TITLE 48 REVENUE AND TAXATION

Section 2. State Administrative Organization, Administration, and Enforcement, 48-2-1 through 48-2-115.

ARTICLE 2 ADMINISTRATION

48-2-32. Forms of payment.

1. The commissioner may receive in payment of taxes and license fees personal, company, certified, treasurer's, and cashier's checks and bank, postal, and express money orders to the extent and under the conditions which he may reasonably prescribe by regulations or instructions.
2. A check or money order, when authorized, shall be deemed to be payment as of the time it is received by the commissioner, provided the check or money order is duly paid upon presentation to the drawee. The time of receipt as shown by the records of the department shall be prima facie correct as to the time of actual receipt.
3. If a check or money order so received is not duly paid, the person on whose account the check or money order was tendered shall remain liable for the payment of the tax or license fee and for all legal penalties and additions to the same extent as if the check or money order had not been tendered. Delay in the presentation for payment of the check or money order shall not absolve the person of this liability.
4. If any certified, treasurer's, or cashier's check or money order so received is not duly paid, the state, in addition to its right to exact payment from the party originally obligated therefor, shall have a lien for the amount of the check or money order upon all assets of the bank or trust company on which drawn or for the amount of the money order upon all the assets of the issuer of the money order. The amount of the check or money order shall be paid out of such assets in preference to any other claims whatsoever against the banker or issuer.
5. 1. On and after July 1, 2004, if any check or money order tendered to the commissioner in payment of any tax or license fee is not duly paid when presented to the drawee or issuer for payment, there shall be paid by the person who tendered the check or money order upon notice and demand of the commissioner or his delegate, in the same manner as tax, a penalty in an amount equal to 2 percent of the amount of the check or money order, unless the amount of the check or money order is less than $1,250.00, in which case the penalty under this Code section shall be $25.00. This penalty shall be in addition to any other penalties provided by law.
   2. This subsection shall not apply if the person who tendered the check or money order shows to the commissioner's reasonable satisfaction that the check or money order was tendered in good faith and with reasonable cause to believe it would be duly paid.
6. 1. As used in this subsection, the term "electronic funds transfer" means a method of making financial payments from one party to another through a series of instructions and messages communicated electronically, via computer, among financial institutions. Such term shall not include the electronic filing of tax returns.
   2. The commissioner may require that any person or business owing more than $10,000.00 in connection with any return, report, or other document required to be filed with the department on or after July 1, 1992, shall pay any such sales tax, use tax, withholding tax, motor fuel distributor tax, corporate estimated income tax, or individual estimated income tax liability to the state by electronic funds transfer so that the state receives collectable funds on the date such payment is required to be made. In emergency situations, the commissioner may authorize alternative means of payment in funds immediately available to the state on the date of payment.

      (2.1) (A) The commissioner may require that any person or business owing more than $1,000.00 in connection with any return, report, or other document pertaining to sales tax, use tax, withholding tax, or motor fuel distributor tax required to be filed with the department for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2010, and prior to January 1, 2011, shall pay any such sales tax, use tax, withholding tax, or motor fuel distributor tax liability to the state by electronic funds transfer so that the state receives collectable funds on the date such payment is required to be made. In emergency situations, the commissioner may authorize alternative means of payment in funds immediately available to the state on the date of payment.

      1. The commissioner may require that any person or business owing more than $500.00 in connection with any return, report, or other document pertaining to sales tax, use tax, withholding tax, or motor fuel distributor tax required to be filed with the department for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2011, shall pay any such sales tax, use tax, withholding tax, or motor fuel distributor tax liability to the state by electronic funds transfer so that the state receives collectable funds on the date such payment is required to be made. In emergency situations, the commissioner may authorize alternative means of payment in funds immediately available to the state on the date of payment.
   3. In addition to the requirements contained in paragraph (2) of this subsection, every employer whose tax withheld or required to be withheld under Code Section 48-7-103 exceeds $50,000.00 in the aggregate for the lookback period as defined in paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of Code Section 48-7-103 must pay the taxes by electronic funds transfer as follows:
      1. For paydays occurring on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, the taxes must be remitted on or before the following Wednesday or, in the case of a holiday, the next banking day thereafter;
      2. For paydays occurring on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday, the taxes must be remitted on or before the following Friday or, in the case of a holiday, the next banking day thereafter; and
      3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph to the contrary, for employers whose tax withheld or required to be withheld exceeds $100,000.00 for the payday, the taxes must be remitted by the next banking day.
   4. In addition to the requirements contained in paragraphs (2), (2.1), and (3) of this subsection, every third-party payroll provider who prepares or remits, or both, Georgia withholding tax for more than 250 employers must pay the taxes by electronic funds transfer. Also, such third-party payroll providers must submit all state withholding tax registration applications electronically in the manner specified by the department. Any state withholding tax registration applications that are not submitted electronically by such third-party payroll provider in the manner specified by the department shall not be considered by the department.
   5. The commissioner is specifically authorized to establish due dates and times for the initiation of electronic payments, establish an implementation schedule, promulgate regulations, and prescribe rules and procedures to implement this subsection.
   6. A penalty of 10 percent of the amount due shall be added to any payment which is made in other than immediately available funds which are specified by regulation of the commissioner unless the commissioner has authorized an alternate means of payment in an emergency.
   7. In addition to authority granted in Code Section 48-2-41, the commissioner is authorized to waive the collection of interest on electronic funds transfer payments, not to exceed the first two scheduled payments, whenever and to the extent that the commissioner reasonably determines that the default giving rise to the interest charge was due to reasonable cause and not due to gross or willful neglect or disregard of this subsection or regulations or instructions issued pursuant to this subsection.
   8. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations setting forth the requirements for electronically transmitting all required returns, reports, or other documents required to be filed with taxes paid by electronic funds transfer.
   9. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations setting forth the procedure for satisfying the signature requirement for returns whether by electronic signature, voice signature, or other means, so long as appropriate security measures are implemented which assure security and verification of the signature procedure.
   10. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the commissioner is authorized to pay all tax refunds by electronic funds transfer when requested by a taxpayer who has filed his or her return electronically with the department.

(Ga. L. 1960, p. 211, § 1; Code 1933, § 91A-232, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Ga. L. 1991, p. 715, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1234, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 91, § 48; Ga. L. 1996, p. 307, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 734, § 2; Ga. L. 2003, p. 665, § 3; Ga. L. 2004, p. 410, §§ 3, 4; Ga. L. 2004, p. 631, § 48; Ga. L. 2005, p. 159, § 4/HB 488; Ga. L. 2006, p. 200, § 3/HB 1310; Ga. L. 2009, p. 648, § 1/HB 334; Ga. L. 2014, p. 231, § 2/HB 918.)