Tax Type
Corporation Income Tax
Description
Refund statute of limitations
Topic
Payment and Refund
Statute of Limitations
Date Issued
09-10-1992
September 10, 1992
Re: §58.1-1821 Application; Corporation Income Tax
Dear*****************
This will reply to your letter dated October 4, 1991 in which you request a redetermination under Va. Code §58.1-1821 for*********************(the "Taxpayer").
FACTS
A field audit of the taxpayer for the 1986 taxable year was abandoned by the Department due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. No waiver had been executed under Va. Code §58.1-101. See Virginia Regulation (VR) 630-1-101. After receiving a letter closing the audit, you stated that you had verbally communicated to the auditor the need to correct various return filing errors which would have resulted in a refund. You consider the closing letter to be a denial of the refund issues you discussed with the auditor, constituting a "deemed assessment".
RULING
In order to allow taxpayers to pursue administrative remedies, the denial of a refund claim, or failure to act upon it, is deemed to be as assessment, but only regarding matters first raised in an amended return claiming a refund. See Va. Code §58.1-1823 and VR 630-1-1820.E.7. A verbal communication to an auditor does not constitute an "amended return" as that term is utilized in Virginia law. VR 630-1-1824 requires an amended return to have the same information as the original return. A key element of any return is a signature, which is absent in the verbal communication to the auditor. Since no amended return was filed, there could be no denial constituting a "deemed assessment" for administrative remedy pursuit purposes. See VR 630-1-1820.C.1.
Because your refund claim was submitted to the Department after expiration of the statute of limitations for all remedies available under Virginia law, any action on your claim is barred by law.
Sincerely.
W. H. Forst
Tax Commissioner
TPD/5665G
Rulings of the Tax Commissioner