Sec. 1. (a) As used in this section, "letter of findings" includes a supplemental letter of findings.

(b) If the department reasonably believes that a person has not reported the proper amount of tax due, the department shall make a proposed assessment of the amount of the unpaid tax on the basis of the best information available to the department. The amount of the assessment is considered a tax payment not made by the due date and is subject to IC 6-8.1-10 concerning the imposition of penalties and interest. The department shall send the person a notice of the proposed assessment through the United States mail.

(c) The notice of proposed assessment is prima facie evidence that the department's claim for the unpaid tax is valid, including during an action appealed to the tax court under this chapter. The burden of proving that the proposed assessment is wrong rests with the person against whom the proposed assessment is made.

(d) The notice shall state that the person has forty-five (45) days from the date the notice is mailed, if the notice was mailed before January 1, 2011, and sixty (60) days from the date the notice is mailed, if the notice was mailed after December 31, 2010, to pay the assessment or to file a written protest. If the person files a protest and requires a hearing on the protest, the department shall:

(1) set the hearing at the department's earliest convenient time; and

(2) notify the person by United States mail of the time, date, and location of the hearing.

(e) The department may hold the hearing at the location of its choice within Indiana if that location complies with IC 6-8.1-3-8.5.

(f) After conducting a hearing on a protest, or after making a decision on a protest when no hearing is requested, the department shall issue a letter of findings and shall send a copy of the letter through the United States mail to the person who filed the protest and to the person's surety, if the surety was notified of the proposed assessment under subsection (b). The department may continue the hearing until a later date if the taxpayer presents additional information at the hearing or the taxpayer requests an opportunity to present additional information after the hearing.

(g) A person that disagrees with a decision in a letter of findings may request a rehearing not more than thirty (30) days after the date on which the letter of findings is issued by the department. The department shall consider the request and may grant the rehearing if the department reasonably believes that a rehearing would be in the best interests of the taxpayer and the state.

(h) If a person disagrees with a decision in a letter of findings, the person may appeal the decision to the tax court. However, the tax court does not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal that is filed more than ninety (90) days after the date on which:

(1) the letter of findings is issued by the department, if the person does not make a timely request for a rehearing under subsection (g) on the letter of findings; or

(2) the department issues a denial of the person's timely request for a rehearing under subsection (g) on the letter of findings.

The ninety (90) day period may be extended according to the terms of a written agreement signed by both the department and the person. The agreement must specify a date upon which the extension will terminate and a statement that the person agrees to preserve the person's records until that specified termination date. The specified termination date agreed upon under this subsection may not be more than ninety (90) days after the expiration of the period otherwise specified by this subsection.

(i) The tax court shall hear an appeal under subsection (h) de novo and without a jury. The tax court may do the following:

(1) Uphold or deny any part of the assessment that is appealed.

(2) Assess the court costs in a manner that the court believes to be equitable.

(3) Enjoin the collection of a listed tax under IC 33-26-6-2.

(j) The department shall demand payment, as provided in IC 6-8.1-8-2(a), of any part of the proposed tax assessment, interest, and penalties that it finds owing because:

(1) the person failed to properly respond within the sixty (60) day period;

(2) the person requested a hearing but failed to appear at that hearing; or

(3) after consideration of the evidence presented in the protest or hearing, the department finds that the person still owes tax.

(k) The department shall make the demand for payment in the manner provided in IC 6-8.1-8-2.

(l) Subsection (b) does not apply to a motor carrier fuel tax return.

As added by Acts 1980, P.L.61, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.332-1989(ss), SEC.28; P.L.60-1990, SEC.12; P.L.71-1993, SEC.17; P.L.98-2004, SEC.73; P.L.111-2006, SEC.4; P.L.1-2007, SEC.67; P.L.172-2011, SEC.86; P.L.242-2015, SEC.35; P.L.234-2019, SEC.30.