Sec. 12-2. Appointment, powers and duties of Commissioner of Revenue Services. Administrative pronouncements. Contracts for the collection of municipal taxes.
Sec. 12-2. Appointment, powers and duties of Commissioner of Revenue Services. Administrative pronouncements. Contracts for the collection of municipal
taxes. (a)(1) The Governor shall, in the manner and for the term provided by sections
4-5 to 4-8, inclusive, appoint a Commissioner of Revenue Services and the Governor
shall fill any vacancy occurring during such term as provided by said sections. The
commissioner shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take the oath by law
provided for executive and judicial officers and, in the performance of his duties, he
shall have power to administer oaths.
(2) The commissioner may prescribe regulations, to be adopted in accordance with
chapter 54, and make rulings, not inconsistent with law, to carry into effect the provisions
of this title, which regulations or rulings, when reasonably designed to carry out the
intents and purposes of this title, shall be prima facie evidence of its proper interpretation.
Each regulation shall be assigned a section number corresponding to the section of the
general statutes (A) pursuant to which such regulation is authorized or required or (B)
with respect to which such regulation pertains for purposes of implementation, procedural details or supplementary interpretation, provided whenever such section number
corresponds to a section which does not include the authorization or requirement for
such regulation, a reference to the section providing such authorization or requirement
shall be included in the text of the regulation.
(3) The commissioner shall publish for distribution all regulations prescribed hereunder and such rulings as appear in the discretion of the commissioner to be of general
interest.
(4) The commissioner may require any person who is or appears to be affected by
the provisions of any tax law of this state to furnish to the Department of Revenue
Services the Social Security account number or numbers issued to such person by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, or the employer identification number or
numbers issued to such person by the Secretary of the Treasury, or both numbers.
(5) No interest, penalty or addition to tax shall be imposed on any tax or installment
of estimated tax required to be paid to the Department of Revenue Services with respect
to any tax or installment of estimated tax not paid when required to the extent that the
Commissioner of Revenue Services determines that, by reason of casualty or disaster,
the imposition of such interest, penalty or addition to tax would be against equity and
good conscience. The provisions of this subdivision shall not be construed as authorizing
suit against the state where the Commissioner of Revenue Services does not determine
that the imposition of interest, penalty or addition to tax would be against equity and
good conscience and shall not be construed as a waiver of sovereign immunity.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes to the contrary, the commissioner may issue administrative pronouncements providing his interpretation of the
tax laws. Within one hundred eighty days from the issuance of any administrative pronouncement the commissioner shall publish notice of intent to adopt regulations in
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to implement the provisions of any administrative pronouncement issued on or after August 22, 1991, and such regulations shall
be presented to the regulation review committee within six months from the date of the
issuance of any such pronouncement. Such pronouncements shall not have the force
and effect of regulations and shall carry a notice stating that the administrative pronouncements do not have the force and effect of law, provided taxpayers shall be entitled
to rely on such pronouncements. For the purpose of this subsection "administrative
pronouncement" shall mean a statement by the Commissioner of Revenue Services
which provides his interpretation of the tax laws and which is published and made
available to the public. The commissioner shall, with respect to any provision of the
general statutes which authorizes the issuance of rules, file with the legislative regulation
review committee, within six months after the issuance of such rules, regulations which
implement the provisions of such rules.
(c) The commissioner is authorized to negotiate and contract with the governing
authority of any Connecticut municipality for the purpose of arranging for the collection
by the commissioner of any taxes for general or special purposes levied by such municipality, of any fines, penalties, costs or fees payable to such municipality for the violation
of any lawful regulation or ordinance in furtherance of any general powers as enumerated
in section 7-148, or of any charge payable to such municipality for connection with or
for the use of a waterworks or sewerage system, provided such taxes, fines, penalties,
costs or fees, or charges are (1) unpaid and a period in excess of thirty days has elapsed
following the date on which they were due and (2) not the subject of a timely filed
administrative appeal or of a timely filed appeal pending before any court of competent
jurisdiction. The agreement shall include a fee to be paid by such municipality to said
commissioner in an amount that covers fully the cost of collection of such taxes, fines,
penalties, costs or fees, or charges by said commissioner. The commissioner shall transmit to the municipality all such taxes, fines, penalties, costs or fees, or charges so collected on behalf of such municipality on or before the date specified in such agreement,
less the agreed upon collection fee. Where such an agreement exists, the commissioner
may collect, on behalf of such municipality, such taxes, fines, penalties, costs or fees,
or charges, and all interest, penalties, fees and other charges added thereto by law, under
the provisions of section 12-35 as if such taxes, fines, penalties, costs or fees, or charges
due such municipality were "tax due the state", as such term is defined in said section
12-35, and as if such term expressly included taxes, fines, penalties, costs or fees, or
charges due to such municipality.
(1949 Rev., S. 1680; 1949, S. 1028d; 1967, P.A. 867; 1969, P.A. 297; P.A. 77-614, S. 139, 610; P.A. 84-422, S. 1, 2;
P.A. 90-36; P.A. 93-361, S. 1; P.A. 95-283, S. 31, 68; P.A. 96-114, S. 1, 4; 96-221, S. 13, 25; P.A. 97-309, S. 15, 23; 97-322, S. 7, 9.)
History: 1967 act ordered commissioner to require that assessors comply with statutes governing assessment of real and
personal property; 1969 act substituted "community correctional center" for "jail"; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of
revenue services for tax commissioner, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 84-422 amended provisions concerning powers of
the commissioner by allowing adoption of regulations and rulings to carry into effect any provisions of this title and to
require any person affected by the tax laws of the state to furnish such person's social security account number issued by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services; P.A. 90-36 added provisions concerning the numbering of regulations; P.A.
93-361 made existing section Subsec. (a) and added a new Subsec. (b) re administrative pronouncements; P.A. 95-283
amended Subsec. (a) to replace board of tax review with board of assessment appeals, effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 96-114
amended Subsec. (a) by deleting provisions re commissioner's authority re assessors and tax collection, those powers
being transferred to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, effective May 24, 1996; P.A. 96-221 amended
Subsec. (a) to divide existing Subsec. into Subdivs. and added new Subdiv. (5) re prohibition of penalties, interest or
surcharge in cases of casualty or disaster as determined by commissioner, effective June 4, 1996; P.A. 97-309 added new
Subsec. (c) re authorization for commissioner to negotiate and contract with a municipality for the collection of municipal
taxes, effective October 1, 1999; P.A. 97-322 changed effective date of Sec. 15 of public act 97-309 from October 1, 1999,
to July 1, 1997, effective July 1, 1997.
See Secs. 12-1c and 12-1d re transfer of certain functions, powers and duties under this chapter and chapters 203, 204
and 204a to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management.
At public hearing concerning manner of assessment, commissioner may examine each assessor separately excluding
other assessors. 117 C. 301. Cited. 132 C. 533. History discussed. 150 C. 449. Cited. 224 C. 426. Cited. 234 C. 614.