§337.51. Notice of assessment and right to appeal

A.(1) Having assessed the amount determined to be due, the collector shall send a notice by certified mail to the taxpayer against whom the assessment is imposed at the address given in the last report filed by the taxpayer, or to any address obtainable from any private entity which will provide such address free of charge or from any federal, state, or local government entity, including but not limited to the United States Postal Service or from the United States Postal Service certified software. This notice shall inform the taxpayer of the assessment and that he has thirty calendar days from the date of the notice to do any of the following:

(a) Pay the amount of the assessment.

(b) Appeal to the Board of Tax Appeals for redetermination of the assessment.

(c) Pay under protest in accordance with R.S. 47:337.63, and then either file suit or file a petition with the Board of Tax Appeals, all as provided for in that Section.

(2) If no report has been timely filed, the collector shall send a notice by certified mail to the taxpayer against whom the assessment is imposed at any address obtainable from any private entity which will provide such address free of charge or from any federal, state, or local government entity, including but not limited to the United States Postal Service or from the United States Postal Service certified software. This notice shall inform the taxpayer of the assessment and that he has thirty calendar days from the date of the notice to do either of the following:

(a) Pay the amount of the assessment.

(b) Pay under protest in accordance with R.S. 47:337.63 and then either file suit or file a petition with the Board of Tax Appeals, all as provided for in that Section.

(3) If the taxpayer has not paid under protest in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 47:337.63, or pursued an alternative remedy in accordance with R.S. 47:337.64, or filed an appeal with the Board of Tax Appeals within the thirty-day period provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the assessment shall be final and shall be collectible by distraint and sale as provided in this Part. If an appeal for a redetermination of the assessment has been timely and properly filed, the assessment shall not be collectible by distraint and sale until such time as the assessment has been redetermined or affirmed by the Board of Tax Appeals or the court which last reviews the matter.

B. If any dealer disputes any findings or assessment of the collector, he may, within thirty days of the receipt of notice of the assessment or finding, do any of the following:

(1)(a) File an appeal from the decision of the collector directed to the Board of Tax Appeals.

(b) Pay under protest in accordance with R.S. 47:337.63, and either file suit as provided for in that Section, or file a petition with the Board of Tax Appeals, as provided in that Section.

(2) This Section shall afford a legal remedy and right of action in the Board of Tax Appeals, or in any state, city, or federal court having jurisdiction of the parties and subject matter for a full and complete adjudication of any and all questions arising in the enforcement of the local ordinance and this Chapter as to the legality of any tax accrued or accruing or the method of enforcement thereof. If an appeal for a redetermination of the assessment has been timely and properly filed with the Board of Tax Appeals pursuant to Subparagraph (1)(a) of this Subsection, the assessment shall not be collectible by distraint and sale until the assessment has been redetermined or affirmed by the Board of Tax Appeals or the court which last reviews the matter.

(3) A notice of tax due issued pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 47:337.48 shall not constitute a finding for purposes of this Subsection.

(4) Repealed by Acts 2018, No. 143, §2, eff. May 11, 2018.

C.(1) No assessment made by the collector shall be final if it is determined that the assessment was based on an error of fact or of law. An "error of fact" for this purpose means facts material to the assessment assumed by the collector at the time of the assessment to be true but which subsequently are determined by the collector to be false. "Error of law" for this purpose means that in making the assessment the collector applied the law contrary to the construction followed by the collector in making other assessments.

(2) The determination of an error of fact or of law under this Subsection shall be solely that of the collector, and no action against the collector with respect to the determination shall be brought in any court, including the Board of Tax Appeals, and no court shall have jurisdiction of any such action, it being the intent of this Subsection only to permit the collector to correct manifest errors of fact or in the application of the law made by the collector in making the assessment; however, all reductions of assessments based on such errors, except estimated assessments made due to the failure of the taxpayer to file a proper tax return, must be approved and signed by the collector. Estimated assessments made due to the failure of the taxpayer to file a proper tax return may be corrected by the acceptance of the proper tax return and must be approved by the collector or his designee.

D.(1) A collector may elect to send to a taxpayer or dealer by regular mail a copy of the notice of assessment containing the same information and addressed in the same manner as provided for in Subsection A of this Section. If the collector mails this regular mail notice on the same date and to the same address as the collector mails a notice of assessment by certified mail, then the notice transmitted by regular mail shall be deemed to have been received by the taxpayer or dealer on the earlier of the date that the United States Postal Service record indicates that it first attempted to deliver the notice of assessment to the taxpayer or dealer, or on the seventh business day from the date of mailing. A certificate of mailing or other proof of mailing from the United States Postal Service shall establish that this copy of the notice of assessment was transmitted by regular mail. Other evidence may be used to alternatively establish the presumption of delivery provided for in this Subsection, including an affidavit of the person who transmitted the notice attesting to the fact that it was transmitted in accordance with the provisions of this Subsection.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if a collector, in his sole discretion, chooses not to send the copy of the notice of assessment provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the absence of transmitting the notice by regular mail shall not be used to establish that a notice of assessment was either not mailed or not received.

(3) If a collector, in his sole discretion, sends the copy of the notice of assessment provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the transmittal of the notice shall have no impact on the time within which the amount of the assessment is required to be paid or paid under protest, or, as provided in this Section, the time within which the assessment becomes final or the time within which an appeal may be made to the Board of Tax Appeals.

Acts 2003, No. 73, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2010, No. 1003, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2014, No. 640, §2, eff. June 12, 2014; Acts 2015, No. 210, §1, eff. June 23, 2015; Acts 2018, No. 143, §§1, 2, eff. May 11, 2018.

NOTE: See Acts 208, No. 143, §4.

NOTE: §337.1(D) shall not be applicable to any existing assessment prior to July 1, 2018, not applicable to pending litigation in the courts of Board of Tax Appeals existing prior to May 11, 2018.