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Whenever any grantor or grantee shall fail to pay any tax or penalty imposed by the law, the Corporation Counsel shall, upon the request of the Commissioner of Finance, bring or cause to be brought an action to enforce payment of the same against the person liable for the same on behalf of the City of New York in any court of the State of New York or of any other state or of the United States. If, however, the Commissioner of Finance in his discretion believes that any such grantor or grantee subject to the provisions of the law is about to cease business, leave the State or remove or dissipate the assets of which tax or penalties might be satisfied and that any such tax or penalty will not be paid when due, he may declare such tax or penalty to be immediately due and payable and may issue a warrant immediately. As an additional or alternate remedy, the Commissioner of Finance may issue a warrant, directed to the City Sheriff, commanding him to levy upon and sell the real and personal property of the grantor, grantee or other person liable for the tax which may be found within the City, for the payment of the amount thereof, with any penalties and interest, and the cost of executing the warrant, and to return such warrant to the Commissioner of Finance and to pay him the money collected by virtue thereof within sixty days after the receipt of such warrant. The City Sheriff shall, within five days after the receipt of the warrant, file with the County Clerk a copy thereof, and thereupon such clerk shall enter in the judgment docket the name of the person mentioned in the warrant and the amount of the tax, penalties and interest for which the warrant is issued and the date when such copy is filed. Thereupon the amount of such warrant so docketed shall become a lien upon the title to and interest in real and personal property of the person against whom the warrant is issued. The City Sheriff shall then proceed upon the warrant in the same manner and with like effect as that provided by law in respect to executions issued against property upon judgments of a court of record, and for services in executing the warrant he shall be entitled to the same fees which he may collect in the same manner. In the discretion of the Commissioner of Finance a warrant of like terms, force and effect may be issued and directed to any officer or employee of the Department of Finance, and in the execution thereof such officer or employee shall have all the powers conferred by law upon sheriffs, but shall be entitled to no fee or compensation in excess of the actual expenses paid in the performance of such duty. If a warrant is returned not satisfied in full, the Commissioner of Finance may from time to time issue new warrants and shall also have the same remedies to enforce the amount due thereunder as if the city had recovered judgment therefore and execution thereon had been returned unsatisfied.
If a return or affidavit required by the law is not filed, or if a return or affidavit when filed is incorrect or insufficient, the Commissioner of Finance will determine the amount of tax due from such records or information as may be obtainable, including the assessed valuation of the real property or interest therein and/or other factors. Notice of such determination will be given to the person liable for the payment of the tax. Such determination shall finally and irrevocably fix the tax unless the person against whom it is assessed, within thirty days after giving of notice of such determination, shall apply to the Commissioner of Finance for a hearing, or unless the Commissioner of Finance, on his own motion, shall redetermine the same. After such hearing the Commissioner of Finance shall give notice of his determination to the person against whom the tax is assessed. The determination of the Commissioner of Finance shall be reviewable for error, illegality or unconstitutionality or any other reason whatsoever by proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules if application therefor is made to the Supreme Court within four months after the giving of the notice of such determination. A proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules shall not be instituted unless:
(a) the amount of any tax sought to be reviewed, with penalties and interest thereon, if any, shall be first deposited with the Commissioner of Finance and there shall be filed with the Commissioner of Finance an undertaking in such amount and with such sureties as a justice of the Supreme Court shall approve, to the effect that if such proceeding be dismissed or the tax confirmed, the petitioner will pay costs and charges which may accrue in the prosecution of the proceeding; or
(b) at the option of the applicant such undertaking filed with the Commissioner of Finance may be in a sum sufficient to cover the taxes, penalties and interest thereon stated in such determination plus the costs and charges which may accrue against it in the prosecution of the proceeding, in which event the applicant shall not be required to deposit such taxes, penalties and interest as a condition precedent to the application.
The provisions of the Civil Practice Law and Rules or any other law relative to limitations of time for the enforcement of a civil remedy shall not apply to any proceeding or action taken by the City to levy, appraise, assess, determine or enforce the collection of any tax or penalty provided by the law. However, except in the case of a willfully false or fraudulent return or affidavit with intent to evade the tax, no assessment of additional tax shall be made after the expiration of more than three years from the date of filing of a return or affidavit; provided, however, that where no return or affidavit has been filed as provided by law the tax may be assessed at any time. Where, before the expiration of the period prescribed herein for the assessment of an additional tax, a taxpayer has consented in writing that such period be extended, the amount of such additional tax due may be determined at any time within such extended period. The period so extended may be further extended by subsequent consents in writing made before the expiration of the extended period.
Any notice authorized or required by the law may be given by mailing it to the person for whom it is intended in a postpaid envelope addressed to such person at the address given in the last return or affidavit filed by him pursuant to the law, or in any application made by him, or in any deed or instrument which is the subject of the notice, or if no return or affidavit has been filed or application made or address stated in the deed or instrument, then to such address as may be obtainable. The mailing of such notice shall be presumptive evidence of the receipt of the same by the person to whom addressed. Any period of time which is determined according to the provisions of the law by the giving of notice shall commence to run from the date of mailing of such notice.