45 IAC 22 — ARTICLE 22. CIVIL PENALTIES; OVERSIZE-OVERWEIGHT CARRIER VIOLATIONS

TITLE 45 DEPARTMENT OF STATE REVENUE

ARTICLE 22. CIVIL PENALTIES; OVERSIZE-OVERWEIGHT CARRIER VIOLATIONS

Rule 1

45 IAC 22-1-1 45 IAC 22-1-1 "Violation" defined

Rule 1. Civil Penalties; Oversize-Overweight Carrier Violations

45 IAC 22-1-1 "Violation" defined

Authority: IC 6-8.1-3-3; IC 9-20-18-14.5

Affected: IC 9-20-18-14.5

Sec. 1. As used in this article, "violation" refers to a civil penalty assessed to a carrier by the department of state revenue under IC 9-20-18-14.5.

(Department of State Revenue; 45 IAC 22-1-1; filed Dec 17, 2024, 1:39 p.m.: 20250115-IR-045240387FRA)

45 IAC 22-1-2 45 IAC 22-1-2 Penalty schedule

45 IAC 22-1-2 Penalty schedule

Authority: IC 6-8.1-3-3; IC 9-20-18-14.5

Affected: IC 9-20-18-14.5

Sec. 2. (a) The following schedule applies to a penalty assessed to a carrier by the department of state revenue (department) under IC 9-20-18-14.5(b):

(1) A warning letter is issued for a first violation.

(2) A civil penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000) is assessed for a second violation.

(3) A civil penalty of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) is assessed for a third or later violation.

(b) The following schedule applies to a penalty assessed to a carrier by the department under IC 9-20-18-14.5(c):

(1) A warning letter is issued for a first violation.

(2) A civil penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) is assessed for a second violation.

(3) A civil penalty of five thousand dollars ($5,000) is assessed for a third or later violation.

(c) If a carrier has no violations during a consecutive three hundred sixty-five (365) calendar day period, the penalty count for the carrier will reset and the carrier will receive a warning letter as the next penalty by the department under IC 9-20-18-14.5.

(Department of State Revenue; 45 IAC 22-1-2; filed Dec 17, 2024, 1:39 p.m.: 20250115-IR-045240387FRA)

45 IAC 22-1-3 45 IAC 22-1-3 Assessment of civil penalty

45 IAC 22-1-3 Assessment of civil penalty

Authority: IC 6-8.1-3-3; IC 9-20-18-14.5

Affected: IC 9-20-18-14.5

Sec. 3. When making an assessment of a penalty under section 2 of this rule, the following apply:

(1) A carrier shall only receive one (1) warning letter from the department of state revenue (department) for a first violation under IC 9-20-18-14.5(b) or IC 9-20-18-14.5(c).

(2) A warning letter providing an outline of additional civil penalties a carrier may be subject to if any future violations occur, or may have already occurred, but have not been processed by the department.

(3) When substantially similar violations are committed by a single, distinguishable act or failure to act, only one (1) of those violations may be subject to a civil penalty for that act. This subdivision is intended to avoid duplicating civil penalty assessment for violating multiple provisions of a statute or rule that may be substantially similar or closely related. This subdivision is not intended to limit in any way civil penalty assessment for violations resulting from more than one (1) distinguishable, unrelated act or failure to act, or a reoccurring violation.

(4) When determining the amount of a civil penalty under the procedures outlined in subdivision (3), the department shall use the appropriate violation with the highest penalty amount.

(5) Based on the limitation in subdivision (3), the penalties under section 2 of this rule are assessed for each violation, and, as a result, a carrier may accrue multiple penalties in a single Indiana State Police Commercial Enforcement Division Inspection Report.

(6) When an Indiana state police (ISP) officer conducts an inspection that does not result in a citation, or during the inspection the officer issues a warning to a carrier under IC 9-20-18-14.5(b), IC 9-20-18-14.5(c), or IC 9-20-18-14.5(d), the department may not assess a civil penalty, and any warning issued by ISP serves as the complete penalty for referenced violations.

(7) Warning letters sent to a carrier for actions where ISP did not provide the full information, and therefore not actionable by the department, are sent as a courtesy and do not count as a warning letter for purposes of this section.

(Department of State Revenue; 45 IAC 22-1-3; filed Dec 17, 2024, 1:39 p.m.: 20250115-IR-045240387FRA)

45 IAC 22-1-4 45 IAC 22-1-4 Penalty mitigation

45 IAC 22-1-4 Penalty mitigation

Authority: IC 6-8.1-3-3; IC 9-20-18-14.5

Affected: IC 9-20-18-7

Sec. 4. (a) If a carrier protests a civil penalty assessment made by the department of state revenue (department) under section 2 of this rule, the carrier may raise any of the defenses found in IC 9-20-18-7(c) as a defense to the civil penalty. The carrier bears the burden of demonstrating the applicability of a defense.

(b) If a carrier protests a civil penalty assessment made by the department under section 2 of this rule, the department may adjust the amount of the civil penalty downward to reflect mitigating factors, including the following:

(1) The good faith efforts to comply or prevent the violation.

(2) Cooperation by the carrier with the department during the investigation process.

(3) The carrier's history of compliance.

(4) Remedial or corrective actions taken by the carrier.

(5) The extent to which the vehicle was overweight.

(6) Whether the carrier did not have access to, or control of, the load when it was loaded.

(7) Whether, despite exercising due diligence, the carrier did not know, or could not have known, a permit was required.

(8) Whether, despite exercising due diligence, the carrier did not know, or could not have known, the vehicle was oversize or overweight at the time of inspection by the Indiana state police.

(9) Whether the civil penalty will result in financial hardship.

(10) The carrier does not have a history of oversize-overweight civil penalties.

(c) The amount of a civil penalty may not be adjusted downward under subsection (b) if any of the aggravating factors in section 3 of this rule apply to the carrier.

(Department of State Revenue; 45 IAC 22-1-4; filed Dec 17, 2024, 1:39 p.m.: 20250115-IR-045240387FRA)

45 IAC 22-1-5 45 IAC 22-1-5 Penalty elevation

45 IAC 22-1-5 Penalty elevation

Authority: IC 6-8.1-3-3; IC 9-20-18-14.5

Affected: IC 9-20-18-14.5

Sec. 5. (a) If a carrier protests a civil penalty assessment made by the department of state revenue (department) under section 2 of this rule, the department may adjust the amount of the civil penalty upward to reflect aggravating factors, including the following:

(1) Willful or intentional misconduct.

(2) Obstruction or failure to comply with the department's investigation.

(3) Fraudulent conduct.

(4) The violation resulted in identifiable, ascertainable financial harm to the state.

(5) The violation involved identifiable, ascertainable damage to the roads or bridges in the state of Indiana.

(6) Failure to pay the full amount of any previously mitigated civil penalty by the date prescribed by the department.

(b) If aggravating factors are identified, the department may adjust a civil penalty amount up to the highest amount provided under IC 9-20-18-14.5(b) and IC 9-20-18-14.5(c).

(Department of State Revenue; 45 IAC 22-1-5; filed Dec 17, 2024, 1:39 p.m.: 20250115-IR-045240387FRA)