15-32-504. Procedure for requesting and certifying credit. To obtain the credit authorized by this part, a person shall submit a request to the department for the credit as follows:

(1) On a form provided by the department, the person shall submit the request and a statement of expenditures for the previous calendar year not later than 60 days after the close of that calendar year.

(2) The request must:

(a) describe the work accomplished during the previous year, the number of employees, and the names and number of consultants; and

(b) provide a detailed list or ledger of expenditures related to the accomplishments described in subsection (2)(a) and an exploration activity data list.

(3) The person submitting the request is not required to transmit copies of receipts with the request, but the statement of expenditures is subject to audit at the discretion of the department.

(4) If the department decides to audit the statement of expenditures, the department may require the person submitting the request to justify claims of expenditures with receipts and other reliable information.

(5) The department shall respond to the request by September 30 by certifying or not certifying the person's expenditures. If the department does not certify expenditures, the department shall state the reasons for denial of certification and give the person making the request an opportunity to correct any deficiencies or to provide additional information. If the department certifies expenditures, the department shall specify the exploration activity data list requirements for that year that must be presented to the department at the time of the taking of the credit.

(6) If the department neither certifies nor denies certification of expenditures by September 30, the expenditures are certified as submitted.