Rule 1-14-6.03 - Electronic Filing with Designated EntityA. Pursuant to the Act, the Division designates the web-based IARD operated by FINRA to receive and store filings and collect related fees from investment advisers and investment adviser representatives on behalf of the Division.B. Unless otherwise provided, all investment adviser and investment adviser representative applications, amendments, notices, related filings, and fees required to be filed with the Division pursuant to the Rules promulgated under this Act shall be filed electronically with and transmitted to IARD. The following additional conditions relate to such electronic filings: 1. When a signature or signatures are required by the particular instructions of any filing to be made through IARD, a duly authorized officer of the applicant or the applicant himself, as required, shall affix his electronic signature to the filing by typing his name in the appropriate fields and submitting the filing to IARD. Submission of a filing in this manner shall constitute irrefutable evidence of legal signature by any individuals whose names are typed on the filing.2. Solely for purposes of a filing made through IARD, a document is considered filed with the Division when all fees are received, and the filing is accepted by IARD on behalf of the Division.C. Notwithstanding Subsection (B) above, the electronic filing of any particular document and the collection of related processing fees shall not be required until such time as IARD provides for receipt of such filings and fees. Any documents or fees required to be filed with the Division that are not permitted to be filed with or cannot be accepted electronically by IARD shall be filed directly with the Division.D. An investment adviser shall be deemed to have fulfilled the requirement of filing a consent to service of process with the Division upon completing and filing the relevant portion of the revised Form ADV (Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration).E. Investment advisers registered under the Act or required to be registered under the Act who experience unanticipated technical difficulties that prevent submission of an electronic filing to IARD may request a temporary hardship exemption from filing electronically with IARD. To request a temporary hardship extension, the investment adviser must: 1. File Form ADV-H (Application for a Temporary or Continuing Hardship Exemption) in paper format with the Division no later than one (1) business day after the filing that is subject of Form ADV-H was due; and2. Submit the filing that is the subject of Form ADV-H in electronic form to IARD no later than seven (7) business days after the filing was due.F. The temporary hardship exemption will be deemed effective upon receipt by the Division of the complete Form ADV-H. Multiple temporary hardship exemption requests within the same calendar year are discouraged and may be disallowed by the Division.G. A continuing hardship exemption will be granted only if the investment adviser is able to demonstrate that the electronic filing requirements of this Rule are prohibitively burdensome. To apply for a continuing hardship exemption, the investment adviser must: 1. File Form ADV-H in paper format with the Division at least twenty (20) business days before a filing is due; and2. If a filing is due to more than one state, the Form ADV-H must be filed with the state where the investment adviser's principal place of business is located. The state who receives the application will grant or deny the application within ten (10) business days after the filing of Form ADV-H.H. The exemption is effective upon approval by the Division. The time period of the exemption may be no longer than one (1) year after the date on which the Form ADV-H is filed. If the Division approves the application, the investment adviser must, no later than five (5) business days after the exemption approval date, submit filings to IARD in paper format (along with the appropriate processing fees) for the period of time for which the exemption is granted.I. The decision to grant or deny a request for a hardship exemption will be made by the state where the investment adviser's principal place of business is located, which decision will be conformed to by the other state(s) where the investment adviser is registered.Miss. Code Ann. § 75-71-406(e) (2020).