15-15-201. Motor vehicle tax appeals -- payment and protest of local option taxes or fees in lieu of tax on motor vehicles. (1) (a) A taxpayer who seeks to appeal the imposition of local option taxes on light vehicles or fees in lieu of tax assessed against a motor vehicle and imposed by the department of justice under authority of 15-8-202 shall file a written application for the appeal not later than 30 days after receipt of the renewal notice from the department as provided in 61-3-535. The application must be on a form prescribed by the department of justice in consultation with the Montana tax appeal board.

(b) The application must include a specific explanation of the basis for the taxpayer's appeal. The basis for appeal must be related to the factors to be considered and applied by the department of justice under 61-3-503 and 61-3-529 and established by the department's rulemaking authority in 61-14-101.

(2) (a) The treasurer of the county or municipality is not required to deposit local option vehicle taxes or fees in lieu of tax on a motor vehicle paid under protest in the special fund designated as a protest fund as required for property taxes under 15-1-402. The taxes or fees paid under protest may be reported and distributed in the same manner as those received without protest.

(b) If a refund is payable as a result of the taxpayer prevailing in a tax appeal or court proceeding concerning the protested motor vehicle taxes or fees, a refund may be made in accordance with 15-16-603.

(3) (a) A motor vehicle tax appeal may be heard by the county tax appeal board during its next regularly scheduled session if the application for the appeal was filed by December 1. If during its current session, a county tax appeal board refuses or fails to hear a taxpayer's application that was timely filed by December 1, then the taxpayer's application is considered to be granted on the day following the board's final meeting for that year.

(b) A motor vehicle tax appeal filed after December 1 may be held over by the board to a session in the following year. If a taxpayer's application that was timely filed after December 1 of the current session of the county tax appeal board is held over to a session in the following year and if the county tax appeal board refuses or fails to hear the application during the following session, then the application is considered to be granted on the day following the board's final meeting for that year.