Hawaii Administrative Rules
Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION
Chapter 237D - TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS TAX
Section 18-237D-4-13 - Citation for failure to display; requirements

(1) The name and address of the respondent;

(2) The specific alleged violation or violations of title 14, HRS, or the administrative rules adopted thereunder which constitute cause for the issuance of the citation for failure to display;

(3) The location of where the violation occurred or is occurring If the citation is issued pursuant to section 237D-4(b), HRS, the location shall include the address of the transient accommodation If the citation is issued under section 237D-4(d), HRS, the location shall include a description of the advertisement and a description of the transient accommodation The advertisement shall be described to the best of the department's ability and may include such information as the name and date of the publication, the website address or any other description sufficient for a reasonable person to locate the advertisement The transient accommodation shall also be described to the best of the department's ability, including the address if possible;

(4) A signature of the special enforcement section employee or other department employee authorized to issue the citation By signing the citation for failure to display, the issuer certifies that the statements contained in the citation are true and correct, to the best of his or her knowledge A citation that has not been signed by a duly authorized employee of the department shall be void ab initio:

(5) If applicable, the amount of the monetary fine imposed against the respondent;

(6) A space for the respondent, or the respondent's agent or representative, to acknowledge receipt of the citation by signature If the respondent or respondent's agent or representative refuses to sign or if for some other reason the department employee is unable to acquire a signature to acknowledge receipt, the citation may indicate "refused to sign", "unavailable", "no signature for safety reasons", "service by certified mail", "service by publication", or other language explaining the lack of signature by the respondent or the respondent's agent or representative The lack of the signature of the respondent or the respondent's agent or representative shall not affect the validity of the citation; and

(7) Information regarding the respondent's appeal rights, including the requirement that the citation must be returned to the department within thirty days from the date the citation was served, respondent's right to a hearing before the director or the director's designee, and contact information for where the respondent may obtain further information

Example 1. Operator LLC owns one condominium unit on the island of Kauai which it operates as a transient accommodation. On January 15, Operator LLC's unit is advertised on TAbroker.com, a website which displays a searchable database of units for rent. On January 15, the department discovers that the listing for Operator LLC's unit does not display Operator LLC's registration identification number, nor is there an electronic link leading to the number. The department reviews its records and sees that it has never issued a warning or a citation to Operator LLC for any transient accommodation. The department issues a written warning to Operator LLC under section 18-237D-4-12, explaining that Operator LLC has fifteen days to cure its violation by ensuring that its registration identification number is displayed in the advertisement. On January 31, the department checks on the advertisement again and sees that Operator LLC's unit has been continuously advertised since January 15 and has never had the registration identification number displayed or linked to. The department shall issue Operator LLC a citation for failure to display and the citation shall include a fine for a first violation of $500 multiplied by the seventeen days during which this transient accommodation has been in violation for a total fine of $8,500.

Example 2. Assume the same facts as Example 1, except that the department checks on the advertisement on January 27 and sees that the registration identification number is now displayed. The department shall not issue a citation because Operator LLC cured its violation within the fifteen-day period granted by the written warning.

Example 3. Assume the same facts as Example 1, except that in February, Operator LLC purchases a second condominium unit on Oahu and begins operating it as a transient accommodation. On March 1, Operator LLC begins advertising the Oahu unit in "AinaBNB", a monthly print magazine that advertises vacation rentals. On March 5, the department sees the March issue of AinaBNB and discovers that the advertisement does not display Operator LLC's registration identification number. The department reviews its records and sees that it has already issued Operator LLC a written warning and a citation for a first violation, albeit one for a different transient accommodation. The department shall issue Operator LLC a citation for failure to display and the citation shall include a fine of $500 multiplied by the one day during which the transient accommodation has been in violation for a total fine of $500.

Example 4. Assume the same facts as Example 3, except that AinaBNB is a daily publication and runs Operator LLC's unit advertisement every day from March 1 to March 5. The citation shall include a fine of $500 multiplied by the five days of violation for a total fine of $2,500.

Example 5. On July 1, while inspecting a transient accommodation unit operated by Surfwax Rentals LLC, the department discovers Surfwax Rentals LLC has failed to conspicuously display its registration identification number inside the unit or at the front desk. Surfwax Rentals LLC's agent admits that the unit has been rented out for thirty days and during that time Surfwax Rentals LLC never conspicuously displayed its registration identification number. The department reviews its records and sees that it has never issued Surfwax Rentals LLC a citation. The department shall issue Surfwax Rentals LLC a citation for failure to display and the citation shall contain a fine for a first violation of $500 multiplied by the thirty days during which the transient accommodation has been in violation for a total fine of $ 15,000. Written warnings are not issued for failures to conspicuously display the information required by section 237D-4(b), HRS.

Example 6. Assume the same facts as Example 5, except that on July 15, the department goes to TAbroker.com and sees Surfwax Rentals LLC's unit listed in an advertisement that fails to display the registration identification number. The department reviews its records and sees that it previously issued a fine for failure to display under section 237D-4(b), HRS, on July 1, but that it has never issued a warning or citation with a fine for failure to display under section 237D-4(d), HRS. The department shall issue Surfwax Rentals LLC a written warning under section 18-237D-4-12. The department shall not issue a citation with a fine for a second violation because violations under sections 237D-4(b) and (d), HRS, are considered separate violations. Additionally, the fact that the department issued the citation under section 237D-4(b), HRS, fewer than thirty days earlier and for a violation in this same transient accommodation shall not preclude the department from issuing a written warning or a citation under section 237D-4(d), HRS, to the same person and for a violation related to the same transient accommodation. A fine issued under section 237D-4(b), HRS, and a fine issued under section 237D-4(d), HRS, may be issued to the same person during the same thirty-day period because they are considered separate violations.

Example 7. FacePlus is an online social networking website which allows its users to create a user profile and post status updates for other users to see. Sally Social, an individual user of FacePlus, posts a status update which says she is offering to rent out the cottage on her property for $200 per night. The department may issue a warning or citation to Sally Social because she is an operator of a transient accommodations and her status update is an advertisement for a transient accommodation.