South Carolina § 12-56-65 - Protest and contested case hearings; refunds; erroneous retention or setoff; time limit.

§ 12-56-65. Protest and contested case hearings; refunds; erroneous retention or setoff; time limit.

(A) Before submitting a debt to the department, the claimant agency shall appoint a hearing officer to hear a protest of a debtor. This hearing officer is vested with the authority to decide a protest in favor of either the debtor or the claimant agency. The claimant agency shall certify to the department, on a form prescribed by the department, that a hearing officer has been appointed and shall inform the department of the name, address, and telephone number of the hearing officer. If this hearing officer is unable to serve at any time, the claimant agency shall appoint another hearing officer.

(B) Upon receipt of a notice of protest, the claimant agency shall notify the department that a protest has been received and shall hold an informal hearing at which the debtor may present evidence, documents, and testimony to dispute the debt. The claimant agency shall notify the debtor of the date, time, and location of the informal hearing. At the conclusion of the informal hearing, the hearing officer shall render his determination. Upon receipt of a sworn certification from the hearing officer that he held an informal hearing and ruled in favor of the claimant agency, the department may proceed to collect the delinquent debt regardless of a subsequent appeal by the debtor.

(C) A debtor may seek relief from the hearing officer's determination by requesting, within thirty days of the determination, a contested case hearing before the Administrative Law Court. A request for a hearing before the Administrative Law Court must be made in accordance with its rules.

(D) If a portion of the delinquent debt is collected by the department and the determination of the hearing officer in favor of the claimant agency is later reversed or the debtor prevails in a claim for refund, the claimant agency shall refund the appropriate amount to the taxpayer, including the appropriate amount of the fee. That portion of the refund reflecting the department's fee must be paid from claimant agency funds. If the claimant agency is found to be entitled to a portion of an amount collected by setoff, it is not required to refund the setoff fee retained by the department.

(E) If a refund is retained in error, the claimant agency shall pay to the taxpayer interest calculated as provided in Section 12-54-20 from the date provided by law after which interest is paid on refunds until the appeal is final, except that interest does not accrue when the claimant agency is the Office of Child Support Services of the South Carolina Department of Social Services.

(F) If the claimant agency determines that money has been erroneously or illegally collected, the claimant agency, in its discretion, may issue a refund, even if the debtor does not file a protest or file a claim for refund.

(G) A collection may not be contested more than one year after the date it was made. The date of collection must be conclusively determined by the department. This provision must be construed as a statute of repose and not as a statute of limitation.

(H) A debtor may make a claim for refund of an amount collected pursuant to this chapter within one year from the date the amount is collected, in the same manner as seeking relief from a hearing officer's determination pursuant to Section 12-56-65 or 12-56-67.

HISTORY: 1999 Act No. 114, SECTION 3; 2003 Act No. 69, SECTION 3.KK.6, eff June 18, 2003.