Whenever the amount of any tax has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the Tax Administrator under this Chapter from a service user or service supplier, it may be refunded as provided in this section:
A. The Tax Administrator may refund any tax that has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the Tax Administrator under this Chapter from a service user or service supplier, provided that no refund shall be paid under the provisions of this section unless the claimant or his or her guardian, conservator, executor, or administrator has submitted a written claim to the Tax Administrator within one year of the overpayment or erroneous or illegal collection of said tax. Such claim must clearly establish claimant's right to the refund by written records showing entitlement thereto. Nothing herein shall permit the filing of a claim on behalf of a class or group of taxpayers unless each member of the class has submitted a written claim under penalty of perjury as provided by this subsection.
B. The filing of a written claim pursuant to Government Code Section 935 is a prerequisite to any suit thereon. Any action brought against the City pursuant to this section shall be subject to the provisions of Government Code sections 945.6 and 946. The City Manager, or the Mayor and Common Council where the claim is in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), shall act upon the refund claim within the time period set forth in Government Code Section 912.4. If the City Manager/Mayor and Common Council fails or refuses to act on a refund claim within the time prescribed by Government Code Section 912.4, the claim shall be deemed to have been rejected by the City Manager/Mayor and Common Council on the last day of the period within which the City Manager/Mayor and Common Council was required to act upon the claim as provided in Government Code Section 912.4. The Risk Manager shall give notice of the action in a form which substantially complies with that set forth in Government Code Section 913.
C. Notwithstanding the notice provisions of subsection A of this section, a service supplier that has collected any amount of tax in excess of the amount of tax imposed by this Chapter and actually due from a service user (whether due to overpayment or erroneous or illegal collection of said tax), may refund such amount to the service user, or credit to charges subsequently payable by the service user to the service supplier, and claim credit for such overpayment against the amount of tax which is due upon any other monthly returns to the Tax Administrator, provided such credit is claimed in a return dated no later than one year from the date of overpayment or erroneous or illegal collection of said tax, and provided that the Tax Administrator shall first determine the validity of the service user's claim of credit and the underlying basis for such claim.
D. Notwithstanding subsections A through C above, a service supplier shall be entitled to take any overpayment as a credit against an underpayment whenever such overpayment has been received by the City within the three (3) years next preceding a deficiency determination or assessment by the Tax Administrator in connection with an audit instituted by the Tax Administrator pursuant to Section 3.46.120D. A service supplier shall not be entitled to said credit unless it clearly establishes the right to the credit by written records showing entitlement thereto. Under no circumstances shall an overpayment taken as a credit against an underpayment pursuant to this subsection qualify a service supplier for a refund to which it would not otherwise be entitled under the one-year written claim requirement of this section.