Iowa Code § 453A.28 - Assessment of tax by department — interest — penalty

1. a. (1) If after any audit, examination of records, or other investigation the department finds that any person has sold cigarettes without stamps affixed or that any person responsible for paying the tax has not done so as required by this subchapter, the department shall fix and determine the amount of tax due, and shall assess the tax against the person, together with a penalty as provided in section 421.27. (2) The taxpayer shall pay interest on the tax or additional tax at the rate determined under section 421.7 counting each fraction of a month as an entire month, computed from the date the tax was due. If any person fails to furnish evidence satisfactory to the director showing purchases of sufficient stamps to stamp unstamped cigarettes purchased by the person, the presumption shall be that the cigarettes were sold without the proper stamps affixed. Within three years after the report is filed or within three years after the report became due, whichever is later, the department shall examine the report and determine the correct amount of tax. The period for examination and determination of the correct amount of tax is unlimited in the case of a false or fraudulent report made with the intent to evade tax, or in the case of a failure to file a report, or if a person purchases or is in possession of unstamped cigarettes. (3) For purposes of imposing penalties under this section and section 421.27, a person who fails to timely file or submit a required return, report, or other documentation upon which no tax is shown due is subject to a penalty in the amount of fifty dollars for each occurrence. b. If the department issues an estimated assessment due to failure to file a report, the procedures described in section 423.37, subsections 1 and 2, shall apply to taxes, fees, and interest imposed under this subchapter in the same manner and with the same effect as the provisions apply to the taxes imposed under chapter 423. c. For purposes of this section and section 421.27, any application, bond, fee, report, return, remittance, or other documentation required to be submitted electronically under this subchapter that is filed in a manner other than in an electronic format specified by the department shall not be considered a valid submission unless the director has permitted submission of such application, bond, fee, report, return, remittance, or other documentation through an alternative method pursuant to section 453A.57. 2. The three-year period of limitation may be extended by a taxpayer by signing a waiver agreement form to be provided by the department. The agreement must stipulate the period of extension and the tax period to which the extension applies. The agreement must also provide that a claim for refund may be filed by the taxpayer at any time during the period of extension. [C24, 27, 31, 35, §1568; C39, §1556.23; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §98.28] 84 Acts, ch 1173, §1; 86 Acts, ch 1007, §7; 90 Acts, ch 1172, §1 C93, §453A.28 99 Acts, ch 151, §79, 89; 2004 Acts, ch 1073, §39; 2018 Acts, ch 1041, §127; 2023 Acts, ch 115, §37, 40; 2025 Acts, ch 132, §17, 18 Referred to in §453A.29, 453A.31 Subsection 1, paragraph a amended Subsection 1, NEW paragraph c