Amends TCA Title 67.

This bill allows for sales or use taxes collected from a customer by a dealer being refunded to the customer in certain circumstances, as discussed below. Present law provides that sales or use taxes that are collected from or passed on to customers by the taxpayer may not be refunded, unless the taxpayer has refunded or credited the sales or use tax to its customers. This bill deletes that provision and establishes that a taxpayer, as defined in detail below in (A)-(C), may apply for a refund, following the procedures set out in present law. In order for a taxpayer identified below in (B) and (C) to file a refund claim, the amount of the claim must exceed $1,000 per dealer. This bill also provides that sales or use taxes that were collected from or passed on to customers by a taxpayer identified below in (A) will not be refunded unless the taxpayer has refunded or credited the sales or use tax to its customers. For purposes of this bill, "taxpayer" means: (A) A dealer that remitted the sales or use taxes to the commissioner of revenue; (B) A person that paid the sales or use taxes to a dealer that collected and remitted such taxes to the commissioner, if: the person requested a refund from the dealer and the dealer failed or declined to issue the refund; and the dealer attests to the following under penalty of perjury on a form prescribed by the commissioner: (1) The taxes were remitted to the department by the dealer, including the amount and the date remitted; (2) The dealer has not claimed and will not claim a refund of such taxes; (3) The dealer has not taken and will not take a credit for such taxes; (4) The dealer's sales and use tax account number; and (5) The local jurisdiction or jurisdictions for which any local sales tax included in the refund claim was collected and remitted; or (C) A person that paid sales or use taxes to a dealer that collected and remitted such taxes to the commissioner, if: the person requested a refund from the dealer and the dealer failed or declined to issue the refund; and the person reasonably attempted but was unable to obtain an attestation from the dealer as required above in (B). However, a refund will not be issued to a taxpayer that files a claim for refund under this item (C) unless the commissioner, in the commissioner's discretion, determines that sufficient information is reasonably available to verify that the taxes were remitted by the dealer to the department, that the dealer has not claimed a refund of such taxes, that the dealer has not taken a credit for such taxes, the dealer's sales and use tax account number, and the local jurisdiction or jurisdictions for which any local sales tax included in the refund claim was collected and remitted. For purposes of these provisions, a purchaser who contacts the dealer in writing at least 90 days prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations for requesting such refund will be deemed to have made a reasonable attempt to obtain the dealer's attestation. This bill will take effect on October 1, 2021. ON APRIL 28, 2021, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 883 FOR HOUSE BILL 913, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 883, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 changes from "$1,000 per dealer" to "$2,000 per dealer" the amount that must be exceeded in order for a refund claim to be filed. This amendment also requires that two requests for a refund must have been made and the dealer failed or decline to issue the refund prior to the person's filing a claim for a refund pursuant to this bill.