AN ACT to Allow a seller to apply overcollected sales tax to offset a use tax liability on a related transaction.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 105‑164.11(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Remittance of Overcollections to Secretary. – When tax is collected for any period on a taxable sale in excess of the total amount that should have been collected or is collected on an exempt or nontaxable sale, the total amount collected must be remitted to the Secretary. If the Secretary determines that the seller overcollected the sales tax on a transaction, the Secretary shall take only one of the actions listed in this subsection. This subsection shall be construed with other provisions of this Article and given effect so as to result in the payment to the Secretary of the total amount collected as tax if it is in excess of the amount that should have been collected.
(1)	If the Secretary determines that the seller overcollected tax on a transaction, the Secretary may allow a refund of the tax. The Secretary may allow the refund only if the seller gives the purchaser credit for or a refund of the overcollected tax. The Secretary shall not refund the overcollected tax to the seller if the seller has elected to offset a use tax liability on a related transaction with the overcollected sales tax under subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(2)	If the Secretary determines that a seller who overcollected sales tax on a transaction is instead liable for a use tax on a related transaction, the Secretary may allow the seller to offset the use tax liability with the overcollected sales tax. The Secretary shall not allow an offset if the seller has elected to receive a refund of the overcollected tax under subdivision (1) of this subsection. The decision by a seller to receive an offset of tax liability rather than a refund of the overcollected tax does not affect the liability of the seller to the purchaser for the overcollected tax.
(3)	If neither subdivision (1) nor (2) of this subsection applies, the Secretary shall retain the total amount collected on the transaction."

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2011, and applies to tax liabilities that accrue on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 16th day of June, 2011.

	s/	 Walter H. Dalton
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Thom Tillis
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 Governor

Approved 4:42 p.m. this 24th day of June, 2011