Duke Engineering & Services, Inc.

01-11

The Taxpayer learned upon audit that one of its customers had provided it with a Department form NTTC which the customer had altered to indicate that it was a Type 5 NTTC when it had originally been issued to the customer as a Type 15 NTTC. The Department disallowed the deductions that the Taxpayer had claimed based upon the altered NTTC.  The Taxpayer paid the assessment during the amnesty period to obtain relief from the imposition of penalty and interest and subsequently applied for a refund of the tax it had paid.  The Department denied the refund and the Taxpayer protested the denial. There was no allegation that the Taxpayer knew or should have been able to determine from the face of the NTTC that it had been altered. It was held that the NTTC, being on a Department form, was in a “form prescribed by the department” as required by Section 7-9-43(A) and that the Taxpayer had accepted the NTTC in good faith. Thus, the Taxpayer could rely upon the NTTC to support its claim of deduction.  Protest granted.