Ind. Code § 6-1.1-15-4 – Indiana board appeal procedures; determination

(a) After receiving a petition for review which is filed under section 3 of this chapter, the Indiana board shall conduct a hearing at its earliest opportunity. The Indiana board may correct any errors that may have been made and adjust the assessment or exemption in accordance with the correction.
(b) If the Indiana board conducts a site inspection of the property as part of its review of the petition, the Indiana board shall give notice to all parties of the date and time of the site inspection. The Indiana board is not required to assess the property in question. The Indiana board shall give notice of the date fixed for the hearing, by mail, to the taxpayer and to the county assessor. The Indiana board shall give these notices at least thirty (30) days before the day fixed for the hearing unless the parties agree to a shorter period. With respect to a petition for review filed by a county assessor, the county board that made the determination under review under this section may file an amicus curiae brief in the review proceeding under this section. The expenses incurred by the county board in filing the amicus curiae brief shall be paid from the property reassessment fund under IC 6-1.1-4-27.5 of the county in which the property is located. The executive of a taxing unit may file an amicus curiae brief in the review proceeding under this section if the property whose assessment or exemption is under appeal is subject to assessment by that taxing unit.
(c) If a petition for review does not comply with the Indiana board's instructions for completing the form prescribed under section 3 of this chapter, the Indiana board shall return the petition to the petitioner and include a notice describing the defect in the petition. The petitioner then has thirty (30) days from the date on the notice to cure the defect and file a corrected petition. The Indiana board shall deny a corrected petition for review if it does not substantially comply with the Indiana board's instructions for completing the form prescribed under section 3 of this chapter.
(d) After the hearing, the Indiana board shall give the taxpayer, the county assessor, and any entity that filed an amicus curiae brief:
1. (1) notice, by mail, of its final determination; and
2. (2) for parties entitled to appeal the final determination, notice of the procedures they must follow in order to obtain court review under section 5 of this chapter.
(e) Except as provided in subsection (f), the Indiana board shall conduct a hearing not later than nine (9) months after a petition in proper form is filed with the Indiana board, excluding any time due to a delay reasonably caused by the petitioner.
(f) With respect to an appeal of a real property assessment that takes effect on the assessment date on which a reassessment of real property takes effect under IC 6-1.1-4-4 or IC 6-1.1-4-4.2 , the Indiana board shall conduct a hearing not later than one (1) year after a petition in proper form is filed with the Indiana board, excluding any time due to a delay reasonably caused by the petitioner.
(g) Except as provided in subsection (h), the Indiana board shall make a determination not later than the later of:
1. (1) ninety (90) days after the hearing; or
2. (2) the date set in an extension order issued by the Indiana board.
(h) With respect to an appeal of a real property assessment that takes effect on the assessment date on which a reassessment of real property takes effect under IC 6-1.1-4-4 or IC 6-1.1-4-4.2 , the Indiana board shall make a determination not later than the later of:
1. (1) one hundred eighty (180) days after the hearing; or
2. (2) the date set in an extension order issued by the Indiana board.
(i) The Indiana board may not extend the final determination date under subsection (g) or (h) by more than one hundred eighty (180) days. If the Indiana board fails to make a final determination within the time allowed by this section, the entity that initiated the petition may:
1. (1) take no action and wait for the Indiana board to make a final determination; or
2. (2) petition for judicial review under section 5 of this chapter.
(j) A final determination must include separately stated findings of fact for all aspects of the determination. Findings of ultimate fact must be accompanied by a concise statement of the underlying basic facts of record to support the findings. Findings must be based exclusively upon the evidence on the record in the proceeding and on matters officially noticed in the proceeding. Findings must be based upon a preponderance of the evidence.
(k) The Indiana board may limit the scope of the appeal to the issues raised in the petition and the evaluation of the evidence presented to the county board in support of those issues only if all parties participating in the hearing required under subsection (a) agree to the limitation. A party participating in the hearing required under subsection (a) is entitled to introduce evidence that is otherwise proper and admissible without regard to whether that evidence has previously been introduced at a hearing before the county board.
(l) The Indiana board may require the parties to the appeal:
1. (1) to file not more than five (5) business days before the date of the hearing required under subsection (a) documentary evidence or summaries of statements of testimonial evidence; and
2. (2) to file not more than fifteen (15) business days before the date of the hearing required under subsection (a) lists of witnesses and exhibits to be introduced at the hearing.
(m) A party to a proceeding before the Indiana board shall provide to all other parties to the proceeding the information described in subsection (l) if the other party requests the information in writing at least ten (10) days before the deadline for filing of the information under subsection (l).
(n) The Indiana board may base its final determination on a stipulation between the respondent and the petitioner. If the final determination is based on a stipulated assessed valuation of tangible property, the Indiana board may order the placement of a notation on the permanent assessment record of the tangible property that the assessed valuation was determined by stipulation. The Indiana board may:
1. (1) order that a final determination under this subsection has no precedential value; or
2. (2) specify a limited precedential value of a final determination under this subsection.
(o) If a party to a proceeding, or a party's authorized representative, elects to receive any notice under this section by electronic mail, the notice is considered effective in the same manner as if the notice had been sent by United States mail, with postage prepaid, to the party's or representative's mailing address of record.
(p) At a hearing under this section, the Indiana board shall admit into evidence an appraisal report, prepared by an appraiser, unless the appraisal report is ruled inadmissible on grounds besides a hearsay objection. This exception to the hearsay rule shall not be construed to limit the discretion of the Indiana board, as trier of fact, to review the probative value of an appraisal report.
[Pre-1975 Property Tax Recodification Citations: 6-1-31-3; 6-1-26-4(e).]
Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1. As amended by Acts 1977, P.L.70, SEC.4; P.L.74-1987, SEC.13; P.L.41-1993, SEC.14; P.L.86-1995, SEC.1; P.L.6-1997, SEC.74; P.L.198-2001, SEC.44; P.L.245-2003, SEC.13; P.L.1-2004, SEC.16 and P.L.23-2004, SEC.17; P.L.199-2005, SEC.9; P.L.154-2006, SEC.39; P.L.219-2007, SEC.40; P.L.112-2012, SEC.32; P.L.91-2014, SEC.16; P.L.33-2015, SEC.1; P.L.207-2016, SEC.3.