Western Disposal Services

10-11

The Taxpayer filed a timely CRS report and made payment for the December 2003 reporting period.  The Department misapplied the payment to another account and lost the report.  The Taxpayer was notified of the failure to file a report for that period.  The Taxpayer was unable to locate the report or proof of payment, so another report and payment for that period were submitted in March 2004.  In March 2009, the Taxpayer was informed that the report for December 2003 was still missing.  The Taxpayer found the original CRS report and proof of payment in their records and provided copies of these to the Department.  In April 2009, the Taxpayer filed a claim for refund for the second payment made.  The Department denied the claim for refund in May 2009.  In June 2009, the Taxpayer filed a formal protest to the denial.  The issue to be decided in the hearing was whether the claim for refund was properly denied due to the statute of limitations.  Section 7-1-26 (D) NMSA 1978 establishes that no refund or credit is allowed unless claimed within three years of the end of the calendar year of the original due date of the payment or within three years of the overpayment.  The original payment was due in January 2004 and the overpayment occurred in March 2004.  The statute of limitations expired at the end of the 2007 calendar year.  The claim for refund was barred by the statute of limitations.  The Taxpayer’s protest was denied.