Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Tax Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) and the Division of Tax Appeals (DTA) will be working with reduced staff in the office. In-person filing of documents will be accepted but is not encouraged. Anyone wishing to file a document in person must make an appointment in advance by calling 518-266-3000 and must wear an appropriate face covering at the time that the filing is made. Please note that neither the Tribunal nor DTA has the authority to waive statutory deadlines. As such, any petition, exception, or request for an extension of time to file an exception must be filed (postmarked or put in the custody of an authorized delivery carrier) by the current statutory deadline. However, until further notice, the Tribunal and DTA will grant timely extension requests for the filing of briefs and answers. As there is limited staff in the office, parties may experience delays in receiving written responses to requests, but every effort will be made to respond as soon as is practicable.
For the duration of the COVID disaster emergency, we will accept from taxpayers and their representative(s) holding a valid power of attorney (POA) digitally signed documents to be filed with either the Tribunal or DTA. The only digital signature that we will not accept is the taxpayer’s signature on a POA (the electronic signature of the representative on the Declaration of Representative is allowed). When submitting a digital signature to Tax Appeals, the taxpayer or POA must include a verification statement, either in the form of an attached cover letter or within the body of an accompanying email, to the effect: The attached [name of document] includes [name of taxpayer/POA]’s valid signature and the taxpayer/POA intends to transmit the attached document to Tax Appeals.
In-person hearings will resume in Albany beginning the first week of August. Please see the Hearing Attendance Instructions, which contain COVID-related safety protocols, and a copy of the Health Screening Report that all attendees will be required to complete upon arriving at the hearing site and before entering the hearing room.
Additionally, due to COVID-19 and budgetary concerns, the Division of Tax Appeals does not anticipate that it will be able to conduct any hearings outside of Albany for the remainder of 2020. However, it is anticipated that DTA will be able to hold virtual hearings and in-person hearings in Albany during that time. Tribunal oral arguments will be held via telephone conference starting in July and for the near future.
Please call 518-266-3000 with any questions.
