Section 48-5-380. Refunds of taxes and license fees by counties and municipalities; time and manner of filing claims and actions for refund; authority to approve or disapprove claims

   (a) As provided in this Code section, each county and municipality shall refund to taxpayers any and all taxes and license fees:

   (1) Which are determined to have been erroneously or illegally assessed and collected from the taxpayers under the laws of this state or under the resolutions or ordinances of any county or municipality; or

   (2) Which are determined to have been voluntarily or involuntarily overpaid by the taxpayers.

(b) In any case in which it is determined that an erroneous or illegal collection of any tax or license fee has been made by a county or municipality or that a taxpayer has voluntarily or involuntarily overpaid any tax or license fee, the taxpayer from whom the tax or license fee was collected may file a claim for a refund with the governing authority of the county or municipality at any time within one year or, in the case of taxes, three years after the date of the payment of the tax or license fee to the county or municipality. The claim for refund shall be in writing and shall be in the form and shall contain the information required by the appropriate governing authority. The claim shall include a summary statement of the grounds upon which the taxpayer relies. In the event the taxpayer desires a conference or hearing before the governing authority in connection with any claim for a refund, the taxpayer shall so specify in writing in the claim. If the claim conforms to the requirements of this Code section, the governing authority shall grant a conference at a time specified by the governing authority. The governing authority shall consider information contained in the taxpayer's claim for a refund and such other information as is available. The governing authority shall approve or disapprove the taxpayer's claim and shall notify the taxpayer of its action. In the event any claim for refund is approved, the governing authority shall proceed under subsection (a) of this Code section to give effect to the terms of that subsection. No refund provided for in this Code section shall be assignable.

(c) Any taxpayer whose claim for refund is denied by the governing authority of the county or municipality or whose claim is not denied or approved by the governing authority within one year from the date of filing the claim shall have the right to bring an action for a refund in the superior court of the county in which the claim arises. No action or proceeding for the recovery of a refund shall be commenced before the expiration of one year from the date of filing the claim for refund unless the governing authority of the county or municipality renders a decision on the claim within the one-year period. No action or proceeding for the recovery of a refund shall be commenced after the expiration of one year from the date the claim is denied. The one-year period prescribed in this subsection for filing an action for a refund shall be extended for such period as may be agreed upon in writing between the taxpayer and the governing authority of the county or municipality during the one-year period or any extension of the one-year period.

(d) Any refunds approved or allowed under this Code section shall be paid from funds of the county, municipality, the board of education, the state, or any other entity to which the taxes or license fees were originally paid. Refunds shall be paid within 60 days of the approval of the taxpayer's claim or within 60 days of the entry of a final decision in any action for a refund.

(e) The governing authority of any county, by resolution, and the governing authority of any municipality, by ordinance, shall adopt rules and regulations governing the administration of this Code section and may delegate the administration of this Code section, including the approval or disapproval of claims where the reason for the claim is based on an obvious clerical error, to an appropriate department in local government. In disputed cases where there is no obvious error, the approval or disapproval of claims may not be delegated by the governing authority.

Code 1933, §§ 92-3901a, 92-3902a, 92-3903a, 92-3904a, 92-3905a, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 774, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 928, § 1; Code 1933, § 91A-1601, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Ga. L. 1979, p. 5, § 46; Ga. L. 1980, p. 463, § 2; Ga. L. 2010, p. 1104, § 7-1/SB 346.