§ 4902. Relief from Liability.
18 CA ADC § 4902Barclays Official California Code of Regulations
Barclays California Code of Regulations
Title 18. Public Revenues
Division 2. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration-- Business Taxes (State Board of Equalization-- Business Taxes, See Ch. 6 and 9.9)
Chapter 9.9. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and State Board of Equalization -- Special Taxes Administration -- Miscellaneous
18 CCR § 4902
§ 4902. Relief from Liability.
(a) General. A person may be relieved from the liability for the payment of tax, defined in section 4901(a)(7), imposed pursuant to applicable tax laws, defined in section 4901(a)(1), including any penalties and interest added to the tax, when that liability resulted from the failure to make a timely return or a payment and such failure was found by the board to be due to reasonable reliance on:
Written advice from the board may only be relied upon by the person to whom it was originally issued or a legal or statutory successor to that person. Written advice from the board which was received during a prior audit of the person under the conditions set forth in subdivision (c) below, may be relied upon by the person audited or a person with shared accounting and common ownership with the audited person or by a legal or statutory successor to those persons.
The term “written advice” includes advice that was incorrect at the time it was issued as well as advice that was correct at the time it was issued, but, subsequent to issuance, was invalidated by a change in statutory or constitutional law, by a change in board regulations, or by a final decision of a court of competent jurisdiction. Prior written advice may not be relied upon subsequent to: (1) the effective date of a change in statutory or constitutional law and board regulations or the date of a final decision of a court of competent jurisdiction regardless that the board did not provide notice of such action; or (2) the person receiving a subsequent writing notifying the person that the advice was not valid at the time it was issued or was subsequently rendered invalid. As generally used in this regulation, the term “written advice” includes both written advice provided in a written communication under subdivision (b) below and written advice provided in a prior audit of the person under subdivision (c) below.
(b) Advice Provided in a Written Communication. Advice from the board provided to the person in a written communication must have been in response to a specific written inquiry from the person seeking relief from liability, or from his or her representative. To be considered a specific written inquiry for purposes of this regulation, representatives must identify the specific person for whom the advice is requested. Such inquiry must have set forth and fully described the facts and circumstances of the activity or transactions for which the advice was requested.
(c) Written Advice Provided in a Prior Audit. Presentation of the person's books and records for examination by an auditor shall be deemed to be a written request for the audit report by the audited person and any person with shared accounting and common ownership with the audited person. If a prior audit report of the person requesting relief contains written evidence which demonstrates that the issue in question was examined, either in a sample or census (actual) review, such evidence will be considered “written advice from the board” for purposes of this regulation. A census, (actual) review, as opposed to a sample review, involves examination of 100% of the person's transactions pertaining to the issue in question. For written advice contained in a prior audit of the person to apply to the person's activity or transaction in question, the facts and conditions relating to the activity or transaction must not have changed from those which occurred during the period of operation in the prior audit. Audit comments, schedules, and other writings prepared by the board that become part of the audit work papers which reflect that the activity or transaction in question was properly reported and no amount was due are sufficient for a finding for relief from liability, unless it can be shown that the person seeking relief knew such advice was erroneous.
For the purposes of this section a person is considered to have shared accounting and common ownership if the person:
These requirements must be established as existing during the periods for which relief is sought. A subsequent written notification stating that the advice was not valid at the time it was issued or was subsequently rendered invalid to any party with shared accounting and common ownership, including the audited party, serves as notification to all parties with shared accounting and common ownership, including the audited party, that the prior written advice may not be relied upon as of the notification date.
Credits
Note: Authority cited: Sections 8251, 9251, 30451, 32451,40171, 41128, 43501, 45851, 46601, 50152 and 60601, Revenue and Taxation Code. Reference: Sections 7657.1, 8879, 30284, 32257, 40104, 41098, 43159, 45157, 46158, 50112.5, 55045 and 60210, Revenue and Taxation Code.
History
1. New section filed 4-28-2003; operative 5-28-2003 (Register 2003, No. 18).
2. Amendment of subsections (a)(3) and (c) and new subsections (c)(1)-(c)(3)(C) filed 6-18-2014; operative 10-1-2014 (Register 2014, No. 25).
This database is current through 8/30/24 Register 2024, No. 35.
Cal. Admin. Code tit. 18, § 4902, 18 CA ADC § 4902
End of Document |