423.49  Return requirements — electronic filing.
  1.  Except as provided in subsection 7, all sellers registered under the agreement shall file a single return per month for the state and all taxing jurisdictions within this state.
  2.  The director shall by rule determine the date on which returns shall be filed. The date shall not be earlier than the twentieth day of the following month.
  3.  The department shall provide to all registered and unregistered sellers, except sellers of products qualifying for exclusion from the provisions of section 308 of the agreement, a simplified return that can be filed electronically.
  a.  The simplified return shall be provided in a form approved by the governing board and shall not contain a field unless that field has been approved by the governing board.
  b.  The simplified return shall contain two parts. The first part shall contain information relating to remittances and allocations. The second part shall contain information relating to exempt sales.
  c.  The department shall notify the governing board if the submission of the second part of the return is no longer necessary.
  d.  The department shall not require a model 4 seller to submit the second part of the simplified return but may provide for another means of collecting the information contained in the second part of the return as described in subsection 4, paragraph “e”.
  4.  a.  A certified service provider shall file a simplified return electronically on behalf of a model 1 seller and shall file audit reports for the seller as provided for in article V of the rules and procedures of the agreement.
  b.  A certified service provider shall file the first part of the simplified return, as described in subsection 3, once per month, as required pursuant to subsection 1.
  c.  A model 1 seller may file both the first and second parts of the simplified return. Model 1 sellers filing both parts shall also file audit reports as described in paragraph “a”.
  d.  A model 4 seller, or a seller not registered under the agreement who is otherwise registered in the state, may elect to file a simplified return. Model 4 sellers, or sellers not registered under the agreement who are otherwise registered in the state, electing to do so shall file the first part of the return each month.
  e.  A model 4 seller required to register in the state, or a seller not registered under the agreement who is otherwise registered in the state, may submit the information collected in the second part of the return in one of the following ways:
  (1)  By filing monthly both the first and second parts electronically on a simplified return as described in subsection 3.
  (2)  By filing the second part together with the required December filing of the first part. A seller filing the second part of a return pursuant to this subparagraph shall include information for all months of that calendar year and shall report the information in an annual rather than a monthly fashion.
  (3)  The department shall notify the governing board prior to requiring the submission of the second part of the simplified return pursuant to this paragraph “e”.
  5.  The department shall adopt rules for the filing of returns by a model 4 seller electing not to file a simplified return pursuant to this section.
  6.  A seller which has previously elected to file a simplified return shall provide at least three months’ notice of an intent to discontinue the filing of such returns.
  7.  a.  A seller making the election under section 423.48, subsection 3, paragraph “d”, is exempt from the requirements of this section and shall not be required to file a return.
  b.  The exemption allowed under paragraph “a” is only applicable as long as a seller makes no taxable sales in this state. If a seller makes a taxable sale in this state, the seller shall file a return the month after such a sale is made.
  8.  A seller may file a return for more than one legal entity at the same time only if such entities are affiliated.
  9.  The department shall adopt a standardized process for the transmission and receipt of returns and related information. The adoption of a procedure pursuant to this subsection is subject to the approval of the governing board.
  10.  a.  The department shall notify a seller registered under the agreement that has no obligation to register in this state of a failure to file a return required under this section and allow the seller at least thirty days after such notification to file the return.
  b.  A liability amount may be established for an assessment of taxes based solely on a seller’s failure to timely file a return if such seller has a history of nonfiling or late filing.
2003 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 2, §142, 205; 2010 Acts, ch 1145, §15, 17; 2012 Acts, ch 1066, §4, 5

Subsection 4, paragraph d amended
Subsection 4, paragraph e, unnumbered paragraph 1 amended