Hawaii Administrative Rules › Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION › Chapter 237D - TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS TAX › Section 18-237D-4-13 - Citation for failure to display; requirements

Current through June, 2024
(a) A
			 citation for failure to display must be issued on the forms prescribed by the
			 department
(b) A citation for
			 failure to display shall include the following in its contents:
(1) The name and address of the
			 respondent;
(2) The specific
			 alleged violation or violations of title 14, HRS, or the administrative rules
			 adopted thereunder which constitute cause for the issuance of the citation for
			 failure to display;
(3) The
			 location of where the violation occurred or is occurring If the citation is
			 issued pursuant to section
			 237D-4(b),
			 HRS, the location shall include the address of the transient accommodation If
			 the citation is issued under section
			 237D-4(d),
			 HRS, the location shall include a description of the advertisement and a
			 description of the transient accommodation The advertisement shall be described
			 to the best of the department's ability and may include such information as the
			 name and date of the publication, the website address or any other description
			 sufficient for a reasonable person to locate the advertisement The transient
			 accommodation shall also be described to the best of the department's ability,
			 including the address if possible;
(4) A signature of the special enforcement
			 section employee or other department employee authorized to issue the citation
			 By signing the citation for failure to display, the issuer certifies that the
			 statements contained in the citation are true and correct, to the best of his
			 or her knowledge A citation that has not been signed by a duly authorized
			 employee of the department shall be void ab initio:
(5) If applicable, the amount of the monetary
			 fine imposed against the respondent;
(6) A space for the respondent, or the
			 respondent's agent or representative, to acknowledge receipt of the citation by
			 signature If the respondent or respondent's agent or representative refuses to
			 sign or if for some other reason the department employee is unable to acquire a
			 signature to acknowledge receipt, the citation may indicate "refused to sign",
			 "unavailable", "no signature for safety reasons", "service by certified mail",
			 "service by publication", or other language explaining the lack of signature by
			 the respondent or the respondent's agent or representative The lack of the
			 signature of the respondent or the respondent's agent or representative shall
			 not affect the validity of the citation; and
(7) Information regarding the respondent's
			 appeal rights, including the requirement that the citation must be returned to
			 the department within thirty days from the date the citation was served,
			 respondent's right to a hearing before the director or the director's designee,
			 and contact information for where the respondent may obtain further information
Example 1.
Operator LLC owns one condominium unit
				on the island of Kauai which it operates as a transient accommodation. On
				January 15, Operator LLC's unit is advertised on TAbroker.com, a website which
				displays a searchable database of units for rent. On January 15, the department
				discovers that the listing for Operator LLC's unit does not display Operator
				LLC's registration identification number, nor is there an electronic link
				leading to the number. The department reviews its records and sees that it has
				never issued a warning or a citation to Operator LLC for any transient
				accommodation. The department issues a written warning to Operator LLC under
				section 18-237D-4-12, explaining that Operator LLC has fifteen days to cure its
				violation by ensuring that its registration identification number is displayed
				in the advertisement. On January 31, the department checks on the advertisement
				again and sees that Operator LLC's unit has been continuously advertised since
				January 15 and has never had the registration identification number displayed
				or linked to. The department shall issue Operator LLC a citation for failure to
				display and the citation shall include a fine for a first violation of $500
				multiplied by the seventeen days during which this transient accommodation has
				been in violation for a total fine of $8,500.
Example 2.
Assume the same facts as Example 1,
				except that the department checks on the advertisement on January 27 and sees
				that the registration identification number is now displayed. The department
				shall not issue a citation because Operator LLC cured its violation within the
				fifteen-day period granted by the written warning.
Example 3.
Assume the same facts as Example 1,
				except that in February, Operator LLC purchases a second condominium unit on
				Oahu and begins operating it as a transient accommodation. On March 1, Operator
				LLC begins advertising the Oahu unit in "AinaBNB", a monthly print magazine
				that advertises vacation rentals. On March 5, the department sees the March
				issue of AinaBNB and discovers that the advertisement does not display Operator
				LLC's registration identification number. The department reviews its records
				and sees that it has already issued Operator LLC a written warning and a
				citation for a first violation, albeit one for a different transient
				accommodation. The department shall issue Operator LLC a citation for failure
				to display and the citation shall include a fine of $500 multiplied by the one
				day during which the transient accommodation has been in violation for a total
				fine of $500.
Example 4.
Assume the same facts as Example 3,
				except that AinaBNB is a daily publication and runs Operator LLC's unit
				advertisement every day from March 1 to March 5. The citation shall include a
				fine of $500 multiplied by the five days of violation for a total fine of
				$2,500.
Example 5.
On July 1, while inspecting a transient
				accommodation unit operated by Surfwax Rentals LLC, the department discovers
				Surfwax Rentals LLC has failed to conspicuously display its registration
				identification number inside the unit or at the front desk. Surfwax Rentals
				LLC's agent admits that the unit has been rented out for thirty days and during
				that time Surfwax Rentals LLC never conspicuously displayed its registration
				identification number. The department reviews its records and sees that it has
				never issued Surfwax Rentals LLC a citation. The department shall issue Surfwax
				Rentals LLC a citation for failure to display and the citation shall contain a
				fine for a first violation of $500 multiplied by the thirty days during which
				the transient accommodation has been in violation for a total fine of $ 15,000.
				Written warnings are not issued for failures to conspicuously display the
				information required by section
				237D-4(b),
				HRS.
Example 6.
Assume the same facts as Example 5,
				except that on July 15, the department goes to TAbroker.com and sees Surfwax
				Rentals LLC's unit listed in an advertisement that fails to display the
				registration identification number. The department reviews its records and sees
				that it previously issued a fine for failure to display under section
				237D-4(b),
				HRS, on July 1, but that it has never issued a warning or citation with a fine
				for failure to display under section
				237D-4(d),
				HRS. The department shall issue Surfwax Rentals LLC a written warning under
				section 18-237D-4-12. The department shall not issue a citation with a fine for
				a second violation because violations under sections
				237D-4(b) and
				(d), HRS, are considered separate violations.
				Additionally, the fact that the department issued the citation under section
				237D-4(b),
				HRS, fewer than thirty days earlier and for a violation in this same transient
				accommodation shall not preclude the department from issuing a written warning
				or a citation under section
				237D-4(d),
				HRS, to the same person and for a violation related to the same transient
				accommodation. A fine issued under section
				237D-4(b),
				HRS, and a fine issued under section
				237D-4(d),
				HRS, may be issued to the same person during the same thirty-day period because
				they are considered separate violations.
Example 7.
FacePlus is an online social networking
				website which allows its users to create a user profile and post status updates
				for other users to see. Sally Social, an individual user of FacePlus, posts a
				status update which says she is offering to rent out the cottage on her
				property for $200 per night. The department may issue a warning or citation to
				Sally Social because she is an operator of a transient accommodations and her
				status update is an advertisement for a transient accommodation.