§337.51.1. Mediation after assessment

            A. A taxpayer or dealer and the collector may agree in writing to mediation of any disputes relating to an assessment within fifteen calendar days from the date of the notice issued pursuant to R.S. 47:337.51(A).

            B. Any mediation agreed to by a taxpayer or dealer and the collector pursuant to this Section shall be completed within forty-five calendar days of the mediation agreement between the parties. The person appointed as the mediator must be mutually agreed to by the taxpayer or dealer and the collector. The costs of mediation shall be shared equally by the taxpayer or dealer and the collector, unless all the parties specifically agree otherwise in writing.

            C. The taxpayer, dealer, or the collector may terminate the mediation agreement at any time by notifying the other party or parties in writing. Upon completion or termination of the mediation agreement, the collector shall send a notice of completion or termination of the mediation agreement to the taxpayer or dealer in the same manner as the notice sent pursuant to R.S. 47:337.51(A) and shall notify the taxpayer or dealer that he has thirty calendar days from the date the notice is sent to take any action authorized in R.S. 47:337.51(A)(1)(a), (b), or (c) or (B), as applicable.

            D. The taxpayer or dealer shall have thirty calendar days from the date the notice of completion or termination of the mediation agreement is sent from the collector to take any action authorized in R.S. 47:337.51(A) or (B), as applicable. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this Section, a taxpayer or dealer shall not have less than sixty calendar days from the date the notice of assessment is sent to take any action authorized in R.S. 47:337.51(A) or (B), as applicable.

            E. All mediation procedures shall be nonbinding unless all the parties specifically agree otherwise in writing. The provisions of R.S. 9:4112 regarding confidentiality and admissibility of oral and written communications and records made during mediation shall be applicable to any mediation conducted pursuant to this Section.

            Acts 2025, No. 285, §1, eff. June 11, 2025.