Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 38, September 20, 2024
4.1. The Commissioner shall designate the
type or types of electronic signature that shall be used when electronically
filing Tax Department forms and applications.
4.2. Where the Commissioner has permitted the
filing of a return by electronic means, the taxpayer may, in lieu of filing a
related document on which a signature is affixed, provide the taxpayer's name
and such other information as the Commissioner may require in order to provide
sufficient identification of the taxpayer, or provide both the taxpayer's name
and personal identification information and the taxpayer's West Virginia
Taxpayer Signature PIN.
4.2.a. The West
Virginia Taxpayer Signature PIN is a personal identification number that will
be assigned by the Department to a person filing an electronic record requiring
an authorized signature.
4.2.b. The
Department will establish a secure registry of persons authorized to sign
filings and records using a West Virginia Taxpayer Signature PIN and will
utilize that secure registry for verification of the identity of the
signer.
4.2.c. A taxpayer that
seeks to become authorized to file with the Department using a West Virginia
Taxpayer Signature PIN shall first file with the Department a signed Form
WV/EFT-1, Application for West Virginia Taxpayer Signature PIN, stating that
the taxpayer:
4.2.c.1. Will not share with
any other person the password, code or other security key required for use of
the PEST;
4.2.c.2. Agrees that use
of the PIN represents confirmation of a record;
4.2.c.3. Agrees to notify the Department
immediately upon becoming aware that security has been compromised;
and
4.2.c.4. Understands that the
provisions of W. Va. Code §
61-3C-10
prescribes the penalties for the unauthorized disclosure of a West Virginia
Taxpayer Signature PIN or other confidential security information.
4.2.d. Each authorized person
shall utilize a unique number or other personal authorization which shall be
encrypted and which shall indicate the approval of that person to file
electronically.
4.2.e. Upon receipt
of the signed Form WV/EFT-1 required in subdivision 4.2.C of this rule, the
Department shall issue to an authorized person a West Virginia Taxpayer
Signature PIN and shall enter that PIN, name and date of authorization into the
secure registry.
4.3.
The stating by a person of the taxpayer's name or the providing of a West
Virginia Taxpayer Signature PIN, or both, when that person is requested so to
do, shall have the same validity, status and consequences as an actual
signature by that person on a paper return that is filed with the
Department.
4.4. A return that is
filed by electronic means shall be treated as filed on the date the electronic
return is transmitted if:
1) the return
enters an information processing system that the Commissioner has designated or
uses for the purpose of receiving electronic records and from which the
Commissioner is able to retrieve the electronic record transmitted;
and
2) the return is in a form
capable of being processed by that system.
4.4.a. An electronic return will only be
deemed as timely filed if it is received by the Department in a retrievable
format through a designated information processing system on or before the
statutory due date of the return.
4.4.b. Any payment/remittance made to the
Department prior to the electronic filing of a return may be made through the
use of any commercially acceptable means and shall be deemed to be received on
the date the payment is actually received by the Department.
4.4.c. Any payment/remittance made
concurrently with the filing of an electronic return shall be paid using
electronic funds transfer and shall be deemed to be received by the
Commissioner on the date the funds are actually transferred to the
Department.
4.4.d. Any
payment/remittance made to the Department subsequent to the electronic filing
of a return may be made through the use of any commercially acceptable means
and shall be deemed to be received on the date the payment is actually received
by the Department.
4.5.
Where a signature is required to be verified or made under oath, the
requirement is satisfied if the electronic signature of the person authorized
to sign the return is attached to or logically associated with the
return.
4.6. Nothing in this rule
shall be construed to require the Department to accept electronic signatures in
lieu of written signatures.
4.7.
For purposes of electronically filing a State income tax return, nothing in
this rule shall prevent a taxpayer from using and the Commissioner from
accepting the same personal identification number chosen and used by the
taxpayer for the purpose of filing his federal income tax return.
4.8. For purposes of electronically filing
all other state tax returns, nothing in this rule shall prevent a taxpayer from
using and the Commissioner from accepting the same personal identification
number chosen and used by the taxpayer for the purpose of filing his federal
income tax return; Provided, that the personal identification number is
registered in the Department's secure registry prior to being used to
electronically file such a return with the Department.
