701—7.12(17A,421) Dismissal of appeals.
	7.12(1) Appeals filed after expiration of statutory deadline. Appeals that are not filed by the deadline described in statute shall be dismissed by the director or the director’s designee in accordance with the procedure outlined in paragraph 7.12(1)“a.”
	a. 	Procedures for motions to dismiss. The department shall file a motion to dismiss with the clerk and serve a copy of the motion on the taxpayer. The taxpayer may file a resistance to the motion within 20 days of the date of service of the motion. If no resistance is so filed, the director or the director’s designee shall immediately enter an order dismissing the appeal. If a resistance is filed, the department has ten days from the date of the filing of the resistance to decide whether to withdraw its motion and so notify the taxpayer and the clerk. If no such notice is received by the clerk within the ten-day period, the appeal file will be transferred to the division of administrative hearings, which shall issue a notice for a contested case proceeding on the motion as prescribed by rule 701—7.16(17A), except that the issue of the contested case proceeding shall be limited to the question of whether the appeal was filed within the statutory appeal period. Thereafter, rule 701—7.19(17A) pertaining to contested case proceedings shall apply in such dismissal proceedings.
	b. 	Grounds for denying the department’s motion. The department’s motion shall be granted unless the taxpayer can prove that it filed the appeal prior to the expiration of the statutory appeal deadline because the department failed to:
	(1)	Mail or personally deliver the notice of assessment, refund denial, or other notice of department action to the taxpayer’s last-known address; or
	(2)	If applicable, also mail the notice of assessment, refund denial, or other notice of department action to the taxpayer’s authorized representative; or
	(3)	Comply with the requirements of Iowa Code section 421.60(2)“b.”
For purposes of this rule, “last-known address” and “personal delivery” mean the same as described in rule 701—7.33(421).
	7.12(2) Appeals not authorized by statute. Appeals that are not authorized by statute or otherwise are inconsistent with the statutory requirements for an appeal shall be dismissed by the director in accordance with the procedure outlined in paragraph 7.12(1)“a,” except that the issue shall be limited to the question of whether the appeal is authorized by statute and consistent with statutory appeal requirements.
	7.12(3) Failure to pursue the appeal at the informal stage. If the appeal was filed timely and informal procedures were initiated, the failure of the taxpayer to provide documents or information requested by the department, including the failure to respond to a position letter or an information request, shall constitute grounds for the department to dismiss the appeal in accordance with the procedure outlined in paragraph 7.12(3)“a.” For purposes of this subrule, an evasive or incomplete response will be treated as a failure to provide documents or information.
	a. 	Procedures for motions to dismiss. If the department seeks to dismiss the appeal, the department shall file a motion to dismiss with the clerk and serve a copy of the motion on the taxpayer. The taxpayer may file a resistance to the motion within 20 days of the date of service of the motion. If no resistance is so filed, the director or the director’s designee shall immediately enter an order dismissing the appeal. If a resistance is filed, the department has ten days from the date of the filing of the resistance to decide whether to withdraw its motion and so notify the taxpayer and the clerk. If no such notice is received by the clerk within the ten-day period, the appeal file will be transferred to the division of administrative hearings, which shall issue a notice for a contested case proceeding on the motion as prescribed by rule 701—7.16(17A), except that the issue of the contested case proceeding shall be limited to the question of whether the taxpayer failed to pursue the appeal, as that term is defined in this subrule. Thereafter, rule 701—7.19(17A) pertaining to contested case proceedings shall apply in such dismissal proceedings.
	b. 	Grounds for reinstatement of dismissed appeals. If a motion to dismiss is filed and is unresisted, the appeal that was dismissed may be reinstated by the director or the director’s designee for good cause if an application for reinstatement is filed with the clerk within 30 days of the date the appeal was dismissed. For purposes of this rule, “good cause” shall mean the same as “good cause” in Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.977.
	c. 	Content and review of the application for reinstatement. The application shall set forth all reasons and facts upon which the taxpayer relies in seeking reinstatement of the appeal. Supporting documentation must be supplied. The department shall review and notify the taxpayer whether the application is granted or denied.
	d. 	Denial of the application. If the department denies the application to reinstate the appeal, the taxpayer has 30 days from the date the application for reinstatement was denied in which to request, in writing, a formal hearing on the reinstatement. The taxpayer shall send the written request to the clerk. When a written request for formal hearing is received, the appeal file will be transferred to the division of administrative hearings, which shall issue a notice as prescribed in rule 701—7.16(17A), except that the issue of the contested case proceeding shall be limited to the question of whether the taxpayer has good cause to reinstate the dismissed appeal. Thereafter, rule 701—7.19(17A) pertaining to contested case proceedings shall apply in such reinstatement proceedings. If the taxpayer does not respond to a denial of the application for reinstatement within 30 days of the denial, the director or the director’s designee will issue an order closing the appeal.
	e. 	Failure to file timely application for reinstatement. If an application for reinstatement is filed after the 30-day deadline, the application shall not be accepted by the director or director’s designee.
	7.12(4) Dismissal of appeals during contested case proceedings. Once contested case proceedings have been commenced, it shall be grounds for a motion to dismiss that a taxpayer has either failed to diligently pursue the appeal or has refused to comply with requests for discovery set forth in rule 701—7.17(17A). Such a motion must be filed with the presiding officer.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 17A.12, 421.10, 421.60, and 422.28.
[ARC 6988C, IAB 4/19/23, effective 5/24/23]