax year is the year in which the assessment notice and the tax notice will be provided to you. For example, 2016 assessment year, 2017 tax year.

• Letter of Authorization sample template
• Letter of Authorization sample template (First Nations and Metis Settlements)