(a) When the State charges or levies any fees, taxes, penalties, or interest against any insurer or other person, or any fees, taxes, penalties, or interest are assessed by the director or his designee and the State or director or his designee claims the payment of the fees, taxes, penalties, or interest so charged or assessed, or institutes a proceeding to collect them, the insurer or other person against whom the fees, taxes, penalties, or interest is charged or assessed or against whom the proceeding is instituted, if he conceives the fees or taxes to be unjust or illegal, may pay the fees or taxes and any penalties, or interest thereon, under protest in writing, with the type of funds the State Treasurer or director or his designee is authorized to receive. Upon this payment, the director or his designee shall pay the fees, taxes, penalties, or interest collected by him into the state treasury giving notice at the time to the State Treasurer that the payment was made under protest.
(b) Any insurer or other person paying any fees, taxes, penalties, or interest under protest must within thirty days after making the payment bring an action against the director for the recovery thereof, in the Court of Common Pleas for Richland County. If it is determined in that action that the fees, taxes, penalties, or interest was unjustly or illegally collected, the court must so certify of record, and the State Treasurer shall refund the fees, taxes, penalties, or interest to the payor.
HISTORY: Former 1976 Code Section 38-1-110 [1979 Act No. 63; 1982 Act No. 321, Section 2] recodified as Section 38-7-130 by 1987 Act No. 155, Section 1; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 534.