§640. Reports by purchasers

A.(1) Timber and minerals other than oil or gas. On or before the last day of the month following the month to which the tax is applicable, purchasers and other persons dealing in any natural product, other than oil or gas, severed from the soil or water in Louisiana shall submit to the Department of Revenue a monthly statement on forms approved by the department, containing, or verified by a written declaration that it is made under the penalties imposed for perjury, showing the names and addresses of all persons from whom they have purchased any such natural product during that month, together with the total quantity of, and gross price paid for, each natural product. At the time of making the report the purchaser or other dealer shall pay to the secretary the amount of tax deducted or withheld, or that may be due under this Part.

(2) Oil or gas. On or before the twenty-fifth day of the second month following the month to which the tax is applicable, purchasers and other persons dealing in oil or gas severed from the soil or water in Louisiana shall submit to the Department of Revenue a monthly statement on forms approved by the department, containing, or verified by, a written declaration that it is made under the penalties imposed for perjury, showing the names and addresses of all persons from whom they have purchased oil or gas during that month, together with the total quantity of, and gross price paid for the oil or gas. At the time of making the report the purchaser or other dealer shall pay to the secretary the amount of tax deducted or withheld, or that may be due under this Part.

B. One-time payment. Every person purchasing or dealing in oil or gas severed from the soil or water of the state on or before January 1, 2005, shall remit a one-time payment in an amount equal to the lesser of the average monthly payment due from the purchaser or dealer for the period July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005, or the average monthly payment for the period from January 1, 2005, through June 30, 2005. The one-time payment shall be due on or before November 25, 2005. Natural gas severance tax filers whose monthly payments average less than one hundred thousand dollars and who were previously required to file their statements on or before the fifteenth day of the second month following the month to which the tax was applicable are not required to make this one-time payment. The one-time payment required by this Subsection shall be borne by the parties responsible for remitting severance taxes to the state and not by the responsible parties' royalty and overriding royalty owners.

(1) A purchaser or dealer may apply to the secretary of the Department of Revenue for a reduction in the one-time payment amount if the average monthly remittance computed under this Paragraph is not reflective of the current volumes of production reported by the purchaser or dealer.

(a) The application to remit a lesser amount shall be filed with the department on or before October 1, 2005.

(b) The decision of the secretary on the application shall be final, and no right of appeal to any court may be taken from the decision.

(2) If the one-time payment is not paid on or before November 25, 2005, the tax shall be delinquent and subject to interest and penalties as provided by R.S. 47:1601 and 1602.

(3) Credit for one-time payment on final returns. If the purchaser or dealer is ceasing operations in the state, the one-time payment amount shall be credited against the amount of tax due on the purchaser or dealer's final return. If the amount due on the final return is less than the amount of the one-time payment, the balance of the payment shall be refunded to the purchaser or dealer, and interest shall begin to accrue from the filing date of the final return until the date that the refund is issued.

(4) Credit for one-time payment. Purchasers that made the one-time payment required by this Subsection may take credit for the payment by applying twenty-five percent of the one-time payment amount to severance tax liabilities for each of the following periods:

(a) The October 2006 return that is due December 25, 2006.

(b) The April 2007 return that is due June 25, 2007.

(c) The October 2007 return that is due December 25, 2007.

(d) The April 2008 return that is due June 25, 2008.

C. A taxpayer not complying with the provisions of this Section will be considered delinquent and will be subject to penalties and interest as provided in R.S. 47:1601 and 1602.

Acts 1988, No. 47, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1989; Acts 1989, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 15, §1; Acts 1997, No. 658, §2; Acts 2001, No. 1032, §15; Acts 2005, No. 446, §1, eff. for tax periods beginning on or after Oct. 1, 2005; Acts 2006, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 26, §1, eff. Feb. 23, 2006.

NOTE: See Acts 1989 2nd E.S., No. 15, §3.