CHAPTER 5. APPEALS OF FINAL DETERMINATIONS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE
IC 6-1.5-5
Chapter 5. Appeals of Final Determinations by the Department ofLocal Government Finance
IC 6-1.5-5-1
Review of appeals; notice of final determination; procedures forinitiation of appeal
Sec. 1. (a) The Indiana board shall conduct impartial review of allappeals of final determinations of the department of localgovernment finance made under the following:
(1) IC 6-1.1-8.
(2) IC 6-1.1-14-11.
(3) IC 6-1.1-16.
(4) IC 6-1.1-26-2.
(5) IC 6-1.1-45-6.
(b) Each notice of final determination issued by the department oflocal government finance under a statute listed in subsection (a) mustgive the taxpayer notice of:
(1) the opportunity for review under this section; and
(2) the procedures the taxpayer must follow in order to obtainreview under this section.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (e), in order to obtain areview by the Indiana board under this section, the taxpayer must filea petition for review with the appropriate county assessor not laterthan forty-five (45) days after the notice of the department of localgovernment finance's action is given to the taxpayer.
(d) The county assessor shall transmit a petition for review undersubsection (c) to the Indiana board not later than ten (10) days afterthe petition is filed.
(e) In order to obtain a review by the Indiana board of an appealof a final determination of the department of local governmentfinance under IC 6-1.1-8-30, the public utility company must followthe procedures in IC 6-1.1-8-30.
As added by P.L.198-2001, SEC.95. Amended by P.L.178-2002,SEC.40; P.L.1-2003, SEC.31; P.L.256-2003, SEC.32; P.L.245-2003,SEC.22; P.L.97-2004, SEC.24; P.L.208-2005, SEC.2.
IC 6-1.5-5-2
Hearings; resolution by Indiana board; notice; auditor duties
Sec. 2. (a) After receiving a petition for review that is filed undera statute listed in section 1(a) of this chapter, the Indiana board shall,at its earliest opportunity:
(1) conduct a hearing; or
(2) cause a hearing to be conducted by an administrative lawjudge.
The Indiana board may determine to conduct the hearing undersubdivision (1) on its own motion or on request of a party to theappeal.
(b) In its resolution of a petition, the Indiana board may correctany errors that may have been made and adjust the assessment in
accordance with the correction.
(c) The Indiana board shall give notice of the date fixed for thehearing by mail to:
(1) the taxpayer;
(2) the department of local government finance; and
(3) the appropriate:
(A) township assessor (if any);
(B) county assessor; and
(C) county auditor.
(d) With respect to an appeal of the assessment of real property orpersonal property filed after June 30, 2005, the notices requiredunder subsection (c) must include the following:
(1) The action of the department of local government financewith respect to the appealed items.
(2) A statement that a taxing unit receiving the notice from thecounty auditor under subsection (e) may:
(A) attend the hearing;
(B) offer testimony; and
(C) file an amicus curiae brief in the proceeding.
(e) If, after receiving notice of a hearing under subsection (c), thecounty auditor determines that the assessed value of the appealeditems constitutes at least one percent (1%) of the total gross certifiedassessed value of a particular taxing unit for the assessment dateimmediately preceding the assessment date for which the appeal wasfiled, the county auditor shall send a copy of the notice to theaffected taxing unit. A taxing unit that receives a notice from thecounty auditor under this subsection is not a party to the appeal.Failure of the county auditor to send a copy of the notice to theaffected taxing unit does not affect the validity of the appeal or delaythe appeal.
(f) The Indiana board shall give the notices required undersubsection (c) at least thirty (30) days before the day fixed for thehearing.
As added by P.L.198-2001, SEC.95. Amended by P.L.245-2003,SEC.23; P.L.199-2005, SEC.15; P.L.154-2006, SEC.62;P.L.219-2007, SEC.89; P.L.146-2008, SEC.308.
IC 6-1.5-5-3
Forms
Sec. 3. The Indiana board shall prescribe a form for use inprocessing petitions for review of actions by the department of localgovernment finance. The Indiana board shall issue instructions forcompletion of the form.
As added by P.L.198-2001, SEC.95.
IC 6-1.5-5-4
Additional evidence; additional hearings; determination based onstipulation; findings
Sec. 4. (a) After conducting a hearing, the Indiana board may takeadditional evidence or hold additional hearings. (b) The Indiana board may base its final determination on astipulation between the respondent and the petitioner. If the finaldetermination is based on a stipulated assessed valuation of tangibleproperty, the Indiana board may order the placement of a notation onthe permanent assessment record of the tangible property that theassessed valuation was determined by stipulation. The Indiana boardmay:
(1) order that a final determination under this subsection has noprecedential value; or
(2) specify a limited precedential value of a final determinationunder this subsection.
(c) If the Indiana board does not issue its final determinationunder subsection (b), the Indiana board's final determination mustinclude separately stated findings of fact for all aspects of thedetermination. Findings of ultimate fact must be accompanied by aconcise statement of the underlying basic facts of record to supportthe findings. Findings must:
(1) be based exclusively on:
(A) the evidence on the record in the proceeding; and
(B) matters officially noticed in the proceeding; and
(2) be based on a preponderance of the evidence.
As added by P.L.198-2001, SEC.95. Amended by P.L.245-2003,SEC.24; P.L.219-2007, SEC.90.
IC 6-1.5-5-5
Notice by Indiana board; county auditor to give notice to taxingunits
Sec. 5. After the hearing, the Indiana board shall give thepetitioner, the township assessor (if any), the county assessor, thecounty auditor, and the department of local government finance:
(1) notice, by mail, of its final determination, findings of fact,and conclusions of law; and
(2) notice of the procedures the petitioner or the department oflocal government finance must follow in order to obtain courtreview of the final determination of the Indiana board.
The county auditor shall provide copies of the documents describedin subdivisions (1) and (2) to the taxing units entitled to notice undersection 2(e) of this chapter.
As added by P.L.198-2001, SEC.95. Amended by P.L.199-2005,SEC.16; P.L.154-2006, SEC.63; P.L.146-2008, SEC.309.
IC 6-1.5-5-6
Time limits for hearings and final determination; appeal options;when de novo review required
Sec. 6. (a) The Indiana board shall conduct a hearing or cause ahearing to be conducted within six (6) months after a petition inproper form is filed with the Indiana board, excluding any time dueto a delay reasonably caused by the petitioner.
(b) The Indiana board shall make a final determination within thelater of forty-five (45) days after the hearing or the date set in an
extension order issued by the Indiana board. However, the Indianaboard may not extend the final determination date by more than onehundred eighty (180) days.
(c) The failure of the Indiana board to conduct a hearing withinthe period prescribed in this section does not constitute notice to theperson of an Indiana board final determination.
(d) If the Indiana board fails to make a final determination withinthe time allowed by this section after a hearing, the entity thatinitiated the petition may:
(1) take no action and wait for the Indiana board to make a finaldetermination; or
(2) initiate a proceeding for judicial review by taking the actionrequired by IC 6-1.1-15-5(b) at any time after the maximumtime elapses.
(e) If:
(1) a judicial proceeding is initiated under subsection (d); and
(2) the Indiana board has not issued a determination;
the tax court shall determine the matter de novo.
As added by P.L.198-2001, SEC.95. Amended by P.L.154-2006,SEC.64.
IC 6-1.5-5-7
Judicial review of final determinations
Sec. 7. A final determination of the Indiana board is subject tojudicial review under IC 6-1.1-15. The:
(1) local government official who made the originaldetermination under judicial review; and
(2) department of local government finance;
are parties to a judicial review initiated under this section.
As added by P.L.198-2001, SEC.95.
IC 6-1.5-5-8
Applicability of IC 6-1.1-15; substitution of department of localgovernment finance
Sec. 8. (a) IC 6-1.1-15, as in effect before January 1, 2002, appliesto an appeal of a final determination of the state board of taxcommissioners issued before January 1, 2002.
(b) The department of local government finance is substituted forthe state board of tax commissioners in an appeal described insubsection (a).
As added by P.L.198-2001, SEC.95.
IC 6-1.5-5-9
Subpoenas; oaths
Sec. 9. In order to obtain information that is necessary to theIndiana board's conduct of a necessary or proper inquiry, the Indianaboard or a board administrative law judge may:
(1) subpoena and examine witnesses;
(2) administer oaths; and
(3) subpoena and examine books or papers that are in the hands
of any person.
As added by P.L.198-2001, SEC.95.
IC 6-1.5-5-10
Affidavits; writs directing appearance or production
Sec. 10. (a) The Indiana board may file an affidavit with a circuitcourt of this state if:
(1) the Indiana board has requested that a person giveinformation or produce books or records; and
(2) the person has not complied with the request.
(b) An affidavit filed under subsection (a) must state that theperson has not complied with the request of the Indiana board to giveinformation or produce books or records.
(c) When an affidavit is filed under subsection (a), the circuitcourt shall issue a writ that directs the person to appear at the officeof the Indiana board and to give the requested information or producethe requested books or records. The appropriate county sheriff shallserve the writ. Disobedience of the writ is punishable as a contemptof the court that issued the writ.
(d) If a writ is issued under this section, the cost incurred in filingthe affidavit, in the issuance of the writ, and in the service of the writshall be charged to the person against whom the writ is issued. If awrit is not issued, all costs shall be charged to the county in whichthe circuit court proceedings are held, and the board ofcommissioners of that county shall allow a claim for the costs.
As added by P.L.198-2001, SEC.95.