Mary Feldblum

23-13

On December 19, 2022, the Department assessed the Taxpayer for the tax period ending October 31, 2022, for penalty associated with gross receipts tax. On December 27, 2022, the Taxpayer filed a formal protest. The Taxpayer argued that they normally file electronically files when there is no tax due. However, when a payment needs to be made, the taxpayer files a paper return and submits a check for the payment of taxes due. The Taxpayer continued using this normal process until they were informed by the Department that the combined reporting system (CRS) return had been retired. For the periods at issue, the taxpayer testified that they did not receive the notice from the Department. The Taxpayer testified that because the same information was always requested when filing online, they never noticed that the CRS system was retired, which is why they were still using the CRS-1 form. The Hearing Officer determined that based on the evidence and regulation 3.2.2.15 NMAC stating that the taxpayer must file a CRS-1 that the taxpayer is not negligent, the protest is granted, and the penalty at issue is to be abated.