§1565. Notice of assessment and right to appeal

            A. Having assessed the amount determined to be due, the secretary shall send a notice by certified mail to the taxpayer against whom the assessment is imposed at the address given in the last report filed by the taxpayer, or to any address obtainable from any private entity which will provide such address free of charge or from any federal, state, or local government entity, including but not limited to the United States Postal Service or from United States Postal Service certified software. However, if the notice is to be mailed to an address outside the United States, the secretary shall send notice by First-Class Mail International with Electronic United States Postal Service Delivery Confirmation. If no report has been timely filed, the secretary shall send a notice by certified mail to the taxpayer against whom the assessment is imposed at any address obtainable from any private entity which will provide such address free of charge or from any federal, state, or local government entity, including but not limited to the United States Postal Service or from United States Postal service certified software. However, if the notice is to be mailed to an address outside the United States, the secretary shall send notice by First-Class Mail International with Electronic United States Postal Service Delivery Confirmation. This notice shall inform the taxpayer of the assessment and that he has sixty calendar days from the date of the notice to either pay the amount of the assessment or to appeal to the Board of Tax Appeals for a redetermination of the assessment. All such appeals shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Subtitle II of this Title.

            B. If the taxpayer has not filed an appeal with the Board of Tax Appeals within the sixty day period, the assessment shall be final and shall be collectible by distraint and sale as hereinafter provided. If an appeal for a redetermination of the assessment has been filed, the assessment shall not be collectible by distraint and sale until such time as the assessment has been redetermined or affirmed by the Board of Tax Appeals or the court which last reviews the matter.

            C.(1) No assessment made by the secretary shall be final if it is determined that the assessment was based on an error of fact or of law. An "error of fact" for this purpose means facts material to the assessment assumed by the secretary at the time of the assessment to be true but which subsequently are determined by the secretary to be false. "Error of law" for this purpose means that in making the assessment the secretary applied the law contrary to the construction followed by the secretary in making other assessments.

            (2)(a) The determination of an error of fact or of law under this Subsection shall be solely that of the secretary except as otherwise provided in this Subsection, and no action against the secretary with respect to the determination shall be brought in any court, and no court shall have jurisdiction of any such action, nor the Board of Tax Appeals except as provided in this Subsection, it being the intent of this Subsection only to permit the secretary to correct manifest errors of fact or in the application of the law made by the secretary in making the assessment; however, all reductions of assessments based on such errors, except estimated assessments made due to the failure of the taxpayer to file a proper tax return, must be approved and signed by the secretary, and the assistant secretary or the deputy assistant secretary supervising the office of legal affairs of the Department of Revenue, and shall then be submitted for review by the Board of Tax Appeals and, if approved, shall be signed by the chairman thereof. Estimated assessments made due to the failure of the taxpayer to file a proper tax return may be corrected by the acceptance of the proper tax return and must be approved by the secretary or his designee.

            (b) A person may petition the Board of Tax Appeals within thirty days of receipt of a notice related to a seizure, levy, garnishment, offset, or other collection action, whether occurred or intended, related to an assessment that qualifies for relief pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection. If the board finds clear and convincing evidence that the otherwise final assessment qualifies for relief pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, it shall order that the matter be referred to the secretary for review pursuant to provisions of this Subsection, and the assessment shall not be collectible until such time as the assessment has been redetermined pursuant to this Subsection. The secretary shall submit any redetermination to the board for approval in the same manner as provided in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph.

            (c) A person who has been the subject of a collection action related to an otherwise final assessment that qualifies for relief pursuant to this Subsection may file a refund claim with the secretary within the applicable prescriptive period pursuant to R.S. 47:1623 following the secretary's receipt of the funds. Any refund authorized by this Subparagraph shall be additionally limited to any amount actually collected by the secretary that was not actually due considering a redetermination made pursuant to this Subsection due to the petition filed pursuant to this Paragraph.

            (3) The remedies of a taxpayer aggrieved by any action of the secretary are by appeal to the Board of Tax Appeals or by payment of the disputed tax under protest and suit or petition to recover as provided in this Subtitle.

            D.(1) The secretary may elect to send to a taxpayer or dealer by regular mail a copy of the notice of assessment containing the same information and addressed in the same manner as provided in Subsection A of this Section. If the secretary mails this regular mail notice within five business days of mailing the notice of assessment to the same address as the secretary mails the notice of assessment by certified mail, then the notice transmitted by regular mail shall be deemed to have been received by the taxpayer or dealer for the purposes of this Subsection on the earlier of the date that the United States Postal Service record indicates that it first attempted to deliver the notice of assessment to the taxpayer or dealer, or on the seventh business day from mailing. A certificate of mailing or other proof of mailing from the United States Postal Service shall establish that this copy of the notice of assessment was transmitted by regular mail. Other evidence may be used to alternatively establish the presumption of delivery provided for in this Subsection, including an affidavit of the person who transmitted the notice attesting to the fact that it was transmitted in accordance with the provisions of this Subsection.

            (2) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if the secretary in his sole discretion chooses not to send the copy of the notice of assessment provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the absence of transmitting the notice by regular mail shall not be used to establish that a notice of assessment was either not mailed or not received.

            (3) If the secretary in his sole discretion sends the copy of the notice of assessment provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the transmittal of the notice shall have no impact on: the time within which the amount of the assessment is required to be paid or paid under protest, or, as provided in this Section, the time within which the assessment becomes final or the time within which an appeal may be made to the Board of Tax Appeals.

            Amended by Acts 1971, No. 58, §1; Acts 1972, No. 565, §1; Acts 1982, No. 46, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 1982; Acts 1985, No. 362, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985; Acts 1997, No. 269, §1, eff. June 17, 1997; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 91, §1, eff. May 1, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 219, §1, eff. June 11, 1999; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 142, §1, eff. April 19, 2000; Acts 2018, No. 143, §1, eff. May 11, 2018; Acts 2023, No. 289, §1; Acts 2024, No. 307, §1, eff. May 28, 2024.