16 Tex. Admin. Code § 402.105 - Postmarks, Receipt Marks, Timely Filing of Forms, Reports, Applications and Payment of Fees

(a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Common carrier--A person who provides transportation of persons or property to members of the general public for compensation in the normal course of business.

(2) Receipt mark--An official mark printed by a common carrier recording the date and place of mailing.

(3) United States Postal Service postmark--An official mark printed over a postage stamp by the United States Postal Service, canceling the stamp and recording the date and place of mailing. A postmark does not include dates recorded on postage purchased over the internet, pre-metered stamps, or postage from postage meters unless an actual postmark is generated.

(b) General Provisions.

(1) All forms, reports, and applications required to be submitted to the commission shall be filed on or before the due date for filing the form, report, or application.

(2) All payments required to be remitted to the commission shall be paid on or before the due date for making such payments.

(3) If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date is the next business day.

(4) If a form, report, application, or payment is postmarked or receipt-marked on or before the due date, it will be considered timely filed.

(c) Timely Filing or Payment- Postmark or Receipt Mark.

(1) To determine whether a form, report, or application has been timely filed, or a payment timely made, the date of the United States Postal Service postmark or a receipt mark showing when a report or payment was delivered to a common carrier or contract carrier will be prima facie evidence of the date the filing or payment was made, so long as the envelope, or common carrier or contract carrier documentation, reflects a valid commission address.

(2) If a report or payment is received through the United States Postal Service and does not have a postmark, or is received through a common carrier and does not have a receipt mark, the date of the filing or payment is presumed, in the absence of evidence supporting the assertion of a different filing date, to be:

(A) if received through the United States Postal Service, three days prior to the date on which the form, report, application, or payment is physically received by the commission, as evidenced by commission records; or

(B) if received through a common carrier, one day prior to the date on which the report or payment is physically received by the commission, as evidence by commission records.

(3) If a licensee penalized for late filing or late payment can provide a postmark or receipt mark complying with the requirements of timely filing and timely paying but, through no fault of the licensee, the form, report, application, or payment arrived after the due date, the filing or payment will be considered timely. The licensee's testimony that the form, report, application, or payment was sent will not be considered as evidence of timely filing or payment.

(4) A form, report, application, or payment that is submitted electronically will be considered filed or paid on the date it is received.

Notes

16 Tex. Admin. Code § 402.105

Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 50, Number 08, February 21, 2025, TexReg 0991, eff. 2/27/2025