(1) Appeals filed after expiration of statutory deadline. Appeals that are not filed by the deadline described in statute shall be dismissed by the
director or the
director's designee in accordance with the procedure outlined in paragraph 7.12(1)
"a." a. Procedures for motions to dismiss. The
department shall file a
motion to dismiss with the
clerk and serve a copy of the
motion on the taxpayer. The taxpayer may file a resistance to the
motion within 20 days of the date of service of the
motion. If no resistance is so filed, the
director or the
director's designee shall immediately enter an order dismissing the
appeal. If a resistance is filed, the
department has ten days from the date of the filing of the resistance to decide whether to withdraw its
motion and so notify the taxpayer and the
clerk. If no such notice is received by the
clerk within the ten-day period, the
appeal file will be transferred to the
division of administrative hearings, which shall issue a notice for a
contested case proceeding on the
motion as prescribed by
rule 701-7.16 (17A), except that the issue of the
contested case proceeding shall be limited to the question of whether the
appeal was filed within the statutory
appeal period. Thereafter,
rule 701-7.19 (17A) pertaining to
contested case proceedings shall apply in such dismissal proceedings.
b. Grounds for denying the department's motion. The
department's
motion shall be granted unless the taxpayer can prove that it filed the
appeal prior to the expiration of the statutory
appeal deadline because the
department failed to:
(1) Mail or personally deliver the notice of assessment, refund denial, or other notice of department action to the taxpayer's last-known address; or
(2) If applicable, also mail the notice of assessment, refund denial, or other notice of department action to the taxpayer's authorized representative; or
(3) Comply with the requirements of Iowa Code section
421.60(2) "b." For purposes of this rule, "last-known address" and "personal delivery" mean the same as described in rule 701-7.33 (421).
(3) Failure to pursue the appeal at the informal stage. If the
appeal was filed timely and informal procedures were initiated, the failure of the taxpayer to provide documents or information requested by the
department, including the failure to respond to a position letter or an information request, shall constitute grounds for the
department to dismiss the
appeal in accordance with the procedure outlined in paragraph 7.12(3)
"a." For purposes of this subrule, an evasive or incomplete response will be treated as a failure to provide documents or information.
a. Procedures for motions to dismiss. If the
department seeks to dismiss the
appeal, the
department shall file a
motion to dismiss with the
clerk and serve a copy of the
motion on the taxpayer. The taxpayer may file a resistance to the
motion within 20 days of the date of service of the
motion. If no resistance is so filed, the
director or the
director's designee shall immediately enter an order dismissing the
appeal. If a resistance is filed, the
department has ten days from the date of the filing of the resistance to decide whether to withdraw its
motion and so notify the taxpayer and the
clerk. If no such notice is received by the
clerk within the ten-day period, the
appeal file will be transferred to the
division of administrative hearings, which shall issue a notice for a
contested case proceeding on the
motion as prescribed by
rule 701-7.16 (17A), except that the issue of the
contested case proceeding shall be limited to the question of whether the taxpayer failed to pursue the
appeal, as that term is defined in this subrule. Thereafter,
rule 701-7.19 (17A) pertaining to
contested case proceedings shall apply in such dismissal proceedings.
b. Grounds for reinstatement of dismissed appeals. If a motion to dismiss is filed and is unresisted, the appeal that was dismissed may be reinstated by the director or the director's designee for good cause if an application for reinstatement is filed with the clerk within 30 days of the date the appeal was dismissed. For purposes of this rule, "good cause" shall mean the same as "good cause" in Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.977.
c. Content and review of the application for reinstatement. The application shall set forth all reasons and facts upon which the taxpayer relies in seeking reinstatement of the appeal. Supporting documentation must be supplied. The department shall review and notify the taxpayer whether the application is granted or denied.
d. Denial of the application. If the
department denies the application to reinstate the
appeal, the taxpayer has 30 days from the date the application for reinstatement was denied in which to request, in writing, a formal hearing on the reinstatement. The taxpayer shall send the written request to the
clerk. When a written request for formal hearing is received, the
appeal file will be transferred to the
division of administrative hearings, which shall issue a notice as prescribed in
rule 701-7.16 (17A), except that the issue of the
contested case proceeding shall be limited to the question of whether the taxpayer has good cause to reinstate the dismissed
appeal. Thereafter,
rule 701-7.19(17A) pertaining to
contested case proceedings shall apply in such reinstatement proceedings. If the taxpayer does not respond to a denial of the application for reinstatement within 30 days of the denial, the
director or the
director's designee will issue an order closing the
appeal.
e. Failure to file timely application for reinstatement. If an application for reinstatement is filed after the 30-day deadline, the application shall not be accepted by the director or director's designee.
(4) Dismissal of appeals during contested case proceedings. Once
contested case proceedings have been commenced, it shall be grounds for a
motion to dismiss that a taxpayer has either failed to diligently pursue the
appeal or has refused to comply with requests for discovery set forth in
rule 701-7.17(17A). Such a
motion must be filed with the
presiding officer.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 17A.12, 421.10, 421.60, and 422.28.