Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 60a - Excise Tax on Registered Motor Vehicles in Lieu of Local Tax
Section 2 - Collection of Tax; Abatement

[Section impacted by 2020, 53, Sec. 11, as amended by 2020, 92, Secs. 6, 16 and 17, effective April 3, 2020 relating to the extension of the due date for taxes and the waiver of the payment of interest and other penalty in the event of late payment in order to address disruptions caused by the outbreak of COVID-19.]
Section 2. Except as otherwise provided in section one, if the owner of the motor vehicle or trailer registered is an individual inhabitant of the commonwealth, or a partnership, voluntary association or corporation having a principal place of business in the commonwealth or if the owner of the motor vehicle or trailer registered is not such an individual, partnership, voluntary association or corporation but the vehicle or trailer is customarily kept in any particular municipality in the commonwealth, the board of assessors shall assess the excise imposed by section one, and commit the same to the collector of taxes with their warrant for the collection thereof. Otherwise the excise so imposed shall be assessed and collected by the commissioner. The excise shall be assessed to the owner of the motor vehicle or trailer registering the same, and the registrar of motor vehicles shall promptly transmit to the commissioner a notice of the registration of a motor vehicle or trailer subject to this excise, giving the name and residential address of the owner, if an individual, or the name and principal place of business in this commonwealth, if any, otherwise that outside the commonwealth, if a corporation, partnership or voluntary association, the municipality in which the motor vehicle or trailer is customarily to be kept if it is to be kept in the commonwealth, the name of the maker, the year of manufacture as designated by the manufacturer, the model and type of vehicle or trailer, the type of transmission and the operator's license number of the owner of the vehicle, if any. The commissioner may require from the owner such further information as may be necessary for the purposes of this chapter. If an application for the registration of a motor vehicle or trailer contains a statement that the motor vehicle or trailer is customarily to be kept in any particular district, section or part of a city or town, the commissioner shall determine in what city or town said district, section or part is located, and shall transmit the information to the assessors. The commissioner shall, within eight months of the receipt of such information, transmit to the boards of assessors the information received relative to registration with respect to motor vehicles and trailers locally assessable sent to him by the registrar of motor vehicles, and, under such provisions as he deems best, make available to the local assessors information showing the values as determined under section one. The excise hereunder shall be due and payable at the expiration of thirty days from the date upon which the notice was issued by the collector or the commissioner pursuant to this section and the due date shall be clearly indicated on the tax notice. The collector of taxes or the commissioner, as the case may be, shall seasonably notify the owner of the excise assessed and the due date, but failure to receive notice shall not affect the validity of the excise. The owner, if aggrieved by the excise assessed, may at any time within 3 years after the date the excise was due or 1 year after the date the excise was paid, whichever is later, apply for an abatement to the board of assessors, and from a decision of the board of assessors upon such application, an appeal may be taken to the county commissioners or to the appellate tax board, all in accordance with section 64 or 65 of chapter 59. If an abatement of an excise assessed by a board of assessors is ordered by a decision of the county commissioners or the appellate tax board, any overpayment with interest thereon at the rate of six per cent per annum from the date of payment shall be refunded by the city or town treasurer from any available funds, upon certificate by the collector of taxes and approval for payment as required by section fifty-two of chapter forty-one, without any appropriations therefor by the municipality. Owners who neglect to pay the excise assessed under this chapter shall pay interest at the rate of twelve per cent per annum from the time when such excise was payable until paid. The notice issued pursuant to this section shall bear on its face a statement of the time within which petitions for abatement of the excise may be filed.
The provisions of chapter sixty-two C shall apply to the excises assessed by the commissioner.

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