2017 Indiana Code
TITLE 6. Taxation
ARTICLE 1.1. PROPERTY TAXES
CHAPTER 8.5. Assessment of Industrial Facilities in Lake County
6-1.1-8.5-11. Appeal of industrial facility assessment to the Indiana board; appeal procedure; deadline for determination
Sec. 11. (a) The industrial company that owns or uses the industrial facility assessed by the department of local government finance under this chapter may appeal that assessment to the Indiana board. Subject to subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e), the county assessor of the county in which the industrial facility assessed by the department of local government finance is located may appeal that assessment to the Indiana board.
(b) The county assessor of a qualifying county may not expend public money appealing an assessment under this section unless the following requirements are met before a petition for review is submitted to the Indiana board:
(1) The county assessor submits to the county fiscal body a written estimate of the cost of the appeal.
(2) The county fiscal body adopts a resolution approving the county assessor's proposed expenditure to carry out the appeal.
(3) The total amount of the proposed expenditure is in accordance with an appropriation made by the county fiscal body in the manner provided by law.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (d) and (e), an appeal under this section shall be conducted in the same manner as an appeal under IC 6-1.1-15-4 through IC 6-1.1-15-8. An assessment made under this chapter that is not appealed under this section is a final unappealable order of the department of local government finance.
(d) With respect to an appeal filed by a county assessor under this section the following apply:
(1) In the petition for review to the Indiana board, the county assessor shall state what the county assessor contends the assessed value of the industrial facility should be and provide substantial evidence in support of that contention. Failure to comply with this requirement results in dismissal of the county assessor's petition for review and no further appeal of the assessment by the county assessor may be taken.
(2) Not later than thirty (30) days after the county assessor files a petition for review in compliance with subdivision (1), the Indiana board shall hold a hearing at which the county assessor must establish a reasonable likelihood of success on any contentions made in the petition for review including, without limitation, the contention required under subdivision (1) regarding the assessed value of the real estate. The industrial company whose industrial facility is the subject of the county assessor's petition for review and the department of local government finance has the right to appear at this hearing and to present testimony, to cross-examine witnesses, and to present evidence regarding the county assessor's contentions.
(3) Not later than thirty (30) days after the hearing held under subdivision (2), the Indiana board shall issue a determination whether the county assessor has established a reasonable likelihood of success on the contentions in the petition for review. If the Indiana board determines that the county assessor has not established a reasonable likelihood of success on the contentions in the petition for review, the county assessor's petition for review shall be dismissed and no further appeal of the assessment by the county assessor may be taken. If the Indiana board determines that the county assessor has established a reasonable likelihood of success on the contentions in the petition for review, the Indiana board's determination does not create the presumption that the county assessor's contentions are valid. A determination by the Indiana board that the county assessor has established a reasonable likelihood of success on the contentions in the petition for review may be appealed to the Indiana tax court as an interlocutory appeal. A party may petition for review by the Indiana supreme court of the Indiana tax court's ruling regarding an interlocutory appeal brought under this subdivision.
(4) The Indiana board shall not hold a hearing on the appeal under IC 6-1.1-15-4 and the county assessor shall not be permitted to conduct discovery under the Indiana board's administrative rules until a determination has been issued under subdivision (3) and:
(A) any interlocutory appeal under subdivision (3) has been ruled on by the Indiana tax court; or
(B) the Indiana supreme court has either rejected a petition for review concerning the Indiana tax court's ruling on the interlocutory appeal or issued a decision regarding the Indiana tax court's ruling on the interlocutory appeal.
(e) On any appeal that has not been dismissed, the Indiana board shall issue an order within one (1) year after:
(1) the taxpayer filed its petition for review;
(2) the issuance of the Indiana board's determination under subsection (d)(3) in the case of an appeal by the county assessor; or
(3) the Indiana tax court or Indiana supreme court rules on a taxpayer's interlocutory appeal under subsection (d)(3) in the case of an appeal by the county assessor;
whichever is latest.
As added by P.L.151-2001, SEC.3. Amended by P.L.90-2002, SEC.95; P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.105.
