1. (a) Tax paid to state. Any person, his attorney, assignee, executor, or administrator may request from the comptroller a refund of any tax which he has remitted to the state but which was not due.

   1. (1) The refund request must be made within:

      1. (A) four years from the date on which the tax was due and payable; or
      2. (B) six months after a determination for the periods for which refund is claimed becomes final; or
      3. (C) six months after any determination would have become final had payment not been made before the due date;
      4. (D) a claim for refund of an amount paid pursuant to a deficiency determination is timely for all transactions included in the deficiency determination if made in accordance with subparagraphs (B) or (C) of this paragraph. A claim for refund for items not included in a deficiency determination must be made in accordance with subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
   2. (2) Before the expiration of the statute of limitations, the comptroller and a taxpayer may agree in writing to an extension of the statute of limitations.
   3. (3) An extension applies only to the periods specifically mentioned in the agreement. Any assessment or refund request pertaining to periods for which limitations have been extended must be made prior to the expiration date of the agreement. Following expiration of the agreement, the statute of limitations applies to subsequent assessments and refund requests as if no extension had been authorized.
   4. (4) The request for refund must be made in writing and must state the specific grounds upon which the claim is founded. The request must also indicate the period for which the claimed overpayment was made.
   5. (5) In determining the statute of limitations for filing a refund claim, the time during which an administrative proceeding is pending before the comptroller for the same period is not counted. A taxpayer may not file a sales tax refund claim for the same transaction and for the same time period as a refund claim previously denied.
   6. (6) Failure to file a claim within the limitation prescribed by this section constitutes a waiver of any demand against the state on account of the overpayment.

2. (b) Tax paid to seller. A person who remits tax to a seller rather than directly to the state may not request from the comptroller a refund of any tax which that person has remitted to a seller but contends was not due. The tax must be recovered from the seller. See §3.338 of this title (relating to Allowance of Credit for Tax Paid to Suppliers) for provisions governing the allowances of credit for tax paid to a seller.

   1. (1) A written request for a refund must be directed to the seller and must be accompanied by a properly completed exemption or resale certificate which meets all the requirements of §3.285 of this title (relating to Sales for Resale; Resale Certificate) and §3.287 of this title (relating to Exemption Certificates). The certificate should be retained by the seller to document the reason tax was refunded.
   2. (2) After the seller has refunded or, with the purchaser's written consent, credited the tax to the account of the purchaser, the seller may then seek reimbursement from the state in accordance with the procedures outlined in subsection (a) of this section or take a credit on the seller's next return in the amount refunded or credited to the account of the purchaser.

3. (c) Interest. Interest will be paid at the rate of 10% per annum on an amount found to have been erroneously paid to the comptroller for reporting periods after January 1, 1982. Refunds for reporting periods prior to January 1, 1982, will not accrue interest.

   1. (1) Interest begins to accrue either 60 days after the date of payment or 60 days after the due date of the tax report, whichever is later.
   2. (2) For overpayments and credits which occurred prior to October 4, 1986, interest stops on December 4, 1986. (This is the date the provision of the Tax Code authorizing payment of interest was repealed.) Overpayments and credits on transactions occurring after December 4, 1986, will not draw interest.
   3. (3) Credits taken by a taxpayer on the taxpayer's return do not accrue interest.
   4. (4) No taxes, penalties, or interest will be refunded to a person who has collected the taxes from another person until all taxes and interest are first refunded to the party from whom they were collected.

4. (d) Payments under protest.

   1. (1) Taxes which become due during the period September 1, 1987 through August 31, 1989, and which are paid under protest pursuant to the authority of the Tax Code, §112.051, shall be deposited to the general revenue fund. A written letter of protest which sets out fully and in detail each and every ground or reason why it is contended that the assessment is unlawful or unauthorized must accompany the payment. If the payment and letter of protest do not accompany one another, the payment will not be deemed to have been made under protest. For the taxpayer's convenience, the comptroller will advise him of the amount received that is paid under protest and the date of the payment.
   2. (2) Taxes which become due prior to or after the period September 1, 1987-August 31, 1989, and which are paid under protest pursuant to the authority of the Tax Code, §112.051, will be placed in a suspense account pending resolution of the matter in issue. A written letter of protest which sets out fully and in detail each and every ground or reason why it is contended that the assessment is unlawful or unauthorized must accompany the payment. If the payment and letter of protest do not accompany one another, the payment will not be placed in a suspense account and the payment will not be deemed to have been made under protest. For the taxpayer's convenience, the comptroller will advise him of the amount received that is paid under protest and the date of the payment. If suit is not filed in accordance with the statute, the protest payment will be cleared to the general fund after the expiration of 90 days from the date of payment.

Source Note:The provisions of this §3.325 adopted to be effective April 13, 1979, 4 TexReg 1105; amended to be effective May 24, 1982, 7 TexReg 1750; amended to be effective February 29, 1984, 9 TexReg 1028; amended to be effective February 2, 1987, 12 TexReg 186; amended to be effective November 19, 1987, 12 TexReg 4121.