§ 105-164.11. Excessive and erroneous collections. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 105‑164.11.  Excessiveand erroneous collections.

(a)        Remittance of Over‑Collectionsto Secretary. – When the tax collected for any period is in excess of the totalamount that should have been collected, the total amount collected must be paidover to the Secretary. When tax is collected for any period on exempt ornontaxable sales the tax erroneously collected shall be remitted to theSecretary and no refund shall be made to a taxpayer unless the purchaser hasreceived credit for or has been refunded the amount of tax erroneously charged.This provision shall be construed with other provisions of this Article andgiven effect so as to result in the payment to the Secretary of the totalamount collected as tax if it is in excess of the amount that should have beencollected.

(b)        Refund ProceduresFirst Remedy. – The first course of remedy available to purchasers seeking arefund of over‑collected sales or use taxes from the seller are thecustomer refund procedures provided in this Chapter or otherwise provided byadministrative rule, bulletin, or directive on the law issued by the Secretary.

(c)        Cause of ActionAgainst Seller. – A cause of action against the seller for over‑collectedsales or uses taxes does not accrue until a purchaser has provided writtennotice to a seller and the seller has had 60 days to respond. The notice to theseller must contain the information necessary to determine the validity of therequest.

(d)        Presumption ofReasonable Business Practice. – In connection with a purchaser's request fromthe seller of over‑collected sales or use taxes, a seller shall bepresumed to have a reasonable business practice if, in the collection of salesand use taxes, the seller uses either a provider or a system, including aproprietary system, that is certified by the State and the seller has remittedto the State all taxes collected less any deductions, credits, or collectionallowances.

(e)        Reliance on WrittenAdvice. – A seller who requests specific written advice from the Secretary andwho collects and remits sales or use tax in accordance with the written advicethe Secretary gives the seller is not liable to a purchaser for anyovercollected sales or use tax that was collected in accordance with thewritten advice. Subsection (a) of this section governs when a seller may obtaina refund for overcollected tax.  (1957, c. 1340, s. 5; 1959, c. 1259, s. 5; 1961, c.826, s. 2; 1973, c. 476, s. 193; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1007, s. 4; 2004‑22,s. 1; 2009‑413, s. 1.)