Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 560-12-1-.37 - Revocations of Certificates of Registration
(1)
Purpose. Pursuant to
O.C.G.A. §
48-8-62, the Department may revoke
any one or more of the Certificates of Registration held by a Certificate
Holder who fails to comply with any provision of sales and use tax law. This
regulation governs the process for notice of proposed revocations, revocation
hearings, revocations, and reinstatements.
(2)
Definitions.
(a) "Certificate of Registration" shall mean
the certificate of registration which the Department issues after an
application has been received and approved, pursuant to O.C.G.A. §
48-8-59.
(b) "Certificate Holder" shall mean the
person named on the Certificate of Registration.
(c) "Person" shall have the meaning set forth
in O.C.G.A. §
48-1-2.
(d) "Sales and use tax law" shall mean
Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the O.C.G.A. and any Department rule or
regulation relating to this article.
(3)
Scope. Every person engaging
in or conducting business as a seller or dealer in the state must apply to and
receive from the Department a Certificate of Registration for each place of
business in Georgia, pursuant to O.C.G.A. §
48-8-59. A Certificate of
Registration is subject to revocation for failure to comply with sales and use
tax law, at the Department's discretion.
(4)
Grounds for Revocation. The
following is a non-exhaustive list of grounds for revocation:
(a) Failure to file required
returns;
(b) Filing false or
fraudulent returns;
(c) Failure to
collect or remit the required tax; and
(d) Providing materially false information in
the application for a Certificate of Registration or failing to inform the
Department of a material change to information provided in such
application.
(5)
Notice of Hearing. If the Department determines that there are
grounds for revocation, it will send a notice of a revocation hearing. This
notice will be delivered in person to the Certificate Holder, or in the case of
a business entity, an individual designated as a responsible party or otherwise
designated to receive service on behalf of the business entity. If personal
service is not possible, the notice will be sent via certified mail.
(a)
Contents. The notice will
specify each grounds for revocation in detail.
(b)
Timing. The notice will be
delivered at least ten days prior to the scheduled revocation
hearing.
(c)
Hearing
Schedule. The notice will contain a date, time, place for the hearing,
and the name of the hearing officer. The notice will also specify what
documents and information, if any, the Certificate Holder should bring to the
hearing. If the scheduled hearing time is inconvenient, the notice will specify
rescheduling options. However, a hearing may be forfeited if it cannot be
rescheduled within 45 days of the notice, at which point the Department may
proceed to revoke the Certificate of Registration.
(6)
Hearing. A revocation
hearing is an informal conference. It is not a hearing as defined in the
Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.
(a)
Hearing Officer. The revocation hearing will be conducted by a
Department employee authorized by the Commissioner to conduct revocation
hearings. Hearings will generally be held by a supervisor or manager over the
agent handling the Certificate Holder's account. However, the Certificate
Holder may request a different hearing officer if good cause is presented along
with such request.
(b)
Representation. The Certificate Holder may be represented by an
attorney, accountant, or other third party at the hearing, but the third party
must submit a signed Power of Attorney to act on the taxpayer's behalf or
receive information relating to the taxpayer without the taxpayer
present.
(c)
Burden of
Proof. It is the Certificate Holder's burden of proof to show cause as
to why the Certificate of Registration should not be revoked.
1. The Certificate Holder should present
evidence to remedy or correct each of the grounds for revocation set forth in
the revocation notice.
2. The
Certificate Holder is required to keep and preserve accurate records of sales,
purchases, books of accounts, and other information as required by the
Department, pursuant to O.C.G.A. §
48-8-52. Failure to maintain such
records does not relieve the Certificate Holder of the burden of
proof.
(d)
Compliance Agreement. The Certificate Holder may provide
sufficient proof of compliance at the hearing to avoid the revocation. Such
options may include furnishing all delinquent returns, paying past due taxes,
making a down payment towards past due taxes, and/or enrolling in a payment
plan for any past due taxes. The hearing officer must be satisfied that any
consideration tendered at the hearing is sufficient to ensure future
compliance.
(e)
Chronically
Delinquent Dealer Bond. The hearing officer may require that a
chronically delinquent taxpayer must post a bond with the Department in an
amount of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $10,000.00, pursuant to
O.C.G.A. §
48-8-57.
(f)
Default. If the Certificate
Holder does not attend the Revocation Hearing, the Department will revoke the
Certificate of Registration. Notice of the revocation will be sent to the
Certificate Holder in accordance with paragraph (8).
(7)
Hearing Determination. The
Department may make an oral determination at the hearing, but will also issue a
written ruling of the hearing determination by the next business day following
the hearing. The order on the revocation is a final ruling of the Commissioner,
and a declaratory ruling subject to appeal pursuant to O.C.G.A. §
48-2-59.
(a)
Compliance Agreement. If the
Certificate Holder provides sufficient security and guarantee of future
compliance, the hearing officer may order no action as to the proposed
revocation. The Department reserves the right to conduct another hearing in the
event of default on any of the terms of compliance. Such hearing will follow
the same procedures as the initial hearing.
(b)
Conditional Revocation. If
the taxpayer provides some security and guarantee of future compliance, the
hearing officer may determine a short time period is reasonable for the
Certificate Holder to produce necessary returns, funds, or other documents to
avoid revocation. This time period is a provisional certificate period, which
allows the Certificate Holder to retain its Certificate of Registration until a
specified date by which the Certificate Holder must meet the conditions
specified. If the Certificate Holder fails to comply with the conditions by the
date specified, the Certificate of Registration will be revoked effective the
end of the provisional certificate period. A provisional certificate period
does not preclude the Department from taking any enforcement actions to collect
unpaid tax liability during the conditional revocation period.
1. Any reasonable modification or further
extension may be granted at the discretion of the hearing officer, but such
modifications will be memorialized in a modified order.
(c)
Revocation. If the
Certificate Holder does not show sufficient cause to avoid revocation, the
hearing officer will issue an order revoking the Certificate of Registration,
effective immediately.
(8)
Notice of Revocation. If the
revocation hearing determination is to revoke a Certificate of Registration,
the Department will issue a notice of revocation stating the name of the
Certificate Holder, the sales tax account number, the Certificate holder's
place of business address, and the effective date of the revocation.
(a)
Notice. This notice will be
delivered in person to the Certificate of Registration holder, or in the case
of a business entity, an individual designated as a responsible party or
otherwise designated to receive service on behalf of the entity. If personal
service is not possible, the notice will be sent via certified mail.
(b)
Effect. Once a Certificate
of Registration has been revoked, the Certificate Holder is no longer
authorized to collect or remit sales and use tax on behalf of the state. The
Department will close the sales tax account number.
(c)
Surrender of Certificate.
Upon receipt of the notice of revocation, the Certificate Holder must return
the Certificate of Registration to the Department.
(d)
Operating without a
Certificate. It is unlawful for a person or entity to operate with a
revoked sales tax certificate. Each officer of a corporation who engages in
business with a revoked sales tax certificate shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
pursuant to O.C.G.A. §
48-8-60.
(e)
Public Notice of Revocation.
The Department may post notice of the revoked Certificate of Registration at
the Certificate Holder's place of business, in a conspicuous place. The
Department may also maintain and post on its website a list of revoked
Certificates of Registration.
(f)
Re-application. If the Certificate Holder of a revoked Certificate
of Registration attempts to apply for a new Certificate of Registration by
using a different name or officer to operate the same business, this
constitutes bad faith and may be fraud, pursuant to O.C.G.A. §
48-1-6. Circumvention of a
previous determination of revocation is grounds for revocation of the
Certificate of Registration.
(9)
Reinstatement of a Revoked
Certificate of Registration. A revoked certificate may be subject to
reinstatement if the Department is satisfied that the grounds for revocation
have been sufficiently addressed and the Department has assurances of the
Certificate Holder's future compliance.
(a)
Application. The Certificate Holder must submit an application for
reinstatement, along with the reinstatement fee.
(b)
Reinstatement Fee. There is
a $1 fee to reinstate a revoked certificate.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.