Section 1603 Of Article 1. Generally From California Revenue And Taxation Code >> Division 1. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 1.
1603
. (a) A reduction in an assessment on the local roll shall not
be made unless the party affected or his or her agent makes and files
with the county board a verified, written application showing the
facts claimed to require the reduction and the applicant's opinion of
the full value of the property. The form for the application shall
be prescribed by the State Board of Equalization.
(b) (1) The application shall be filed within the time period from
July 2 to September 15, inclusive. An application that is mailed and
postmarked September 15 or earlier within that period shall be
deemed to have been filed within the time period beginning July 2 and
continuing through and including September 15.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the taxpayer does not
receive the notice of assessment described in Section 619 at least 15
calendar days prior to the deadline to file the application
described in this subdivision, the party affected, or his or her
agent, may file an application within 60 days of receipt of the
notice of assessment or within 60 days of the mailing of the tax
bill, whichever is earlier, along with an affidavit declaring under
penalty of perjury that the notice was not timely received.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the last day of the filing
period shall be extended to November 30 in the case of an assessee or
party affected with respect to all property located in a county
where the county assessor does not provide, by August 1, a notice, as
described in Section 619, to all assessees of real property on the
local secured roll of the assessed value of their real property as it
shall appear or does appear on the completed local roll, including
the annual increases in assessed value caused solely by increases in
the valuation of property that reflect the inflation rate, not to
exceed 2 percent, pursuant to the authority of subdivision (b) of
Section 2 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution.
(A) The county assessor shall notify the clerk of the county board
of equalization and the county tax collector by April 1 of each year
as to whether the notice specified in this paragraph will be
provided by August 1.
(B) The clerk shall certify the last day of the filing period and
shall immediately notify the State Board of Equalization as to
whether the last day of the filing period for the county will be
September 15 or November 30.
(C) The State Board of Equalization shall maintain a statewide
listing of the time period to file an application in each county.
(D) The provisions of Section 621 may not be substituted as a
means of providing the notice specified in this paragraph.
(4) If a final filing date specified in this subdivision falls on
Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, an application that is mailed
and postmarked on the next business day shall be deemed to have been
filed within the requisite time period specified in this subdivision.
If on any final filing date specified in this subdivision, the
county's offices are closed for business prior to 5 p.m. or for that
entire day, that day shall be considered a legal holiday for purposes
of this section.
(c) The application may be filed within 12 months following the
month in which the assessee is notified of the assessment, if the
party affected or his or her agent and the assessor stipulate that
there is an error in the assessment as the result of the exercise of
the assessor's judgment in determining the full cash value of the
property and a written stipulation as to the full cash value and
assessed value is filed in accordance with Section 1607.
(d) Upon the recommendation of the assessor and the clerk of the
county board of equalization, the board of supervisors may adopt a
resolution providing that an application may be filed within 60 days
of the mailing of the notice of the assessor's response to a request
for reassessment pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 51, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The request for reassessment was submitted in writing to the
assessor in the form prescribed by the State Board of Equalization
and includes all information that is prescribed by the State Board of
Equalization.
(2) The request for reassessment was made on or before the
immediately preceding March 15.
(3) The assessor's response to the request for reassessment was
mailed on or after September 1 of the calendar year in which the
request for reassessment was made.
(4) The assessor did not reduce the assessment in question in the
full amount as requested.
(5) The application for changed assessment is filed on or before
December 31 of the year in which the request for reassessment was
filed.
(6) The application for reduction in assessment is accompanied by
a copy of the assessor's response to the request for reassessment.
(e) In the form provided for making an application pursuant to
this section, there shall be a notice that written findings of facts
of the local equalization hearing will be available upon written
request at the requester's expense and, if not so requested, the
right to those written findings is waived. The form shall provide
appropriate space for the applicant to request written findings of
facts as provided by Section 1611.5.
(f) The form provided for making an application pursuant to this
section shall contain the following language in the signature block:
I certify (or declare) under penalty of perjury under the laws of
the State of California that the foregoing and all information
hereon, including any accompanying statements or documents, is true,
correct, and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief and that
I am (1) the owner of the property or the person affected (i.e., a
person having a direct economic interest in the payment of the taxes
on that property--"The Applicant," (2) an agent authorized by the
applicant under Item 2 of this application, or (3) an attorney
licensed to practice law in the State of California, State Bar No.
____, who has been retained by the applicant and has been authorized
by that person to file this application.
(g) The clerk of a county board of equalization may accept an
electronically filed application for changed assessment containing an
electronic signature if all of the following criteria are met:
(1) The application complies with all other requirements for
filing the application.
(2) The electronic signature is accompanied by the certification
described in subdivision (f).
(3) The electronic signature is authenticated in a manner that is
approved by the county board of supervisors, which manner may
include, but is not limited to, the use of personal identification
numbers the clerk has assigned to applicants.