A. Upon application of the owner, the secretary shall suspend payment of the tax and issue a certificate of title without payment of the tax for any vehicle the leasing of which is subject to the Leased Vehicle Gross Receipts Tax Act [Chapter 7, Article 14A NMSA 1978], if:

(1) the vehicle is acquired by the owner on or after July 1, 1991;

(2) the vehicle is required to be registered in this state;

(3) the owner presents proof satisfactory to the secretary that the owner is registered with the department to pay the leased vehicle gross receipts tax; and

(4) the owner declares that the vehicle for which issuance of a certificate of title is being applied will be part of a vehicle fleet of at least five vehicles, will be used primarily as a short-term rental vehicle and that each period of rental or lease will not exceed six months.

B. If an owner has paid the motor vehicle excise tax after July 1, 1991 with respect to a vehicle that qualifies for suspension of the motor vehicle excise tax pursuant to Subsection A of this section, the owner may apply for a refund of the motor vehicle excise tax paid, but the application for refund must be made within one year of the date certificate of title was issued to the owner for the vehicle. If application is made after that time, the claim for refund is not timely and the motor vehicle excise tax paid shall not be refunded.

C. On or before the twenty-fifth day of the month following the close of the calendar year, the owner shall submit to the department in a form prescribed by the secretary a report indicating the total collections of leased vehicle gross receipts tax collected in lieu of the tax. The report shall also indicate the amount of tax that would have been paid in the state of New Mexico for the preceding calendar year.

D. If the total amount of leased vehicle gross receipts tax is less than the amount of tax that would have been collected, the owner shall pay the difference to the department at the time of filing the report required by Subsection B of this section.

E. Once the total amount of leased vehicle gross receipts tax credited with respect to a vehicle for which payment of the motor vehicle excise tax is suspended pursuant to Subsection A of this section equals or exceeds the amount of motor vehicle excise tax due on that vehicle, or the owner has paid the difference pursuant to Subsection D of this section, the secretary shall cause the records of the department to indicate that the motor vehicle excise tax due with respect to that vehicle is paid in full and that payment is no longer suspended.

History: 1978 Comp., § 7-14-7.1, enacted by Laws 1991, ch. 197, § 4; 1993, ch. 347, § 1; 1994, ch. 104, § 1.

The 1994 amendment, effective May 18, 1994, deleted "motor vehicle excise" preceding "tax" twice in Subsection A, deleted former Subsections C, D, E, F and G, concerning reports of suspended taxes, crediting of suspended taxes against taxes due on the vehicle, adjustment of department records to reflect payments, and payments by vehicle owners of amounts due on the vehicles; and added Subsections C, D and E.

Applicability. — Laws 1994, ch. 104, § 3 made the provisions of §§ 1 and 2 of the act applicable to vehicle registered on or after January 1, 1994, and to vehicles registered during 1993 and for which the motor vehicle excise tax was suspended during the last six months of the year.

The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, inserted present Subsection B, redesignated former Subsections B to F as present Subsections C to G, and inserted "the vehicle identification number" near the middle of the second sentence of Subsection C.