CHAPTER 15. TAXING SITUS OF MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE
IC 6-8.1-15
Chapter 15. Taxing Situs of Mobile Telecommunications Service
IC 6-8.1-15-1
"Charges for mobile telecommunications service" defined
Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "charges for mobile
telecommunications service" means any charge for or associated with
the provision of commercial mobile radio service, as defined in
Section 20.3 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations as in
effect on June 1, 1999, or any charge for or associated with a service
provided as an adjunct to a commercial mobile radio service, that is
billed to the customer by or for the customer's home service provider
regardless of whether individual transmissions originate or terminate
within the licensed service area of the home service provider.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-2
"Customer" defined
Sec. 2. (a) As used in this chapter, except as provided in
subsection (b), "customer" means:
(1) the person or entity that contracts with the home service
provider for mobile telecommunications service; or
(2) if the end user of mobile telecommunications service is not
the contracting party, the end user of the mobile
telecommunications service, but this subdivision applies only
for the purpose of determining the place of primary use.
(b) The term "customer" does not include:
(1) a reseller of mobile telecommunications service; or
(2) a serving carrier under an arrangement to serve the customer
outside the home service provider's licensed service area.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-3
"Designated data base provider" defined
Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "designated data base provider"
means a corporation, an association, or other entity representing the
state and political subdivisions of the state that is responsible for
providing an electronic data base under section 15 of this chapter and
approved by the department.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-4
"Enhanced ZIP code" defined
Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "enhanced ZIP code" means a
United States postal ZIP code of nine (9) or more digits.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-5
"Home service provider" defined
Sec. 5. As used in this chapter, "home service provider" means the
facilities based carrier or reseller with which the customer contracts
for the provision of mobile telecommunications service.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-6
"Licensed service area" defined
Sec. 6. As used in this chapter, "licensed service area" means the
geographic area in which the home service provider is authorized by
law or contract to provide commercial mobile radio service to the
customer.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-7
"Mobile telecommunications service" defined
Sec. 7. As used in this chapter, "mobile telecommunications
service" means commercial mobile radio service, as defined in
Section 20.3 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations as in
effect on June 1, 1999.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-8
"Place of primary use" defined
Sec. 8. As used in this chapter, "place of primary use" means the
street address representative of where the customer's use of the
mobile telecommunications service primarily occurs, which must be:
(1) the residential street address or the primary business street
address of the customer; and
(2) within the licensed service area of the home service
provider.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-9
"Prepaid telephone calling service" defined
Sec. 9. As used in this chapter, "prepaid telephone calling service"
means the right to purchase exclusively telecommunications service
that must be paid for in advance that enables the origination of calls
using an access number or authorization code, or both, whether
manually or electronically dialed, if the remaining amount of units
of service that has been prepaid is known by the provider of the
prepaid service on a continuous basis.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-10
"Reseller" defined
Sec. 10. As used in this chapter, "reseller" means a provider who
purchases telecommunications service from another
telecommunications service provider and then resells, uses as a
component part of, or integrates the purchased service into a mobile
telecommunications service. The term does not include a serving
carrier with which a home service provider arranges for the service
to its customers outside the home service provider's licensed service
area.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-11
"Serving carrier" defined
Sec. 11. As used in this chapter, "serving carrier" means a
facilities based carrier providing mobile telecommunications service
to a customer outside a home service provider's or reseller's licensed
service area.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-12
Legislative findings of fact
Sec. 12. The general assembly finds that:
(1) the United States Congress has enacted the Mobile
Telecommunications Sourcing Act (4 U.S.C. 116 et seq.) for the
purpose of establishing uniform nationwide sourcing rules for
state and local taxation of mobile telecommunications service;
(2) the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act
provides that taxes on mobile telecommunications service shall
be paid to the jurisdiction where the customer's primary use of
the service occurs, irrespective of where the mobile
telecommunications service originates, terminates, or passes
through; and
(3) it is desirable to implement the federal Mobile
Telecommunications Sourcing Act in Indiana.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-13
Application of chapter
Sec. 13. (a) Except as provided by section 20 of this chapter, this
chapter applies to:
(1) the gross retail tax imposed on mobile telecommunications
service under IC 6-2.5-4-6;
(2) the monthly emergency wireless enhanced 911 fee imposed
on mobile telecommunications service under IC 36-8-16.5; and
(3) any other tax, charge, or fee levied by the state or a taxing
jurisdiction within Indiana as a fixed charge for each customer
or measured by gross amounts charged to customers for mobile
telecommunications service, regardless of whether the tax,
charge, or fee is imposed on the vendor or customer of the
service and regardless of the terminology used to describe the
tax, charge, or fee;
on bills for mobile telecommunications service issued to customers
after July 31, 2002.
(b) This chapter does not apply to:
(1) any tax, charge, or fee levied upon or measured by the net
income, capital stock, net worth, or property value of the
provider of mobile telecommunications service;
(2) any tax, charge, or fee that is applied to an equitably
apportioned amount that is not determined on a transactional
basis;
(3) any tax, charge, or fee that:
(A) represents compensation for a mobile
telecommunications service provider's use of public
rights-of-way or other public property; and
(B) is not levied by the taxing jurisdiction as a fixed charge
for each customer or measured by gross amounts charged to
customers for mobile telecommunication service;
(4) any generally applicable business and occupation tax that is
imposed by the state, is applied to gross receipts or gross
proceeds, is the legal liability of the home service provider, and
that statutorily allows the home service provider to elect to use
the sourcing method required in this section; or
(5) the determination of the taxing situs of:
(A) prepaid telephone calling service; or
(B) air-ground radiotelephone service as defined in Section
22.99 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations as in
effect June 1, 1999.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-14
Sourcing of telecommunications service
Sec. 14. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, mobile
telecommunications service provided in a taxing jurisdiction to a
customer, the charges for which are billed by or for the customer's
home service provider, are considered to be provided by the
customer's home service provider.
(b) All charges for mobile telecommunications service that are
considered to be provided by the customer's home service provider
under this chapter are authorized to be subjected to tax, charge, or
fee by the taxing jurisdictions whose territorial limits encompass the
customer's place of primary use, regardless of where the mobile
telecommunication service originates, terminates, or passes through.
(c) This chapter does not:
(1) authorize a taxing jurisdiction to impose a tax, charge, or fee
that the jurisdiction is not otherwise authorized to impose; or
(2) modify, impair, supersede, or authorize the modification,
impairment, or supersession of the law of any taxing
jurisdiction pertaining to taxation except as expressly provided
by this chapter.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-15
Electronic data base
Sec. 15. (a) The department may provide an electronic data base
to a home service provider or, if the department does not provide an
electronic data base to home service providers, the designated data
base provider may provide an electronic data base to a home service
provider. The department or the designated data base provider shall
provide the data base in a format that complies with the requirements
of the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act (4 U.S.C.
116 et seq.).
(b) The department or designated data base provider shall provide
notice of the availability of the then current electronic data base and
any subsequent revisions of the data base by publication in the
manner normally employed for the publication of informational tax,
charge, or fee notices to taxpayers in Indiana.
(c) A home service provider using the data contained in an
electronic data base described in this section shall be held harmless
from any tax, charge, or fee liability that otherwise would be due
solely as a result of any error or omission in the data base. The home
service provider shall reflect changes made to the data base during
a calendar quarter not later than thirty (30) days after the end of the
calendar quarter.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-16
Use of enhanced ZIP codes
Sec. 16. (a) If an electronic data base is not provided under
section 15 of this chapter, a home service provider shall be held
harmless from any tax, charge, or fee liability in Indiana that
otherwise would be due solely as a result of an assignment of a street
address to an incorrect taxing jurisdiction if, subject to section 18 of
this chapter, the home service provider employs an enhanced ZIP
code to assign each street address to a specific taxing jurisdiction for
each level of taxing jurisdiction and exercises due diligence at each
level of taxing jurisdiction to ensure that each street address is
assigned to the correct taxing jurisdiction. If an enhanced ZIP code
overlaps boundaries of taxing jurisdictions of the same level, the
home service provider must designate one (1) specific jurisdiction
within the enhanced ZIP code for use in taxing the activity for that
enhanced ZIP code for each level of taxing jurisdiction. Any
enhanced ZIP code assignment changed in accordance with section
18 of this chapter is considered to be in compliance with this section.
(b) For purposes of this section, there is a rebuttable presumption
that a home service provider has exercised due diligence if the home
service provider demonstrates that it has:
(1) expended reasonable resources to implement and maintain
an appropriately detailed electronic data base of street address
assignments to taxing jurisdictions;
(2) implemented and maintained reasonable internal controls to
promptly correct misassignments of street addresses to taxing
jurisdictions; and
(3) used all reasonably obtainable and usable data pertaining to
municipal annexation, incorporations, reorganizations, and any
other changes in jurisdictional boundaries that materially affect
the accuracy of the data base.
(c) This section applies to a home service provider that is in
compliance with the requirements of this section until the later of:
(1) eighteen (18) months after the nationwide standard numeric
code described in the federal Mobile Telecommunications
Sourcing Act (4 U.S.C. 116 et seq.) has been approved by the
Federation of Tax Administrators and the Multistate Tax
Commission; or
(2) six (6) months after the department or a designated data base
provider provides a data base as described in section 15 of this
chapter.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-17
Reliance on address supplied by customer
Sec. 17. (a) A home service provider is responsible for obtaining
and maintaining the customer's place of primary use. Subject to
section 18 of this chapter, a home service provider may rely on the
applicable residential or business street address supplied by the home
service provider's customer and is not liable for any additional taxes,
charges, or fees based on a different determination of the place of
primary use for taxes, charges, or fees that are customarily passed on
to the customer as a separate itemized charge if the reliance on
information provided by its customer is in good faith.
(b) Except as provided in section 18 of this chapter, a home
service provider may treat the address used by the home service
provider for tax purposes for any customer under a service contract
or agreement in effect on or before July 28, 2002, as that customer's
place of primary use for the remaining term of the service contract or
agreement, excluding any extension or renewal of the service
contract or agreement, for purposes of determining the taxing
jurisdictions to which taxes, charges, or fees on charges for mobile
telecommunications service are remitted.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-18
Correction of erroneous data by department
Sec. 18. (a) The department may determine that the address used
for purposes of determining the taxing jurisdictions to which taxes,
charges, or fees for mobile telecommunications service are remitted
does not meet the definition of "place of primary use" in this chapter
and give binding notice to the home service provider to change the
place of primary use on a prospective basis from the date of notice
of determination. Before the department gives a notice of
determination, the customer must be given an opportunity to
demonstrate in accordance with department rules and administrative
procedures that the address is the customer's place of primary use.
(b) The department may determine that the assignment of a taxing
jurisdiction by a home service provider under section 16 of this
chapter does not reflect the correct taxing jurisdiction and give
binding notice to the home service provider to change the assignment
on a prospective basis from the date of notice of determination. The
home service provider must be given an opportunity to demonstrate
in accordance with department rules and administrative procedures
that the assignment reflects the correct taxing jurisdiction.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-19
Identification of nontaxable services
Sec. 19. If charges for nontaxable mobile telecommunications
service are aggregated with and not separately stated from charges
that are subject to taxation, the charges for nontaxable mobile
telecommunications service are subject to taxation unless the home
service provider can reasonably identify charges not subject to the
tax, charge, or fee from its books and records that are kept in the
regular course of business.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-20
Application of chapter if federal law invalidated
Sec. 20. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, this
chapter does not apply to any tax, charge, or fee levied by the state
or a taxing jurisdiction within Indiana beginning on the date of entry
of a final judgment on the merits by a court that:
(1) is based on federal law;
(2) is no longer subject to appeal; and
(3) substantially limits or impairs the essential elements of the
federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act (4 U.S.C.
116 et seq.).
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.
IC 6-8.1-15-21
Customer remedies
Sec. 21. (a) If a customer believes that an amount of tax, charge,
or fee or an assignment of place of primary use or taxing jurisdiction
included on a bill under this chapter is erroneous, the customer shall
notify the home service provider in writing. The customer shall
include in the written notification the street address for the
customer's place of primary use, the account name and number for
which the customer seeks a correction, a description of the error
asserted by the customer, and any other information that the home
service provider reasonably requires to process the request.
(b) Within sixty (60) days after receiving a notice under this
section, the home service provider shall review its records to
determine the customer's taxing jurisdiction. If the review shows that
the amount of tax, charge, or fee or assignment of place of primary
use or taxing jurisdiction is in error, the home service provider shall
correct the error and refund or credit the amount of tax, charge, or
fee erroneously collected from the customer for a period of up to two
(2) years. If the review shows that the amount of tax, charge, or fee
or assignment of place of primary use or taxing jurisdiction is
correct, the home service provider shall provide a written explanation
to the customer.
(c) The procedures set forth in this section are the first course of
remedy available to a customer seeking correction of assignment of
place of primary use or taxing jurisdiction, or a refund of or other
compensation for taxes, charges, or fees erroneously collected by the
home service provider. No cause of action based upon a dispute
arising from the collection of any such taxes, charges, or fees shall
accrue until a customer has exhausted the remedies set forth in this
section.
As added by P.L.104-2002, SEC.2.