Hyundai Corporation USA

17-28

On August 12, 2016, the Department issued a Notice of Assessment of Taxes and Demand for Payment of withholding tax penalty and interest for the period ending June 30, 2016. The formal protest was received by the Department on October 4, 2016. The Taxpayer is asking for relief of the penalty and interest owed due to modifications of the Taxpayers internal computer networking system that resulted in an employee not having access to the Departments online filing system during the time at issue. In the protest letter, an employee of the Taxpayers noted that they believed they had until July 31, 2016 to file and make a payment for the tax due for the period at issue. The Taxpayer filed its return and payment on July 28, 2016. The Department confirmed that the return and the payment due date for that reporting period was July 25, 2016. The untimely filed return resulted in the assessment showing penalty and interest due for the period at issue. The Taxpayer did not disagree that the payment and return were late but is asking for leniency due to the circumstances. The Hearing Officer determined that the assessment of interest is mandatory and the Department has no legal authority to abate it. For the issue of penalty, the Hearing Officer Determined that the Taxpayer failed to establish that it was entitled to an abatement of penalty. For the reasons above, the Taxpayer’s protest is denied.