Section 2725.110  Protest Of Determination And Assessment

a)         A Protest of a Determination and Assessment must be filed in the form of a Petition at the address shown on the Determination and Assessment within 20 days of service.

b)         A sufficient Petition shall set forth the specific part of the Determination and Assessment with which the employing unit disagrees and the specific legal and factual basis for the disagreement and, in the specific situations described in this subsection (b), will state the following:

1)         If the employing unit alleges that it has paid all or part of the amount assessed:  the exact amount of the contributions, penalties and interest paid, if any, the date[s] paid and the quarter[s] to which the payment[s] relate[s]; or

2)         If the employing unit alleges that the Determination and Assessment is erroneous because of clerical error:  the specific nature of the clerical error; or

3)         If the employing unit claims one or more persons whose wages are the basis of the Determination and Assessment were not in employment:  the names, addresses and Social Security account numbers of such persons, the nature of the services performed, if any, and the reasons the person or persons are not considered in employment; or

4)         If the employing unit alleges that it is not an employer subject to the Act:  the reasons for that allegation and supporting facts.

c)         An employing unit which files a Petition that does not contain the information required by subsection (b) shall be notified of the insufficiency and given 20 days from the date of mailing of such notice to revise the Petition or file objections to the notice.  If, within the 20 day period, a revised Petition or objections responding to the notice are filed and the Petition or revised Petition is still determined to be insufficient, the revised Petition or original Petition and objections, as the case may be, shall be adjudicated under Subpart C of this Part.  If, within the 20 day period, no further documents are filed, the Petition shall be ruled insufficient and such ruling, notice of which shall be provided to the employing unit, shall be final and subject to review under the State's Administrative Review Law [735 ILCS 5/Art. III].

d)         An employing unit which files a Petition, but not within the time prescribed, shall be notified of its untimeliness and given 20 days from the date of mailing of such notice to submit further information or objections to the notice of untimeliness.  If, within the 20 day period, such information or objections are filed but do not sufficiently respond to the notice of untimeliness, the Petition shall be adjudicated under Subpart C.  If, within the 20 day period, no such information or objections are filed, the Petition shall be ruled untimely and such ruling, notice of which shall be provided to the employing unit, shall be final and subject to review under the State's Administrative Review Law [735 ILCS 5/Art. III].

e)         Except as provided in subsection (f), if the Petition is sufficient and timely, the Agency shall investigate the allegations in the Petition based upon Agency records and any documents supplied by the employing unit.  If the Agency determines that the Petition should be allowed, the Agency shall cancel the Determination and Assessment by written order.  If the Agency determines that the Petition should be allowed in part and denied in part, the Agency shall modify the Determination and Assessment by written order, with reasons for the partial denial.  An employing unit disagreeing with the Order to Modify the Determination and Assessment may file a Petition to the Modified Determination and Assessment as provided in subsections (a) and (b).  If the Agency determines that the Determination and Assessment should be affirmed, the Petition shall be adjudicated under Subpart C of this Part.

f)          If an employing unit files a timely and sufficient Petition in response to a Modified Determination and Assessment issued under subsection (e) or a Determination and Assessment which is issued as a result of an audit, such Petition shall be adjudicated under Subpart C of this Part.

(Source:  Amended at 20 Ill. Reg. 6378, effective April 29, 1996)