Review of the Handling of Public
Money Project — Final Report

4.2.1 Refunds

The CPCs are able to initiate refunds, which interface with HPM operationally. Under HPM, refund processing is simpler and less tedious than it was under the previous system, which was more manually driven. According to the CPCs, though, it was not envisioned that people would change their minds as frequently as they do and request a refund, especially between the point when they pay at the bank and the point when their application is submitted or processed. While most refunds are made because people change their minds, some are made when applications are rejected (due to back-end ROLF). Between July and December 2000, HQ and the CPCs processed 17,175 refunds.

At present, the Accounting Operations Division is responsible for issuing refunds for Buffalo and CIC offices, and other refunds that clients request before they submit their application, which would normally be handled by the CPCs under the Quick Refund process. As shown in table 1. (Section Removed)

Table 1
HQ Refunds, July–December 2000

CPCs Sydney processed 654 HPM refunds for the six-month period between July and December 2000. The processing of refunds is automated through both the Citizenship Registration System (CRS) and SAP. Its service standard of six weeks is being met and it is anticipated that that period will be substantially reduced now that all agents can process refunds. The manager of F&A audits at least 10 percent of all refunds processed. At present, information to process the refund is retrieved from the receipt and these data cannot be modified. (Section Removed)

CPCs Mississauga processed 2,054 refunds between July and December 2000. Before refunds are issued to clients, the chief of administration services verifies at least 20 percent of these refunds. Once the process is initiated, the six-week service standard is being met. Any refunds that exceed this time period are due to delays in receiving additional information from the client or from the visa office.

CPCs Vegreville processed 13,841 refunds between July and December 2000. Once officers have processed an HPM refund, it usually shows up on the refund reports within a couple of days. Finance at Vegreville processes refunds on a daily basis and clients receive them within four to six weeks. The manager of F&A audits 10 percent of the refunds issued. (Section Removed)

Recommendation 4

It is recommended that F&A and DDN (in consultation with the CPCs) discuss with the IMTB system oriented modifications to the CPCs system and the Citizenship Registration System (CRS), to simplify the process of sending a refund to the correct address and payer and to upgrade CRS to capture who paid the fees (since this feature exists in the CPCs system). To ensure consistency, when a change is proposed—for example, with regard to how a receipt is handled—it is recommended that both CPCs and CRS system teams work together to ensure the same process and therefore the same service is available to the clientele.

Management Response

Management agrees with this recommendation.

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