A.  As soon as practicable after each return or report is filed under any of the provisions of this Chapter, the collector shall cause it to be examined and may make such further audit or investigation as he may deem necessary for the purpose of determining the correct amount of tax.

B.  The taxpayer and the collector or his designee may enter into a binding agreement to use a sampling procedure as a basis for projecting audit findings, which may result in either an underpayment or overpayment of tax.

C.(1)  Before using a sampling procedure to project the findings of an audit and establish a tax liability, the collector or his designee shall notify the taxpayer in writing of the sampling procedure he intends to use, including but not limited to how the tax will be computed, the population to be sampled, and the type of tax for which the tax liability will be established.

(2)  The sampling procedure used shall produce a sample which shall reflect as nearly as possible the normal conditions under which the business was operated during the period to which the audit applies.  If either the taxpayer or the collector can demonstrate that a transaction in a sample for a particular time period is not representative of the taxpayer’s business operations during that time period, the transaction shall be eliminated from the sample and shall be separately determined in the audit.

(3)  If the taxpayer demonstrates that any sampling procedure used by the collector was not developed or applied in accordance with generally recognized sampling techniques, that portion of the audit established by a projection based upon the development or application of the disputed sampling procedure shall be replaced by a projection based upon a new sample that conforms to generally recognized sampling techniques.

(4)  Generally recognized sampling techniques and standards set forth by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants shall be used as guidance in developing audit sampling techniques for purposes of this Section.

Acts 2003, No. 73, §1, eff. July 1, 2003.