Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) The following charges and penalties
assessed in motor carrier weight-mile tax audits may be waived or reduced under
this rule at the discretion of the Department:
(a) Late payment charges assessed pursuant to
ORS
825.490(1),
825.490(2),
or
825.490(3);
(b) Penalties assessed pursuant to ORS
825.490(5),
825.490(6)
or
825.494(3);
(c) Interest charges assessed pursuant to ORS
825.490(4)
or
825.494(2).
(2) To qualify for a waiver or
reduction, a motor carrier must make a written request for a waiver or
reduction according to ORS
825.496(2).The
motor carrier must explain the reasons for the failure to file, to file timely,
or to pay amounts required by law, and identify the criteria that qualifies it
for a reduction or waiver.
(3)
Requesting a waiver or reduction does not temporarily stop the taxes from being
due. Payment is due within 30 days after the service of the notice. A motor
carrier's failure to pay within that time will result in an additional
assessment of a penalty equal to 10 percent of the amount of the tax due, which
cannot be waived or reduced by the Department.
(4) In exercising its discretion under ORS
825.496(2)
to waive or reduce charges or penalties described in section (1), the
Department shall consider:
(a) The facts of
each circumstance on a case-by-case basis;
(b) Whether the reduction or waiver is in the
best interests of the Department. The Department may waive or reduce any or all
of the charges and penalties described in section (1) of this rule if it
determines that doing so is in the Department's best interests. Notwithstanding
any other consideration, the Department may refuse to waive or reduce any
penalty or charge described in section (1) if the Department determines that
the reduction or waiver is not in the Department's best interests;
(c) Whether the motor carrier has cooperated
in the audit process. The Department may not waive or reduce any charges or
penalties described in section (1) of this rule if the auditor evaluates the
motor carrier as "uncooperative" in the audit. A motor carrier cooperates with
the audit by:
(A) Willingly providing
requested records and information to the auditor;
(B) Maintaining continued communication
during the audit, including returning all phone calls from the auditor and all
emails that require a response and answering the auditor's questions; and,
(C) Generally helping the auditor
to complete the audit.
(d) Whether the motor carrier has
demonstrated a good payment history. A good payment history means that the
carrier timely filed at least 75 percent of its tax reports during the current
audit period and the tax assessed in the current audit is 15 percent or less of
the total tax reported during that period. If the Department determines that
the motor carrier has a good payment history, it may reduce or waive late
payment charges;
(e) Whether the
error was due to a recent policy, rule, or statutory change. If the Department
determines that this circumstance caused the failure, it may reduce or waive
penalty charges;
(f) Whether the
error was due to reasonable confusion about an area of law that the motor
carrier was unfamiliar with because application of the law does not ordinarily
arise in the normal course of the industry's operations. If the Department
determines that this circumstance caused the failure, it may reduce or waive
penalty charges;
(g) Whether the
failure was due to a unique error that is unlikely to be repeated. If the
Department determines that this circumstance caused the failure, it may reduce
or waive penalty charges;
(h)
Whether the failure was inadvertent, meaning due to a mistake or accident.
However, the Department may reduce or waive penalty charges based on
inadvertence only in unusual and compelling circumstances. The Department
expects motor carriers to conduct their business in an orderly and professional
manner. In addition, the Department may reduce or waive late payment charges
for errors caused by inadvertence only if the inadvertence caused the degree of
error in the audit to exceed 15 percent.
(A)
Failures that may be considered inadvertent include, but are not limited to:
(i) Errors due to circumstances beyond the
reasonable control of the motor carrier, such as when a lessor operated on
credentials without the knowledge of the motor carrier after the lease has been
broken; and,
(ii) Errors that the
Department did not cause but to which it may have contributed.
(B) Errors caused by the following
circumstances will not be considered inadvertent:
(i) Personnel turnover at the motor carrier;
(ii) Reliance on computerized
mileage programs;
(iii) Reliance
on third parties (other than the Department);
(iv) Lack of awareness of reporting
requirements;
(v) Mismanagement of
business operations; or,
(vi) Lack
of control over actions of drivers (employees or owner/operators).
(i) Whether the failure
was caused solely by the Department providing incorrect information to the
motor carrier and upon which the motor carrier reasonably relied. If the
Department determines that this circumstance caused the failure, the Department
may waive any late payments, interest, and penalties.
