N.M. Admin. Code § 22.600.3.13

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 23, December 10, 2024

Section 22.600.3.13 - TAX PROTEST HEARINGS CLOSED TO PUBLIC, FILE IS CONFIDENTIAL, AND SEALING OF RECORDS IN THE PROCEEDING

A. Hearings are not open to the public except upon request of the taxpayer.

B. Pursuant to Section 7-1-8.3 NMSA 1978, all documents, exhibits, pleadings and materials contained in the administrative tax file and the record of the administrative hearing are confidential and may not be released to the public, except that the final decision and order without redaction and any evidentiary or procedural ruling made by the hearing officer with redaction of identifiable taxpayer information may be revealed.

C. Either party may ask for, and submit, a proposed order sealing particular records, documents, or exhibits that may contain confidential third-party taxpayer information or as is required by relevant internal revenue service information sharing agreements or other applicable federal law. Upon issuance of an order sealing such documents of exhibits, those records will remain under seal throughout the proceeding and shall be returned to the submitting party at the conclusion of the appeal period or the appeal. The opposing party shall be entitled to promptly review those documents in preparing for the hearing, and may rely on those documents during the hearing as necessary to ensure a fair hearing process, but shall not maintain its own copy of the sealed document after conclusion of the hearing nor reveal, discuss, or disclose the contents of those sealed documents to any other party outside of the hearing process.

D. In the event of an appeal, the complete record of the proceeding, including any sealed records, will be provided to the relevant judicial body, as required under Section 7-1-8.4 NMSA 1978.

E. The hearing officer's notes taken during the course of the hearing, any written discussions with another hearing officer related to the deliberative process, and any draft orders or draft decisions are confidential as part of the deliberative process and are not subject to public disclosure under any recognized exception contained under Section 7-1-8.3 NMSA 1978. Only the hearing officer's final decision and order and other final procedural or evidentiary orders (with appropriate taxpayer information redacted) may be revealed to the public under Section 7-1-8.3 NMSA 1978.

N.M. Admin. Code § 22.600.3.13

Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXIX, Issue 02, January 30, 2018, eff. 2/1/2018, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXI, Issue 16, August 25, 2020, eff. 8/25/2020