The Indiana Attorney General is increasing and expanding its
enforcement efforts with respect to Indiana's Unclaimed
Property Act (Ind. Code § 32-34-1 et seq.) (the Act) by
authorizing the Indiana Department of Revenue to audit for
unclaimed property. In an effort to encourage compliance with the
Act, the Indiana Attorney General Office's has created an
Unclaimed Property Amnesty Program which, for a limited period of
time, permits eligible holders of unclaimed property to voluntarily
comply with the Act and avoid liability for interest and penalties.
The deadline to enroll in the one-time only Unclaimed Property
Amnesty Program is Oct. 31, 2010.
Under the Act, nearly all business organizations as well as
government bodies are required to review their records and
determine whether they hold any funds, securities, or other
property that have been unclaimed by the owner. A holder of
unclaimed property who intentionally fails to pay or deliver
unclaimed property is subject to an additional civil penalty of 10
percent of the value of the unclaimed property that must be paid or
delivered. In addition, a holder of unclaimed property who fails to
render any report or perform other duties required under the Act
must pay a civil penalty of $100 for each day the report is
withheld or the duty is not performed up to $5,000.
A holder of unclaimed property is eligible to participate in the
Indiana Unclaimed Property Amnesty Program if:
- It is not currently under examination by the Indiana Attorney General
- It has not been notified by the Indiana Attorney General that it intends to conduct an unclaimed property examination
- Neither the holder of unclaimed property nor its principal(s) are presently in arrears in their payment of taxes, permit fees, or other required payments to the State
- The holder of unclaimed property must warrant that it has no current, pending, or outstanding criminal, civil, or enforcement actions initiated by the State.
If eligible, the holder of unclaimed property may enroll in the
Unclaimed Property Amnesty Program by executing the Amnesty
Agreement by Oct. 31, 2010. Under the Unclaimed Amnesty Program,
the eligible holder of unclaimed property must also submit all
relevant unclaimed property reports and remittances pursuant to the
Amnesty Agreement form by Nov. 1, 2010. In order to participate in
the Unclaimed Property Amnesty Program, all unclaimed property
accrued over the past 10 years (or for as long as the organization
has been in business if that period is less than 10 years) must be
reported.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.