Refund of Assessments

Refund of Assessments. (a) Refunds by Counties or Municipalities (1) Authorization of Refunds - Court Clerks may authorize a refund of an assessment when any of the following circumstances occur. (i) Over payments have been made due to collection error, (ii) upon a proper order of a court, (iii) or when a conviction has been overturned upon appeal. (2) Authorization Documentation - Certificates of Eligibility - Authorizations must be documented as follows. (i) How Documented - A “Certificate of Eligibility” is a mandatory document that must be issued by the Court Clerk to authorize refunds. This document must be prepared as a record of authorization, regardless of who makes the refund. (ii) Form of Certificate of Eligibility - A “Certificate of Eligibility” document must be written, signed and include the date, case number, payee, amount due and reason for the refund. This document may be take electronic form, as provided by Section 75-12-13 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, Annotated. (iii) Distribution of Certificate of Eligibility Copies - Copies of the certificate must be provided to the person seeking refund, the Chancery Clerk or Municipal Clerk who is to make the refund; and a copy of all certificates issued must be maintained as a record in the Court Clerk’s office. (3) Payment of Refunds (i) County Refunds - In counties, the Chancery Clerk refunds previously settled collections which have been authorized by a “certificates of eligibility.” Copies of all certificates received must be maintained as a record to support payment of the refund. It shall not be necessary for the Board of Supervisors to approve such refunds. (ii) Municipal Refunds - In municipalities, the municipal clerk refunds previously settled collections which have been authorized by a “certificates of eligibility”. Copies of all certificates received must be maintained as a record to support payment of the refund. It shall not be necessary for the governing authorities of the municipality to approve such refunds. (iii) Court Clerk Refunds - Court Clerk’s having custody of collections authorized for refund, and who have authority to sign checks on the depository account holding the overpayment, may make refunds from the overpaid funds. (4) Source of Refunds (i) Refunds must be made from the funds into which the original money was settled. For example: an overpayment of state uniform assessment collections which was settled into the “State Assessment Clearing Fund” may only be refunded from funds currently available in that fund. (ii) If assessment money has already been settled to the state, refunds are made from later similar collections currently on hand. In counties, this includes the combined collections of similar funds from all county courts (justice, county, circuit and chancery courts). (iii) If refunds payable exceed funds on hand and/or which will be available within a reasonable amount of time, a refund may be requested from the State Agency to whom the funds were settled. See the following procedure for “Refunds by State Agencies.” (b) Refunds by State Agencies (1) Authorization of Refunds - A State Agency (Department of Finance and Administration, Mississippi Department of Public Safety, etc.) is authorized to refund assessments when any of the following circumstances occurs. (i) Overpayments of settlements have been made by a county or municipality to the agency. Overpayments may be due to, but not limited to, accounting errors, settlement errors, or overturned convictions. (ii) A court of competent jurisdiction orders a refund to be made. (2) Authorization Documentation - A State Agency must have documentation that a refund has been authorized. Documentation includes a copy an official request for refund from the county or municipality; any of the following verifications. (i) A copy of a court order directing the refund. Such court order must be issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. (ii) An audited report issued by a Certified Public Account verifying an overpayment. (iii) A letter of verification of overpayment issued by the State Auditor or his designee. (3) Payment of Refunds - A State Agency may make authorized refund payments utilizing its usual procedures for issuing payments of obligations. (4) Source of Refunds - A State Agency may make payments from any funds legally available for payment of such obligations.