(a) Every financial institution, as in this chapter defined, shall within the first 15 days of April in each year, make and file with the Department of Revenue a return, signed under the penalties of perjury by its cashier, treasurer or other authorized officer or employee, if a corporation, or by a person or authorized employee in charge of the conduct of the business to be taxed if an individual, firm, association or other legal entity, in such form as may be prescribed by the Department of Revenue, giving such detailed information as the Department of Revenue may in its opinion require to determine the net income of such financial institution for the taxable year, by the net income of which said excise tax is to be measured.

(b) Qualified corporate groups, as in this chapter defined, shall have the option to file one excise tax return on a consolidated basis or to file separate returns. Qualified corporate groups electing to file one excise tax return on a consolidated basis shall be assessed a fee of $6,000 for the privilege of filing on a consolidated basis. Newly acquired corporations which have a potential separate return year as well as a consolidated year would have the option of filing a separate return including all of their income for that year or filing as part of the consolidated group for the entire taxable year. Newly created, controlled corporations would either file a separate return or as part of the consolidated return determined by the election of the corporate group for that year.

(c) In order for financial institution members of a controlled group to be eligible to elect to file on a consolidated basis, the members would have to meet the following two tests:

(1) OWNERSHIP TEST. Includable financial institutions will be connected through stock ownership with a common parent corporation, which financial institutions are includable corporations if:

a. Stock possessing at least 80 percent of the voting power of all classes of stock and at least 80 percent of each class of the nonvoting stock of each of the includable corporations (except the common parent corporation) is owned directly by one or more of the other includable corporations; and

b. The common parent owns directly stock possessing at least 80 percent of the voting power of all classes of stock and at least 80 percent of each class of the nonvoting stock of at least one of the other includable corporations.

(2) FILING TEST. In order to be eligible for this election, each member must be a financial institution as defined in Section 40-16-1 and be required to file an excise tax return.

(d) To the extent operating rules are required for the filing of a consolidated excise tax return, the consolidated return regulations of the Internal Revenue Code and the principles contained therein would be used as a guideline in the absence of clarifying regulations issued by the Department of Revenue.

(e) The Department of Revenue may make such reasonable rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to determine the businesses conducted and in the state which are subject to said excise tax and to determine the net income of such businesses by which said tax is to be measured; provided, that any financial institution conducting a business both within and without the State of Alabama and coming within the provisions of this chapter shall be required to make a report to the Department of Revenue showing the amount of its income received from the business conducted by it within the State of Alabama and the expenses incurred by it in the conduct of its business within the State of Alabama. Failure to file any such return on or before the due date thereof in the absence of extension of time in writing for the filing thereof granted by the Department of Revenue shall subject the financial institution so failing to a penalty of 15 percent of the amount of tax assessed, which amount shall be assessed and collected as a part of the tax, and a like penalty of $5 per day for each day's failure to file such return, which penalty shall be collected by civil action.