(a) A filing office shall refuse to accept a record for filing for a reason set forth in § 4-9-516(b) and may refuse to accept a record for filing only for a reason set forth in § 4-9-516(b).
(b) If a filing office refuses to accept a record for filing, it shall communicate to the person that presented the record the fact of and reason for the refusal and the date and time the record would have been filed had the filing office accepted it. The communication must be made at the time and in the manner prescribed by filing office rule but, in the case of a filing office described in § 4-9-501(a)(2), in no event more than two (2) business days after the filing office receives the record.
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (e)(4)(B), a filed financing statement satisfying § 4-9-502(a) and (b) is effective, even if the filing office is required to refuse to accept it for filing under subsection (a). However, § 4-9-338 applies to a filed financing statement providing information described in § 4-9-516(b)(5) which is incorrect at the time the financing statement is filed.
(d) If a record communicated to a filing office provides information that relates to more than one (1) debtor, this part applies as to each debtor separately.
(e)
(1)
(A) A filing officer may review a financing statement to determine if it should be refused for filing as fraudulent under this subsection.
(B) When reviewing a financing statement under subdivision (e)(1)(A) of this section, the filing officer shall consider the following factors, including without limitation whether:
(i) the financing statement is authorized under the Uniform Commercial Code;
(ii) the financing statement cites performance or nonperformance of official duties by a current or former employee or officer of a federal, state, county, or other local government entity without an accompanying, properly executed security agreement or judgment from a court with jurisdiction;
(iii) the financing statement identifies the secured party and debtor as being the same person;
(iv) there is sufficient proof that a debtor identified as a transmitting utility meets the definition of a transmitting utility as specified in the Uniform Commercial Code;
(v) the financing statement is remitted by or on behalf of an inmate in a correction facility without being accompanied by a sworn notarized statement signed by the debtor acknowledging that the person entered into a security agreement with the inmate and authorized the filing;
(vi) the financing statement is being filed for a purpose other than a transaction within the scope of the Uniform Commercial Code; and
(vii) the text within the financing statement contains language indicative of past fraudulent filings.
(2) If a filing official acting in good faith has reason to believe that the financing statement is filed for a fraudulent purpose, to promote or conduct an illegitimate object or purpose, or for the purpose of defrauding or harassing a person or entity, the filing official shall provide the reason to refuse the filing to:
(A) the director of the Business and Commercial Services Division of the office of the Secretary of State; and
(B) the general counsel for the Secretary of State.
(3) If the director and the general counsel concur in the filing official's reasoning, then written notice under signature of the director shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the mailing address provided for the secured party of record, stating:
(A) the fact of and reason for refusal to file the financing statement;
(B) the need for the secured party to submit, within thirty (30) days of the date of the certified letter, documentation as to why the financing statement should not be refused for filing, including without limitation a properly executed security agreement or a judgment from a court with jurisdiction authorizing the filing; and
(C) legal penalties for filing fraudulent financing statements.
(4)
(A) If the filing official determines that the secured party provided sufficient evidence within the thirty-day period specified in the certified letter demonstrating that the refused filing should have been accepted for filing, the filing office shall file the record with an effective date of the time that it was originally submitted for filing with an information statement indicating that the financing statement was filed under its initial filing date.
(B) If within the thirty-day period specified in the certified letter the secured party fails to respond or fails to provide sufficient evidence to support the effectiveness of the financing statement, then the filing office may refuse the record for filing. The financing statement record shall be void and have no force or effect on any person or persons named in the financing statement as related to the effectiveness of a record under this part.
(5) The filing office shall not return a fee paid for filing a statement which has been refused for filing as fraudulent.
(6) Neither the filing office nor an employee of the filing office shall be liable for the refusal to file financing statements in the lawful performance of the office or employee under this subsection.
(7) Regulated financial institutions, other lenders in the business of making loans or extending credit, and persons that regularly extend credit to agricultural producers are exempt from the requirements of this subsection.