Sec. 12-480. Credit on tax. Refund. Challenging legality of registration fee. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 12-480. Credit on tax. Refund. Challenging legality of registration fee. (a) Every such motor carrier shall be entitled to a credit on such tax equivalent to the rate per gallon of the tax in effect under said chapter 221 on all motor fuel purchased by such carrier within this state for use in its operations either within or without this state and upon which motor fuel the tax imposed by the laws of this state has been paid by such carrier. Evidence of the payment of such tax in such form as may be required by, or is satisfactory to, the Commissioner of Revenue Services shall be furnished by each such carrier claiming the credit herein allowed. When the amount of the credit herein provided to which any motor carrier is entitled for any quarter exceeds the amount of the tax for which such carrier is liable for the same quarter, such excess may, under regulations of the Commissioner of Revenue Services, be allowed as a credit on the tax for which such carrier would be otherwise liable for any of the four succeeding quarters; or such carrier may file, within one year from the due date for such quarter, an application verified and presented, in accordance with regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Revenue Services in accordance with chapter 54 and supported by such evidence as may be satisfactory to the Commissioner of Revenue Services, for a refund of such excess.

      (b) (1) The Commissioner of Revenue Services shall not allow such refund except after an audit of the applicant's records and he shall audit the records of an applicant at least once a year. The commissioner shall transmit all claims approved by him to the Comptroller, who shall draw an order on the State Treasurer for payment of such refund. If the commissioner determines that any such claim is not valid, either in whole or in part, he shall mail notice of the proposed disallowance to the claimant, which notice shall set forth briefly the commissioner's findings of fact and the basis of disallowance in each case decided in whole or in part adversely to the claimant. Sixty days after the date on which it is mailed, a notice of proposed disallowance shall constitute a final disallowance except only for such amounts as to which the claimant has filed, as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, a written protest with the Commissioner of Revenue Services.

      (2) On or before the sixtieth day after the mailing of the proposed disallowance, the claimant may file with the commissioner a written protest against the proposed disallowance in which the claimant sets forth the grounds on which the protest is based. If a protest is filed, the commissioner shall reconsider the proposed disallowance and, if the claimant has so requested, may grant or deny the claimant or the claimant's authorized representatives an oral hearing.

      (3) The commissioner shall mail notice of his determination to the claimant, which notice shall set forth briefly the commissioner's findings of fact and the basis of decision in each case decided in whole or in part adversely to the claimant.

      (4) The action of the commissioner on the claimant's protest shall be final upon the expiration of one month from the date on which he mails notice of his action to the claimant unless within such period the claimant seeks judicial review of the commissioner's determination pursuant to subsection (b) of section 12-489.

      (c) (1) Any motor carrier who has registered any vehicle and paid a fee pursuant to section 12-487, and who claims that such registration or payment is illegal for any reason, may claim a refund or credit, in writing, within six months after such registration or payment. If, upon examination of such claim, the commissioner determines that such registration or payment was illegal, the State Treasurer, upon order of the Comptroller, shall refund or credit the amount of any such fee to such motor carrier. If the commissioner determines that registration or payment was legal, he shall mail notice of the proposed disallowance to the motor carrier, which notice shall set forth briefly the commissioner's findings of fact and the basis of disallowance in each case decided in whole or in part adversely to the claimant. Sixty days after the date on which it is mailed, a notice of proposed disallowance shall constitute a final disallowance except only for such amounts as to which the claimant has filed, as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, a written protest with the commissioner.

      (2) On or before the sixtieth day after the mailing of the proposed disallowance, the claimant may file with the commissioner a written protest against the proposed disallowance in which the claimant sets forth the grounds on which the protest is based. If a protest is filed, the commissioner shall reconsider the proposed disallowance and, if the claimant has so requested, may grant or deny the claimant or the claimant's authorized representatives an oral hearing.

      (3) The commissioner shall mail notice of his determination to the claimant, which notice shall set forth briefly the commissioner's findings of fact and the basis of decision in each case decided in whole or in part adversely to the claimant.

      (4) The action of the commissioner on the claimant's protest shall be final upon the expiration of one month from the date on which he mails notice of his action to the claimant unless within such period the claimant seeks judicial review of the commissioner's determination pursuant to subsection (b) of section 12-489.

      (1961, P.A. 575, S. 3; 1967, P.A. 23, S. 1; P.A. 73-675, S. 6, 44; P.A. 74-342, S. 13, 43; P.A. 77-614, S. 139, 610; P.A. 78-179, S. 1, 2; P.A. 81-366, S. 3, 7; P.A. 90-140, S. 1, 2; P.A. 97-243, S. 59, 67.)

      History: 1967 act rewrote provision in Subsec. (a) for refunds of excess when tax paid to another state on fuel purchased in Connecticut for clarity and economy of expression; P.A. 73-675 substituted transportation fund for highway fund in Subsec. (b); P.A. 74-342 deleted provision for payment of refund out of transportation fund in Subsec. (b); P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of revenue services for tax commissioner, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-179 required filing of application for refund within one year from due date of quarter rather than within six months of end of quarter, effective May 17, 1978, and applicable to taxes due under chapter 222 for the calendar quarter ending September 30, 1978, and each calendar quarter thereafter; P.A. 81-366 added Subsec. (c) providing for a credit or refund of any registration fee challenged as being illegal, effective June 29, 1981; P.A. 90-140 amended Subsec. (a) by eliminating the requirement that to be eligible for refund the carrier must have incurred liability in another state under a similar tax and that the refund may not exceed the tax liability to such other state calculated at a rate not in excess of the rate of motor fuel tax in effect in Connecticut, effective January 1, 1991, and applicable to refunds under Sec. 12-480 on or after that date; P.A. 97-243 amended Subsecs. (b) and (c) to provide for an administrative hearing with the department before taking an appeal to the Superior Court, to establish the time for filing a claim and to make technical changes, effective July 1, 1997, and applicable to claims for refund filed on or after said date.

      Cited. 209 C. 679.